A Hero

by Stephen Arseneault

  "We're at war, sir. Just trying to stay prepared."

  "Did you not hear the captain last night? We're expecting a twenty-four-hour notice before the hostiles arrive. That pack is likely just to be a burden today."

  I nodded. "I'm expecting as much, sir." I leaned in. "And how much do you trust we get that kind of notice?"

  The lieutenant stood in thought for several seconds before turning to the group coming up to us. "You Marines return and get your packs. We will stay at the ready!"

  The group grumbled as they turned around.

  I said, "We can't leave things to chance, sir. This is war and we have to be prepared if we want to be on the winning side at all times."

  The lieutenant scurried back into the warehouse for his own set of gear.

  Max was standing beside me, his pack hanging on his shoulders. "He hasn't been in a fight yet. Most of the Marines here have yet to see action. That makes us the wise ones."

  "Sad, but true."

  We marched into town. The streets were deserted. Residents peeked out through windows, many of which were being boarded up. We took over the storefronts around the town square and began our defensive conversion.

  — Chapter 22 —

  * * *

  We spent the morning welding steel together. A transport had flown in two stacks of meter-square plates from a factory several hundred kilometers away. Given the lack of instruction and aid coming from command, I thought we were lucky to have them. It seemed they had dumped us at Bigguns because it was a just large enough town for them to hear complaints. A thousand fewer inhabitants and command might have left them on their own.

  Hayden, with his broad, strong shoulders, was a steel moving machine. He took the one-hundred-kilogram plates as a challenge. I don't think I had ever seen a man sweat so much in my life. Richland was a hot and muggy place.

  Sheila finished a weld and looked up to see Hayden hauling another plate across the town square. "That is just impressive. When the shooting starts, I want him in front of me."

  I returned a half smile. "I'd have thought the two of you would have gotten together by now."

  "Me? Him? I don't see that happening at all. I'm a chaser. I like chasing men. Usually that's men who want nothing to do with me. I take it as a challenge. Something to overcome. He's a chaser too. If we caught each other... all I can envision is massive boredom. We'd be great friends, but the couples' thing will never happen."

  Sheila looked behind us at the other men working in the building. "Max is the one I can't figure out. I've made a few advances, just to see if I could get a reaction, and he's given no response... at all. I don't know if he's repulsed by me or intimidated. That drives me crazy."

  I chuckled. "Maybe a little of both."

  Sheila turned with a sarcastic smirk. "Thanks. That helps."

  Captain Rascoe came into the storefront we occupied, eyeballing the defensive barrier we were piecing together. "Looks good. What do we have, another half hour or so?"

  Sheila nodded. "Sounds about right, sir."

  "Captain," I asked, "is defending from here our only strategy?"

  "I think it's a good effort given our surroundings. You have something on your mind?"

  "Well, sir, maybe a squad on each side of the town, up on the hills. We don't want them to pin us in here even though this place is looking like a fortress. Might be a good idea to have a few rovers out there to keep things in balance."

  "Being up on those hills would expose any rovers to an air assault."

  "Forgive me if I'm wrong, Captain, but I don't see these old buildings being much protection from an air assault either. When we busted into a few of these walls, there was wood framing."

  "Hence the steel plates, Sergeant. But I've had a thought or two similar to what you're suggesting. I'll mull it over."

  "That's all anyone could ask, sir."

  The captain moved on to inspect the next building.

  Hayden set one of the steel plates down beside us with a thud. He flexed his arms for Sheila before wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Nothing like a good morning exercise."

  Sheila shook her head. "Yeah. Something to make you need a shower."

  Hayden winked before heading back out for another plate. The two Marines behind us struggled to move the plate into place for a weld.

  The morning soon turned into afternoon. The barriers were up. The supplies were in place. The only thing left to do was wait.

  The captain returned. "Sergeant, we'll go with your suggestion. Take your squad and man the east ridge. I'll be assigning another to the west. Your mission, when the Togmal arrive, is to see they stay near those two center streets. Think of yourselves as the sides of the funnel."

  I nodded. "I think it's a wise move, Captain. What rations should we take with us?"

  "Rations? Take your squad up for a recon first. We have time. When you're done, just meet the rest of us at the warehouse."

  The captain turned, "Listen up. Form up outside. We're heading back to the warehouse until our enemies are on the way. And it gets warm in that building during the day, so keep yourselves hydrated. Now fall out!"

  My squad comprised of me and seven others. The captain sent a similar unit to the hill on the west side. He mentioned giving each squad a single skink missile. I wondered if my suggestion would be a help or a hindrance to our survival.

  The hill on the east side was too steep for a climb. We walked for a kilometer to reach a trail that would take us to within a few hundred meters of the center of town. The Richland sun was beating down hard. I gulped the water in my camel-pack, suddenly realizing I was out. We were close to the warehouse and a fresh supply, but I did not like being vulnerable should an attack come.

  I shoved my drinking tube back into my pack. "Let's get this recon done and get back. I'm out of water and I know several of you are too. We should try not to put ourselves in such a potentially catastrophic situation."

  Max repeated, "Captain said at least a twenty-four-hour warning."

  "This is war." I turned. "Hayden, you, Max, Layla, and Sam take that end of the ridge. We're looking for anywhere that will give us sighting down below and cover from above. I know these trees are sparse, but we may have to use them. Sheila, you, Mitch, and Clark come with me."

  As we walked our end of the ridge, Sheila began her usual banter. "Clark? Who gives their kid that name anymore? That is way old-school."

  Clark grinned. "It's unique, it's strong, and it shows intelligence. At least that's what my mamma always told me."

  We had only been walking for a minute when Hayden opened a comm. "Sarge, I think we have a spot. Has trees on the backside and a meter-high ridge of rock on the front. We add netting and we should be invisible from the air."

  "We'll be right there."

  The place was what I had hoped for. The only problem was its location. Should an advance come from the south end of town we would be in prime position. If from the north, we were almost too far.

  "This is a good find. We'll come back in the morning and secure it. Darkness will be here soon, let's hit the other end, collect the others, and make our way back to base."

  We mulled over two locations with the final selection going to a stand of trees. Again, we would be reliant on netting to mask our position, but netting was something we had in abundance.

  When we reached the warehouse, I felt relief at seeing a sonic shower was up and operational. The line for its use stretched back fifty meters as the captain ordered everyone to go through. With the humidity and temperature of the Richland day, we were all in dire need of sanitary care.

  After a meal, we settled on our bedrolls. A loud rattle followed by a bang had us sitting up and alert.

  Hayden stood, looking toward the back of the building. "Tell me that wasn't what I think it was."

  Sheila replied, "Air conditioner?"

  Hayden turned and looked down. "I just told you not to tell me."

  I gestured toward his bedroll
. "Not much we can do about it."

  Hayden removed his chest, shoulder, and thigh protectors. The clasps holding on his forearm and shin protectors came off too. He laid down on his back, closing his eyes.

  Sheila chuckled. "You're gonna be all comfy... until the rats find you."

  "There are no more rats. We killed them all."

  Sheila leaned close. "You tell yourself that as they gnaw on your neck." She used a fingernail to make a light scratch.

  Hayden opened a single eye. "If you're determined to keep a man awake, at least give him something to be awake for."

  Sheila laid back on her bedroll. "Your mind is always in the gutter, Haymaker. Someday a heavy cleansing rain is gonna come and wash you away."

  "If it warms up like I think it will, I may wish for that rain tonight."

  An hour later, applause rolled through the warehouse as the air unit came back on. We slept through the night only to wake in the morning to a loud clanging on the exterior of the building. We ate chow, packed, donned our gear, and marched into the already warming sunshine of Richland.

  As we approached downtown, my squad split to the east as another split to the west. We brought netting and supplies that would last us several days. When we reached the two sites we had settled on, we stretched netting between the trees and took rest in the partial shade.

  Hayden was leaning against a tree. "Other than the heat, this isn't such a bad deployment."

  I wiped a few beads of sweat from my forehead. "Too humid."

  Hayden chuckled. "You're sweating already? Must be out of shape."

  "I used to run all day as a kid. Never broke a sweat. I think four years on Baxter ruined my body's ability to cool itself. Was always a struggle to stay warm out there."

  Sheila said, "Baxter was a terror. I can't imagine what Echelon was like."

  "Five minutes of exposure and your skin freezes. I got caught outside when the Togmal attacked."

  Sheila turned. "I never heard that story. Tell."

  I relayed the events of that day to my team. Chuckles and high-fives followed when I told of spitting on the dead Togmal's face. It was an event I hadn't thought about since losing Denise. I lost interest in joking about the situation when thoughts of her demise entered my mind.

  I was slipping into another funk when an alert came over our comms. The Togmal were coming.

  We scrambled with last-minute checks before realizing we had another twenty-four-hours until their arrival. Having to wait while knowing they were coming was both irritating and unnerving. Orders came for us to camp in place for the night.

  Hayden took a sip from his camel-back. "Already missing my air conditioning. Be ripe in this suit by the time they get here—gonna think we're a bunch of barbarians."

  Sheila huffed. "The only thing they'll be thinking is 'crap... I'm dead.' That will at least be their last thought before my plasma bolts explode their heads."

  Max asked, "What do you think they are like? I mean, families? Jobs? What kind of culture do they have?"

  Sheila stared. "You wonder too much, Maxy. Last thing you want to do is develop empathy for an enemy you have to kill."

  "Not saying I want to like them or anything. I just wonder what they are about. Why are they attacking? Has to be a reason."

  "The reason is they are dumb-insane-aliens."

  I said, "Get some shuteye the both of you. When they hit the ground there is no telling when we'll sleep next."

  The night seemed long, but peaceful. I couldn't sleep. The telling of my adventure back on Echelon had Denise and Pea in the forefront of my thoughts. I was just dozing off when an alert came over our comms. The Togmal were getting close.

  The battle in space raged as our fleet engaged. We expected their forces to be on the ground in an hour. The initial reports announced the fighting was fierce.

  — Chapter 23 —

  * * *

  I kicked Hayden's boot to wake him.

  He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "You ruined an awesome dream. I was in this bar, surrounded by women—"

  Sheila smirked. "Now we know it was a dream."

  Hayden turned. "Shut your pie-hole, Getz."

  I interrupted. "In case the two of you slept through that alert, we have incoming. The fighting is happening out in space right now."

  Hayden nodded. "I think we both heard. Just trying to occupy our minds while we still have that luxury."

  "Get yourselves fed, watered, and evacuated. You won't want to be stopping for a squat when this all gets started."

  Hayden looked down at the town as he raised his hand. "Excuse me, Togmal. Could you hold up a sec? I gotta go pinch a loaf."

  Sheila shook her head. "I bet he would do it too."

  I pointed two fingers in their direction. "Take care of your business."

  We had been sitting, staring down at the town when the first of the black ships plunged through a cloud. Clark held up a skink missile, arming its warhead as the launch-tube sat on his shoulder. A pair of gunships were heading toward us.

  Clark coordinated with the other squad, "Jeff. Clark. I have the one to our side."

  "Got it. Firing in five... four... three... two... one. Away."

  The skink under our control hissed as it jetted from our position. The gunship to the east cut away hard, but not in time. Clark's missile hit it center mass, turning the small ship into a fireball as it plummeted to the ground. The other skink only clipped a wingtip. It was a wingtip that had little use other than for decoration as gravity drives held the vessel in the air.

  The gunship turned hard again, circling around and obliterating the other squad as they scrambled to separate. We remained frozen, hidden under our camouflage netting. A third skink shot up from the town, destroying the gunship as it crossed above town toward our position.

  Sheila pumped a fist in the air. "Take that scumbags!"

  The next ship dropping through the clouds was a frigate. We were all on edge as a half dozen skinks zipped up from the town... with only one missing. The other five made hard contact, but the frigate continued to come.

  Max shook his head. "This is bad."

  The remaining skinks dashed up from below, impacting the Togmal warship head-on. Flames and smoke shot from its sides. Debris skipped away from where the ship's bridge had once been. The seventy-meter-long ship fell from the sky at the same instant it reached the outskirts of town. Smoke, flame, dirt, and building debris shot into the air as the downed ship skidded through town.

  Sheila stood. "No! No! No!"

  The expanding, tumbling remains of the Togmal frigate rolled through the downtown area like a plow through a field. When the pieces and parts came to a rest, the town square was in shambles. Not a wall over a meter in height remained.

  I took Sheila by the arm and pulled her down. "This isn't over yet."

  Two transports came in along the same glide-path as the gunships. They passed over the town, landing on the north side near our warehouse. Ramps deployed and two full companies of Togmal warriors hustled out onto the ground and into formation. The four Marines left in charge of the warehouse charged out with their blasters firing.

  Dozens of plasma rifles fired at once with several seconds of chaos following. I wanted to run to their aid, but we were too far. I took the binoculars from my pack and scanned the town. Somehow, there were at least a dozen of our Marines who had survived. I looked back at the Togmal to see one company of their warriors charging at our remaining fighters while the other company marched toward the town.

  Sheila was looking through binoculars of her own. "We have to do something, Sarge. If only for the townsfolk."

  I nodded. "Let's move to the other location. From there we do what we can to stop their advance."

  I opened a general comm as we ran toward the other site we had set up. "Anyone down in the town. You have a full company of Togmal coming your way. Put together a defense or get yourselves out of there."

  Several replies came back. "Who is this?
"

  "Sergeant Jackson. We're up on the east hill."

  "Jackson, this is Davis. Tell me what you see."

  "Maybe a hundred fifty Togmal just entering the north end of town. The warehouse is being overrun. Hold up... I confirm. They overran the warehouse. Looks like about another hundred twenty lining up. I would suggest you make your way out the south end of town and up onto this ridge. We'll try to defend from here where we have an advantage."

  Lieutenant Davis was silent for several seconds. "No can do, Sergeant. We have wounded and I'm not abandoning these people."

  I wanted to argue, but the side of me that cared, the side that had empathy for our Marines and the civilians trapped in the town below, made me hold my tongue. "Lieutenant, we're taking a position on the north end of the east ridge. You'll see our plasma fire coming down any second. Come toward the east side if possible. We'll do our best to protect you from up here."

  "Moving east. And say your prayers, Sergeant. I don't think the situation will get any better than it is right now."

  We took position near our north hideout, flipping our video scopes up as we laid down, assuming sniper positions. Max was the first to let loose a burst. Three Togmal fell before the others scattered, seeking cover. Over the next hour another twenty-seven Togmal were killed. We had the rest pinned down. Just below us, I could see the lieutenant helping to move the wounded, both Marines and civilians, into a large square home.

  Hayden turned his binoculars to the north. "We have trouble coming."

  I rolled to that side for a look. "Two platoons from that second company? Why didn't we see them split off?"

  "They came from that second transport."

  I glanced over my shoulder. "Clark. You and Mitch move down to that boulder. See if you can slow them down while we figure this out. Sam, I want you and Layla to recon the back of this hill. I want a path out of here should we need it, and I want to know if we could circle around behind those platoons for a flanking maneuver."

  Clark nodded. "Got it."