“Just make sure you’re not lost in the shuffle, Master Sergeant. You’re the only friend I’ve got left on this world.”
“Don’t worry about me, Porter. Get some rest, I’ll see you this evening.”
“Roger that,” I said.
Money left the structure and closed the door. I fell back on the bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Chapter 32
I woke up in mid-afternoon when a Sergeant named Sands pounded on the door to my structure. Staggering to my feet and fighting the pain in my neck, I opened the door to find the fully armored sergeant starting at me.
“You Porter?”
“Yes, Sergeant,” I replied.
“Captain Rigel wants to see you.”
“Alright,” I said.
Sands waved for me to go in front of him with his rifle, which felt strange to me, like I was being treated as a hostile prisoner when I had done nothing wrong.
“What’s with the firepower, Sergeant?” I asked.
“Just doing my job, Private. Keep walking and we won’t have any trouble.”
“Are you expecting trouble from me?”
“More walking, less talking,” Sands grumbled.
We reached the Command Post, and I stepped inside. The air was cool. The gentle hum of electronics filled the air. I could hear the soft chatter of the communications team in the next room responding to radio traffic. Captain Rigel was pacing. He looked tired.
“You wanted to see me,” I said, coming to attention.
“At ease, Private,” Rigel ordered. “You’ve dropped a real load of crap in my lap. But I suppose that’s what you intended all along.”
“Excuse me, sir?” I asked, genuinely surprised.
“We might have all been better off if Private Wilkes was still a prisoner in the Vena camp,” he exclaimed. “Of course I don’t mean that, Porter, but she’s very insistent. Damn the Military Intelligence and all their little minions. Life would be so much easier without their meddling in everything.”
“That’s above my pay grade,” I said.
“Yes, of course it is. Well, I can’t worry about you, Porter. I have bigger fish to fry. We’ll sort all this mess out later. For now, you will await a shuttle to take you up to the Attila. I don’t want any trouble from you, Private. Is that understood.”
“Yes sir,” I said.
“Good. Just stay out of the way and let us finish this mission. I’m ready to leave this god-forsaken planet and never look back. Dismissed, Private.”
I saluted again, but Rigel didn’t even bother to look up. I left the cool Command Post with it’s climate-controlled air and was hit by the humid heat of the jungle. Sands led me away from the Command Post to a small canvas pavilion. There was a camp table set up and three small tents nearby. Gloria and Aurora were seated at the table. I couldn’t help but notice a pair of sentries nearby.
“Back together at last,” I said, carefully sitting down at the table.
“It looks like we’re in trouble, Orry,” Gloria said.
“Looks can be deceiving,” I replied. “Did you get some rest?”
“A little,” Gloria replied. “Captain Rigel interrogated me for nearly three hours.”
“Three hours? What on earth for?” I asked.
“Mostly about you,” Gloria admitted.
“Your CO doesn’t care for you,” Aurora added.
“I’m sorry,” I told them both.
We sat for a solid hour of awkward silence. The sentries ignored us. I don’t know if they were actually supposed to guard us, or if we were simply assigned a place near them by accident. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when I was taken back up to the ship in orbit. Would everything be worked out, or would I be locked in a detention cell? I had no way of knowing. I was just a Private First Class without much experience under my belt. To my way of thinking, I didn’t deserve to be punished, but Money had said that everything depends upon perception. If Rigel had his way, I would be courtmartialed and jailed. If the Fleet managed to get its gas without conflict, I might simply be shuffled off to another assignment. The worse fate I could think of would be to have my rank stripped away while I was sent to serve the rest of my enlistment period as a custodian on a far off space station.
The road crew transport returned early enough that I knew the path to the mountain had been cleared. I watched for any sign of Money among the Marines who disembarked the armored troop carrier, but didn’t see him. The sun went down, and three meals were brought to our little pavilion by Abe and a Marine in one of the infantry platoons. Abe joined us at the table and I still wasn’t sure if we were being detained or not.
“Must be nice to sit in the shade all day while the rest of us work,” Abe joked as soon as he sat down. “How’d you land this plush little spot?”
“We’re awaiting transport back up to the Attila,” I said.
“Our services are no longer needed,” Gloria added.
“Wish I could say the same,” Abe said. “We finished the road today, but I have a feeling we’ll be called on to do some other crazy project before you know it.”
“Ah, the life of an engineer,” I said. “I guess infantry isn’t looking so bad now, is it?”
“If I’m going to be shot at anyway...” Abe said.
“Were you under fire?”
“The last few days there was fighting off and and on,” Abe said. “Master Sergeant Eubanks was arguing for sentries on the road, but I don’t think the CO approved his plan.”
“That sounds about right,” I said.
“For someone who’s fate lies in the hands of his superiors,” Aurora spoke up, “you are awfully brash, Porter.”
“Dang, Orry. What did you do to get her so angry?” Abe asked.
“I rescued her.”
“We rescued her,” Gloria spoke up. “Thank you very much.”
“That’s right,” I said. “We did.”
Aurora rolled her eyes. I got the impression that she was more angry about the situation than she was at me. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about Captain Rigel’s dismissal of her request to use the communications equipment, and I was an easy target for her anger.
“So you rescued her, and she hates you for it?”
“Aurora doesn’t hate anyone,” I said. “She’s just frustrated by Captain Rigel. We’ve all been there.”
“Roger that,” Abe said. “I’ve never worked so hard in my life. It made me long for a permanent assignment to Sergeant Steins PT squad.”
“That bad?” Gloria asked. “Really?”
“It’s awfully hard to work with spears and arrows flying past your head,” Abe said. “We couldn’t slow down, and Captain Rigel refused to give us enough protection. It was barely tenable.”
“But you did it, right?” Aurora said. “What happened to you three? No one liked Basic Training, but you complained a lot less.”
“No one was trying to kill us during Basic,” Gloria argued.
“Felt that way sometimes,” Abe joked.
“We’re on a vital mission,” Aurora said angrily. “We’re not just shoring up a river levy, or fending off a pack of carnivores on a colony world. The Fleet is depending on the IX gas that we are securing for them on this world. Without it, life as we know it will come to a grinding halt. I think that’s worth a little danger.”
“No one is dogging the mission,” I said.
“Perhaps, but you’re sure playing fast and loose with the parameters,” she countered.
“Hey, my mission was clear,” I argued. “Perhaps if your platoon had seen fit to be included with the rest of the Marines working together down here, things would be different. It was fortunate we were able to find you at all. You had no tracking beacon.”
“There’s a reason for that,” Aurora said. “You weren’t supposed to come after me.”
“That’s not what I was taught in Basic or Recon Training.”
“He’s right,” A
be said. “We don’t leave people behind.”
“Not even Military Intelligence,” Gloria added.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Aurora said. “This isn’t a training exercise. Lives are on the line.”
“And you think we don’t know that?” I said, suddenly angry, myself. “I saw my platoon mates slaughtered on this world, just finding out if there was IX gas here in the first place. I risked death a hundred times before your platoon ever stepped foot on the ground. Don’t lecture me about what’s at stake here.”
Aurora got up from the table and ducked inside one of the little tents. Abe looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
“Never knew what you saw in her, bro,” he said.
“It’s hero syndrome,” Gloria said. “Porter wants to save everyone.”
“Some people can’t be saved,” I grumbled.
The evening passed uneventfully. Abe went off to sell more contraband liquor. He would be playing cards late into the night, I guessed. Gloria was tired and turned in shortly after dinner. I sat at the table all alone, but I didn’t mind. It was almost midnight. I was contemplating turning in, myself, when a familiar figure appeared. I almost stood up and said his name, but Money walked right past the pavilion. I thought maybe he hadn’t seen me in the dark.
“What’s going on here?” Money said to the two sentries standing nearby.
“How’s that, Master Sergeant?” one of the men said.
“Neither of you have night gear on,” Money said sternly. “Do I need to write the two of you up?”
“No, Master Sergeant,” the other sentry said.
“Go get your night visibility insignia, and don’t let me catch you on duty without it again!” Money ordered. “If we come under attack, you’ll be shot to pieces by your own platoon.”
“But we’re not supposed to leave our post,” the first sentry said.
“I’ll watch it for you. Now move!”
The two sentries rushed away. Money watched them for a moment, then waved me over to him. He pulled off his Command Helmet and handed it to me.
“Go stash this in your tent,” he said. “Rigel is taking almost the entire camp to Mt. Zuko at first light. You three are still on suspension, which means you won’t be with us, but you’ll be able to listen to the Communications chatter via your helmet.”
“Thank you, Master Sergeant.”
“Yeah, well, you managed to give Rigel the upper hand despite carrying out your mission in spectacular fashion. Once he’s gained control of the volcano, he’ll see that you’re sent off to a post far away, where you can’t cause him more trouble.”
“Not a Recon assignment,” I said, feeling a sense of dread spreading through me.
“I wouldn’t think so,” Money said. “He’s a fool, but he’s in a position to hurt you, and we both know he won’t hesitate. One of these days, he’ll get what’s coming to him. You on the other hand, are going to be discarded like rubbish. I wish I could do more for you, Orry. I owe you, but right now this is the best I can do.”
“Think nothing of it, Master Sergeant. We’re alive, and that’s all I can ask for.”
“That’s a good attitude. Hang tight and be smart, Porter. We may find a way out of this mess yet.”
“Yes, Master Sergeant.”
“Now get out of sight before anyone sees what I’ve done.”
I hurried into the tent. I don’t know what Money told the sentries when they returned. Their voices weren’t loud and didn’t carry. Slipping on the Command Helmet, I laid back on the pallet that served as a bed and listened to the radio traffic. I didn’t like getting left behind, especially if Rigel was going to take control of the mountain where the gas was found, but at least I wouldn’t be left sitting in the dark. With the Command Helmet, I could keep tabs on what was happening, which was the next best thing to being there.
Chapter 33
An hour before dawn, the camp began to mobilize. I stayed in my tent, listening to the radio traffic between units on the tactical channel. Three infantry platoons were loaded into armored transports. A fourth transport carried supplies, along with a medical team. They were minutes from setting off through the jungle on the newly completed road when the Military Intelligence platoon arrived back in camp. Their presence threw a wrench in Captain Rigel’s highly orchestrated mobilization.
I wasn’t sure who was in the Command Post with Rigel and Lieutenant Parks, but their com-link picked up the entire conversation. I wasn’t in the room, but I could feel the tension.
“We are leaving... now, Lieutenant. That’s an order,” Rigel insisted.
“I don’t take orders from you, Eddy,” Parks said.
“Do not call me that,” Rigel said, sounding like a child. “I am your superior officer now, whether you like it or not.”
“Regardless, MI is outside your authority. I have orders to report the completion of my mission ASAP.”
“Fine, your platoon will stay here,” Rigel said.
“And so will the others. My people didn’t risk their lives for nothing. Let us call in the air strike, and when it’s over you can march to the volcano and plant your flag.”
“The airstrike is a last resort,” Rigel said. “Every second we waste gives the natives more time to prepare.”
“They’re savages,” Lieutenant Parks insisted. “Too busy fighting one another to form a resistance.”
“All the more reason not to bomb them to oblivion.”
“I’m calling Major Westmore. If you don’t wait, your entire force could be obliterated.”
I knew Captain Rigel well enough to know that he would never take orders from an officer of lower rank, but before he could leave the Command Post, someone announced that Major Westmore was on the Command channel. I instantly opened the channel on my helmet’s com-link.
“Captain Rigel, what is going on down there?” Westmore asked.
“We are ready to roll, Major. Three platoons in heavy armor and loaded for bear,” Rigel said. “We’ll have the volcano cleared of hostiles in a matter of hours. You can prepared the mining vessel for deployment.”
“Now, wait just one second,” Westmore said. “Is Lieutenant Parks back at the Base Camp?”
“I’m here, Major,” Parks said.
“What’s the status on your mission?”
“We’ve completed the mission sir. Three casualties, two KIA and one MIA.”
“Actually,” Rigel said. “That’s not exactly correct. One of my Recon specialists recovered Private Wilkes and escorted her back to the BC.”
“Outstanding. I’d like to meet that Marine, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“I agree, Major,” Rigel said. “Launch the airstrike now, before the natives catch wind of what were up to out there.”
“Well, that’s a problem,” Westmore said. “There’s another storm moving in. The bombers won’t be ready to fly until it passes.”
“So we wait,” Parks said.
“I don’t like that option either,” Westmore said. I could practically hear Rigel’s smile of smug superiority. “If the infantry platoons are ready to move in, I’m giving them the green light. Parks, take your platoon with them. Let’s get that mountain locked down.”
“Roger that, Major,” Rigel said.
“Sir,” Parks argued. “With all due respect, my people are special operators. Sending them in with the infantry is a waste of their skills.”
“Their Marines, Lieutenant. They’ll adapt. Stay in contact and we’ll launch air strikes as soon as it is possible, on an as needed basis. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Parks said.
“Good. God speed, gentlemen. And good luck.”
The line went silent, but on the tactical channel I heard Rigel say, “You heard the man. Let’s move out.”
I pulled the Command Helmet off and set it on my pallet. My back felt better than it had since getting shot. I crawled out of my tent and stood up, stretching.
�
��Have a good night, Porter?” Gloria asked.
“It was enlightening,” I said.
She gave me a quizzical look and I smiled. Aurora was up too, but sitting on the table. I was tempted to tell her that Lieutenant Parks was back, but I didn’t want to explain how I knew that information.
“Looks like the Captain isn’t wasting any time,” Gloria said, pointing out the transports.
I could see the big vehicles and several Marines lingering around them. More were inside the cargo areas. I was certain. I wished I was going with them. Somewhere, Money was getting ready to lead men into battle. It killed me to not be at his side.
“Well, well, well,” Abe said as he ambled up to where we stood. “I thought I was getting a day off, but someone has to babysit you three.”
“What are you babbling about?” Gloria asked.
“Captain Rigel is taking the infantry platoons to the volcano, and the armored platoon is driving. That leaves the engineers,” Abe said proudly. “We have been ordered to hold down the fort.”
“Do engineers even know how to fight?” I asked.
“Don’t judge us before you give us a whirl,” Abe said. “We might not look like much, but we can handle explosive ordnance like nobody’s business.” He turned to Aurora. “Speaking of explosive, your lieutenant really set the captain off when he showed up this morning.”
“Captain Parks is here?” Aurora said jumping to her feet. “I have to speak with him.”
“Well, actually I’ve got orders to keep the three of you here,” Abe said. “It’s not personal.”
“He needs to know what happened out there,” Aurora insisted. “It’s important.”
“I’ll radio to the LT, but I’m not making any promises.”
Abe headed off, and not long afterwards, the rest of the Marines loaded up on the transports which trundled away into the forest. I watched them go and felt absolutely worthless.
“Wish I was going with them,” Gloria said.
“Me, too,” I confessed.
“It doesn’t seem right to stay where it’s safe while others are taking risks. Not that I’m in a rush to get into a fight. I don’t want to ever be that scared again.”
Spartan Valor Page 18