Orders of Battle (Frontlines, #7)

by Marko Kloos

I try to think about what would happen if we got an incursion alert right now. Our contingency plan still calls for all personnel to report to the nearest Corps facility to stand by for emergency deployment. I’d probably get moved to a podhead detachment on a Fleet unit somewhere, to get ready for surface action against the invasion spearheads, just like we have been practicing for half a decade now. But it would be a purely reactive action. I’d be suiting up in armor, yanked from a desk job into battle preparations without warning, tossed into a line unit with unfamiliar troops, people I’ve never trained or deployed with. And I realize that I am not prepared for war, even though I’ve kept my marksmanship skills honed and my body in fighting shape. I’m not prepared for war because I’ve let myself pretend that the fight is as good as over, that a desk job and three meals a day from a chow hall buffet are going to be my normal state for the rest of my days in uniform.