Prologue:

         Cooper kept thinking the same thing. The biggest badass on the planet was not big enough, not for this job. Not for what he was considering.

        The voices droned on, but it had been several minutes since he gave the meeting his full attention. He hoped his annoyance didn't project as clearly as he felt it. The meeting was attended by three corporate heads and the entire U.N. Security council. These meetings were held at the U.N. Headquarters in the upper city of Dubai, in spitting distance of the orbital habitats that held most of Earth's population.          

He joined the meeting via hologram, sitting alone in his hotel room, looking out at the red Martian skyline. Phobus was setting in the sky, lighting the buildings. Cooper stared off at the larger of the Martian moons and tapped a pen softly on the table. He could barely listen as the chairman of the ARK board, Darren Bey, addressed the gathering.

        “We can't delay the funding. The ACB already claim to have sent their ark past the Heliosphere border...”

        Cooper slammed his pen down to get attention. He waited for the delay of his transmission across the millions of miles of void. “They don't have the tech to shorten the trip to Beta. I can guarantee any colonization project by the Asian Block will be a minimum two-hundred and ninety-three year journey.”

        “Their probes have already claimed a moon.” The Security Council member representing the former U.S. Orbital territory pointed at the floating map. “The moon know as T-7 would require massive terra-forming, and is not nearly as perfect as T-13 or T-15, the moons claimed already by the U.N.” The Security Council had not planned for this new space race, one that would last long after they were dead or living in entirely new bodies.  

        Cooper looked across the table to the floating 3D map of the solar system in question. The star, now called Beta by most, was known for two centuries as PSR-1321. It took the Voyager 25 probe, using 21st century technology, that long to arrive close enough to get a good look at it. Once the ancient signal made its way across space, back to the listening stations on Titan, it made a cold war suddenly very hot.

        “Lies,” Alan Churchill said from a slightly delayed Luna colony transmission. “They scrambled to build their Ark ships. Our colonies will be functioning long before they can even sniff at Beta.”

        Cooper had listened for long enough.

        “We will never know. Let’s face reality for a moment. A few of you will sleep that journey away, but most of us will be long dead by the time this mission is complete.” Cooper stood up, pulled his suit tight before he paced. “Setting up the colonization project in this solar system, our solar system, has been an expensive enterprise. One we have provided as a service to humanity, considering the nature of things on Earth. But, Beta is like nothing humanity has ever attempted.”

        Cooper was a scientist and a military planner, thus the group was very interested in what he had to say. They sat silently waiting for him to continue. Cooper made a fist and hit the table softly for effect. “The violence of the Jupiter colonies is not isolated to a few moons, it is rampant. Mars may be safer, and the Titans like to think they are above it, but what little control we have is based on a simple fact. These colonists need Earth. They need you.”

        “Of course they do.” A board member grinned on a crackling delayed signal that came from elsewhere on Mars. The entire board nodded. Cooper resisted the urge to laugh at them. The fourth planet circling PSR-1321, a gas giant the size of Jupiter, was close enough to its star that several of its 90 moons were naturally fit for human life, with the right amount genetic altering and radiation medication.  

        “Europa, IO, and Luna all depend on your supplies, and their needs can be met,” Cooper continued. “But if you send an Ark ship across the galaxy to Beta, it is more than a leap of faith, the people who volunteer are not returning. What you have circling Jupiter is the wild west. Imagine what Beta would be like. No one thinks less of mercenaries than me, but they are the thin line between order and chaos out here. We need them. ”

        Cooper let his eyes linger on the Titan representative for a long moment. Everyone knew unrest was growing on their moon. Terra-forming was ahead of schedule, but not without a lot of sacrifice from an underpaid workforce.

        Cooper cleared his throat. “It is impossible to know what it will be like when humans make it to Beta. No matter what projects and models you make, it is a mystery. We don't even know what the people who get there will be like. They will have centuries to develop their technology and societies.”

        “Just say it, Cooper.” Nancy Willa, the powerful North American council member, always cut to the chase.

        “You need enforcers, the toughest in all the worlds.”

        Nancy crossed her arms. “You have a team in mind.”

        Cooper sat down. “I do indeed have candidates, and that is why I am here.”

        Shamel, the Martian councilor, rubbed his grey beard.

Cooper smiled. “I will let you all know when I have found the right team.” Cooper used his internal-net to cut the signal. The image of the meeting turned to a mist and scattered as if it was blow away by a breeze. Cooper walked to his hotel room window to look out at Cassini city. This was going to be an interesting test and he hoped he had guessed correctly.  

*

        In private conversation they came highly recommended, but no one would go on record with an endorsement. Their tendency for over the top cruelty gave them a bad reputation with the public on Mars, but in the industry they were legends. Retired General Cody Marvin walked to the edge of the command center in his flexible battle armor. He looked out at his compound, hands on his hips close to two gold plated tank-crusher magnums. At first glance, it looked like any other Martian ranch, but a closer look revealed its military readiness. The local constable looked the other way because Marvin struck fear into smugglers and kept them out of the wide-open northern Martian fields that he patrolled.  

         The Martian day was always duller than Earth, but you could see almost two klicks into the red fields. Cooper walked carefully behind him, still not used to the light gravity on Mars.

Marvin crossed his arms over his chest. “You won’t find a better deal.”

Cooper pulled off his sunglasses. “Money is not the issue.”

        The old man stood a little straighter. He was in rock solid shape despite his gray hair and wildly out of control eyebrows. He may be in his eighties, but Marvin was still a solid warrior with another twenty or thirty years of ass kicking in his future.

         “If your team can handle this security job, I can promise an even more lucrative project in a few years,” Cooper explained.

         “A test?”

         “Think of me as a recruiter.”

         “Is this job on Mars?”

         Cooper shook his head. Marvin put out his hand and Cooper handed him the reader pad with the contract. He scrolled through it. Too many words for a man like Marvin, he would just upload it to his net. His squad was known as the Red Lions. Most had been trained in the UN Special Forces and served in covert missions throughout the solar system. Twelve warriors re-designed and enhanced by bio-technological upgrades. Tough, mean, and ready for anything. Marvin didn't feel there was anything in the contract his men and women couldn't handle. Cocky bastard barely scanned it.

         Marvin signaled his net to begin uploading the contract. It was a big file.

         “Who are we protecting? Diplomat? Politician?”

         Cooper shook his head. “I would signal your men that the mission has begun.”

         Marvin didn't signal anyone, he was annoyed by Cooper. The scientist had expected this, all of it. Marvin was as predictable as a planet's orbit.  He stood over Cooper, looking down on him. His aging body was still imposing. Cooper considered pretending to show a slight amount of fear but decided against it.

         “Wait just a goddamn minute, who the hell are we protecting?”

         Cooper took a step back and smiled. “That would be you, General.”

         “What do you mean?”

         “Well, if you would read the contract, I hired the Red Lions to protect you.”

         Marvin threw the reading pad on the floor. “I won't sign it.” Marvin pointed at him. “What kind of game are you up to, Cooper?”

         Cooper walked around toward the window.

         “Future contracts are worth billions in credits, that's ‘–illions’ with ‘B.’ I need to know I am hiring the best team. So, I hired your competition to kill you.”

         Marvin pulled out a magnum and put it under Cooper's chin. Marvin triggered the power with his pinkie and the pistol hummed to life. The old General pulled the hammer back on the pistol with his thumb. He didn't have to, the pistol was automatic, but he was doing for effect.

        Cooper closed his eyes and feigned a flinch, waiting for the shot to come. It didn't. He opened one eye first. “OK, you’re angry. I deserve that. The reality is, your contract states that I have to stay alive for the transfer of credits.”

         The gun remained under Cooper's chin. “I didn't sign the contract.”

         “It's your right to refuse, but I should let you know that four other contractor teams have signed theirs.”

         Marvin's eyes tightened. “To kill me? Who?”

         “That is privileged information. I will tell you this, though. It took me a couple of months to track them down, but uh... you are pretty easy to find here on this beautiful estate.”

        Marvin lowered the pistol slightly. Sweat had formed on his brow. Cooper had to struggle to contain glee and laughter. This was turning out to be a fun game.

        “Frankly, General, I am surprised to see you so sacred.”

        “Sacred, ha.” Marvin squinted. “I'm not afraid of anyone.”

        “That's the spirit.” Cooper pumped his fist. “Nonetheless, I would really signal your men.”

         * *

         Cooper watched the Red Lions prepare their ranch for an assault. One of the soldiers manned a guard tower at the south edge of the ranch. They were almost fifteen miles from the nearest terra-forming generators, so the air felt thin by Earth standards. Nevertheless, there was still a breeze. Two men walked the south end of the fence. They wore breathing support tubes, but Mars was home and they knew how to fight in its light gravity and thin air. It was a great test. Not for the Red Lions, but for anyone who came to kill General Cody Marvin on his home turf.

         The north side of the ranch came up to the edge of a canyon. The edge provided security. Cooper monitored the cliff through a drone that sent private telemetry to his internal net. He watched Marvin controlling his own various drones and cameras at a terminal. It was obvious that the General didn't think the assault would come from the canyon wall. Normally, he would be right. It would take one crazy fuck to come through Gustin Canyon, where a series of pipes barfed out sewage and exhaust from Cassini city. The shit-laden wastewater traveled close to five hundred klicks before it festered at the base.

         Anyone who attacked from the north wall would have to navigate an ocean of filth, and then climb a rock face the length of Earth's tallest skyscrapers. Marvin considered it his most secure area. It wasn't the best view, but he lived with it for the peace of mind.

         Cooper could have told him that he detected movement up the side of the canyon, but if Marvin was as good as he thought he was, he should have spotted it himself. It had been almost a week since their initial meeting and Marvin had finally signed the contract. Ever since, he had been keeping his team juiced and walking the perimeter on a hair trigger. They were only allowed two hours of sleep, but that was not uncommon in the 23rd century military.

         Cooper zoomed the image in from his drone and saw the bodies coming up the wall. The canyon was deeper than anything like it on Earth. It would have been easy to miss them. Ten small dots were moving up the wall - fast. They were not climbing, but flying up, wearing some jet- or flight-suits. Cooper had a pretty good idea which of the hired teams would be this bold. He watched Marvin relaxing in his chair, ignorant to the fact that the enemy drew closer by the second.

         “Who the fuck do I have to intimidate to get some breakfast up here?”

         Marvin was joking, his two men working the command center hopped up, ready to serve him. They were explaining the types of sandwich bread they had when an alarm beeped inside all their internal nets. The tiny beep was enough to drive all activity to a standstill. Conversation halted as if the needle was pulled off a record.

         A single drone had tripped the signal, but four other drones cruised into the ranch in the small space below the front gate. There was no attempt to cloak the drones, no attempt to come in undetected. It was clear to Cooper this was a ploy.

         Would Marvin fall for it?

         “Drones airborne!” Marvin signaled over their internal intercom.

         I guess not. Cooper almost laughed.

         The drones circled each other. As alarms went off, each soldier launched their personal drones. A Red Lion drone exploded, shaking the compound. A moment later, the nickel-sized nuclear reactor powering one of the attacking drones exploded. Flames descended on the ranch, animals screamed, soldiers ran through the chaos trying to put out fires. The drones still buzzed, chasing each other like flies competing for a fresh pile of horse shit.

         Cooper's drone was a mile above the fight. He directed it back to the north to zoom in on the canyon wall. A Red Lion solider looked down the wall and saw the assault team coming up at high speed. Before he could raise his rifle, pieces of his brain and skull blew out the back of his head. As his body fell, the assault team came over the wall and someone grabbed him by his flack jacket. With a heave, he spun the dead man around and back over the side. They didn't wait around to hear the splash.

        The leader of the invading team kept his helmet and flight-suit on, hiding his features as he moved into the swirling chaos with a handgun in each hand. The other members of his team followed with automatic rifles. The leader avoided a trip wire, but the next mercenary clicked it. Before the cameras spun to the scene, all ten invaders had hidden out of sight.

 Well done, Cooper thought and smiled.

         An alarm sounded inside the Red Lions' net.

         “We have penetration on the north wall!” Marvin barked in the intercom. Shouting like this in combat was clear sign that he had lost his focus.

 But Marvin had detected them quickly. Maybe he wasn't clueless.

         The leader of the invading team picked up his pace and ran into the smoke. He slid under the gunfire and fired back. With both guns blazing, the man cut through the smoke and landed perfect head shots on two more Red Lions. General Marvin's jaw lowered slightly.

         “Nick Jarvis.” The General spoke in a whisper, and then shouted the name again, “Nick fucking Jarvis!”

         Cooper suppressed laughter. He hadn't known which team would strike first, but he had bet good credits that it would be Nick Jarvis’s Goddamn Killing Machines, the last to sign the contract. Even if the General hadn’t screamed their leader’s name, their identity would have been clear from the buckets of sweat draining off of him. The General’s confidence melted like butter in a microwave, and no one else could inspire such fear.

         “Call him off,” Marvin whispered.

         “Excuse me?” asked Cooper.

         “You fuckin' heard me.” Marvin cringed as they heard gunfire and screams getting closer. “Call him off. He wins.”

         Cooper twitched, surprised. “Not yet he hasn't. General, are you giving up so easy? I thought your men were the best.”

         Gunfire pulled their attention back to the monitor. Jarvis came up behind Simmons, a muscled, genetically engineered man twice his size. Jarvis jumped on his back and squeezed his wrist, causing the large man to drop his rifle. In one motion, Jarvis threw the larger man back toward another GKM, who stabbed him. They kept moving like this, like clockwork.

         For Cooper, it was breathtaking to watch.

 Marvin clenched his teeth. Simmons was the strongest man under his command. Marvin used his net to launch the last dozen drones he had. His net lagged and his head ached from trying to control them all.

         The drones launched over the ranch. Their machinegun fire crisscrossed in every direction. The GKMs had to scramble and fire quickly before the drones’ on-board nuclear reactors had time to warm up. One after another, the drones exploded and crashed into each other. It rained fire, but General Marvin had a feeling the GKMs would survive. Somehow they always did.

         Cooper watched as the last of Marvin's drones scanned the smoldering ranch. The bodies of his men laid face down, burning away. Telemetry still sent back a few of their faint heartbeats, but he could smell the burning flesh even in the command center. Marvin looked closely at the read out. Butler and Miller were still alive, barely, and waiting for the right time to spring into action.

         Cooper walked to the observation window and waved Marvin over. One at a time, the Goddamn Killing Machines came out of hiding and closed in on the command center. They carried their guns at the ready. Marvin shook his head and signaled his remaining drone.

        The drone sped toward the invaders. The largest attacker stepped forward and threw away his mask and helmet. Cooper recognized him from the intel files immediately. Jamal Garay jumped and plucked the drone out of the air and spun it around like a hammer before letting go.

         The drone sputtered and failed to fix its course before it spun into the observation window. The glass shook and spider webbed in front of them. Marvin flinched and put up his hands, while Cooper didn’t so much as twitch. Marvin threw him a suspicious look.  

         A merc joined Jarvis at his side. From her figure in the combat suit, Cooper knew it was Amanda Eden. They walked toward the command center, a little too confident.

 Despite the flames burning on his combat suit, and the massive pain suppressors flying through his system, Butler was awake and waiting directly in their path.

         Marvin relaxed, knowing Butler, a trusted soldier who he had commanded for a dozen years, would settle this.

         “Watch!” Marvin pointed at a monitor.

         Eden stopped, pointed. Jarvis fired. Butler flatlined.

 Marvin winced as Miller, his last soldier, rose out of the flames and pointed a handgun. Lit like a match head, he fired wild at Jarvis. Eden aimed her pistol and neatly placed a single bullet between the burning man's eyebrows. Marvin punched the counter.

         One after another, the life signs and the camera feeds disappeared. As the drones’ signals disappeared as well, Cooper realized the Goddamn Killing Machines would be done in time to get breakfast in Cassini City. Marvin turned to Cooper and pointed his magnum.

         “Call them off.”

         “I can't.”

         Marvin fired. Cooper’s hologram disappeared and the bullet exploded in the wall. “Son of bitch!” Marvin looked around. “Where the fuck are you?”

 Safe in his Cassini hotel room, Cooper kept his video link running and watched the events play out.

          Marvin looked around for the holo-phone projector. He had thought the man was real. He shook his hand. He had felt his barrel under the man’s chin. Had he always been a fake? The window exploded inward. Nick Jarvis flew into the third story, then cut off the jets on his flight-suit and landed perfectly. He fired both pistols. Marvin dived and fired his magnum. Jarvis turned and the bullet lodged in his pack. He felt the tiny reactor inside getting hot. He flipped it off and threw the pack at the work station where Marvin hid.

        The explosion masked Marvin's screams.

         Cooper watched invisibly from his half-broken holo-phone link. Marvin's legs were blown apart and looked like a spilled plate of spaghetti. He dragged his torso towards the door, leaving behind a trail of blood and bone. Nick Jarvis opened the faceplate on his helmet and stood over the injured man pointing both pistols.

         “I'll double it.” Marvin choked on blood as he begged.

         “I doubt you'll live long enough for that,” said Jarvis. “Besides, you know better, Marvin. That only invites chaos. The last thing I need is every fucking target playing ‘let’s make a deal.’”

         Marvin was about to beg. Jarvis squeezed the trigger. He immediately received an e-mail with notification of full payment. Jarvis looked around the room. He didn't know who paid him, but he understood that who ever it was watched this execution. Jarvis saluted.

        Cooper cut the signal completely. He sat back in his chair and shook the ice floating in his whiskey. He knew he had found the perfect maniacs for the job.