“Let me get this straight General, you want me and my men to enter the portal?”

“Not alone, in partnership with the science team assigned to the fort. Central fort command wants us to explore how the pillars work, where they lead too, and if those points are static or if they can be changed. We need to identify any threats that might be on the other side.”

“We’re less than two months away from connection, General.” Colonel Maverick said. He was leader of the newly minted Ranger 10th Battalion, an experienced man whose still visible scars attested to his dedication to the job. His men and women had been selected from the ranks of ‘ranger qualified’ people in the military, but who had not yet been through RASP or the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. The 10th Battalion had just finished its RASP, when they had been assigned to McCintire’s command. It was all part of the US Government’s attempt to make each fort completely self-sufficient. Why exactly, John didn’t know. But it felt like they knew something he didn’t, and that made him uneasy.

“Yes, you and Dr. Rodney are going to need to coordinate on it.”

“Yes sir. Sir, this could have been a simple set of text orders. Why the visit?” John looked around the small, somewhat cramped office and sighed. He decided to finally take the chair the younger man had offered him, and they both sat.

“For the very reason we’re doing anything around here, Colonel. To protect humanity.” He sighed again, and closed his eyes. Leaning back in the comfortable, if cramped, arm-chair opposite the Colonel’s desk.

“Sir, that’s not really an answer. Sir.” John barked a laugh.

“Whenever I ask that question, that’s the response I get. So I’m afraid Colonel Maverick, you’re going to have to become comfortable with it.” The two men laughed and Maverick seemed to relax a bit. “Have you been out to one of the fire-bases yet?” Maverick shook his head, which John realized was understandable. He was responsible, until recently, for clearing out and securing the empty sections of the fort. Now though, those last few sections of the giant wall like fortress were occupied. Only in the last few days had the Colonel and his newly minted battalion of rangers been given any breathing room.

“Well, you should go. The stuff they have in those little fortresses are amazing. And I’m not entirely talking about the technical upgrades, though those are down right miraculous, mirroring the technological marvel that is the fort itself in some ways. They have force fields, in limited capacity, but they have them. They also have miniature versions of my command deck.” That got the Colonel’s eyebrows to rise slightly. The command deck rose above the entire fort, and was stationed at either the northern or southern entrance. It moved on rails that allowed the massive structure to move of its own accord along the top of the wall, and it had mounted on it enough firepower to put an old-fashioned battleship to shame. And then some.

“You know General Greaves?” The colonel nodded. “Well, he said those little forts out there? When we put them down, they were obsolete.” That really got the Colonel’s attention. “Whatever Greaves and the other DC eggheads are cooking up, it’s big.”

“Do you think that’s why we have had such limited communication from them, sir?” John thought about that. They had regular, if terse, communication with command. John had sent Greaves several messages through private and official channels, but none of them had been returned. The only ones that were returned were directly related to an ongoing mission. Usually flight itinerary for civilians, or additional last minute military personnel added to John’s command. It wasn’t all that strange, but it sounded more like war time than it did regular administrative communications.

“Possibly.” I hope so, John thought. “Greaves has always been a mission focused person.” While that was true, John also knew Greaves better than that. He was mission oriented, sure, but the man never missed an opportunity to talk shop or socialize whenever possible. Which made John even more uncomfortable than he admitted to Maverick. No need to get the Colonel all bothered about a little miscommunication between generals.

“Well sir, once my men have a bit of time for R and R, this week, we’ll be ready to tackle whatever is through that portal. I’ll get with Dr. Rodney today and we’ll start making plans and assignments.” John smiled. He knew what the man was after, he had been hard charging from even before he was under John's command. Maverick was in line for a bit of R and R himself.

“Your men aren’t on active assignment right now, with the 307 having finished setting up shop at the far end of the fort. Take the week, meet with Dr. Rodney after. There’s no immediate rush on this. Just have plans ready before the connection pillar activates. I expect reports every other day on your progress, and the final assignments on my desk no later than two weeks before. Understood?” Maverick smiled from ear to ear. The scar on his face seemed to disappear in the unfamiliar gesture.

“Yes sir.”