Today, however, the main subject of conversation among the assemblage was not who could shoot better or faster, or even who was ahead on the betting, but rather the unscheduled holo call from Legion Headquarters.
Military units, even more than corporate offices, are vulnerable to rumors, and the Omega Mob was no exception. The fact that no one knew for sure what had been said in the call only-added to, rather than dampened, the speculation.
Some thought their commander was being court-martialed … again. Of course, there had been no new activity which would trigger such an action, but there were aspects of their normal modus operandi which would be vulnerable to various degrees of legal discouragement were they known to the authorities, either civil or Legion.
Yet another faction was guessing that their commander was about to be transferred to another unit-a thought which generated a certain amount of terror among those Legionnaires willing to consider the possibility seriously. While the company was now a cohesive unit, and the individuals within it genuinely cared for each other, there was no doubt in any of their minds that their captain was the one who first brought them together and they feared for the repercussions if he were lost to them.
“Do you really think they’ll send the captain to another unit?” one of the Legionnaires fretted, idly splintering chips off his now-empty plastic glass.
His companion grimaced, dangling his feet in the pool. “Sure they will. They assigned him to us as punishment, didn’t they? Well, now that things are getting turned around, they’re bound to pull him for another assignment.”