Up From the Depths: Book 4 Movement to Contact

by J. R. Jackson

  “This isn’t your fault. You’re not perfect, I know that,” she said taking a moment to compose herself. “You’ve seen it. Now get your ass behind the wall,” she said. Martin looked at his wife, behind the anger was concern. Concern for his safety. He shook his head.

  “Babe, I know what I’m doing,” he said. “This is something that I take full responsibility for.”

  “I take full responsibility for you,” she said, stepping closer and grabbing his arm. “You gave me that responsibility when you made me the commander of the Home Guard. Without you, all this…” she gestured to the wall and the soldiers. “Wouldn’t have happened. This place would have collapsed and been overrun like all the other cities. If it wasn’t for you, Me, Rocky, and Michelle, this city wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has.”

  Martin knew she was partially correct. Several of the residents in town looked at him with awe. Somehow they thought he had done all this work himself. That he had somehow persuaded the Special Forces group to come to Cascade and create a massive firebase. That was far from the truth. It was only through a strange set of circumstances that events had worked out the way they had. He had very little to do with it but somehow, his persona, that of a great leader, had penetrated throughout the city and he was looked upon as someone akin to a god.

  Martin finally nodded. The best people to look over this area would be the combat engineers that Colonel Carter had brought with him when they evacuated Joint Base Lewis/McChord. They had the experience, training, and equipment to make sure this didn’t happen again. Christie pulled him towards the jeep and he reluctantly followed. He knew that he would mentally berate himself for this event but he also knew that he wasn’t perfect and in this instance, no one had been killed but substantial ordnance had been expended. Mistakes happen and this was a relatively minor one. But, that wouldn’t always be the case and he knew it. He climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep as Smiley climbed into the back and the three of them drove back to the gates of Cascade in silence.

  “If something were to happen to you,” Christie said as they entered the gates. “The people here would lose hope.” She glanced over at him then returned her attention to the road as several other vehicles including one of the engineers’ RHINO special purpose vehicles rolled out the gate.

  “I don’t think you realize that the citizens here think you and Rocky can walk on water,” she said. “To hear the people talk,” she shook her head before continuing. “You and Rocky single-handedly saved each and every one of them. Without your wall, your planning, your…whatever, all this...” she paused, gesturing to the walls, the fields, and the city in general. “You’re like the second coming to them. I swear, some of these people look at us at some kind of divinity. To hear some of them talk about us, we’re like the holy trinity, you, me, and Rocky.”

  Martin was silent as they drove to City Hall and parked. Most of the people they passed on the streets stopped and watched them drive past before returning to whatever they were doing. At the top of the steps was Mike Ackley, Christie’s second in command of the Home Guard and a member of their MAG. The three of them climbed the steps to the second floor meeting room and entered, Ackley following.

  “What do we know?” Ackley asked as soon as the door closed.

  “We know that the infected found the old shooting ravine and used it to get close to our perimeter,” Martin said. Ackley reached up and twirled one end of his mustache. Christie knew he did this when was nervous or contemplating something important, or both.

  “Right. But we stopped them butt cold,” Ackley finally said.

  “We did. This time,” Martin agreed. “And the engineers are working on making sure that avenue of approach is no longer available.”

  Ackley pursed his lips and nodded slowly. The room was silent as the men thought of other ways to counteract a massive wave of infected getting that close to Cascade again. A look of realization hit each man at the same time; they turned to look at each other.

  “We need something more than infantry weapons. Something more decisive,” Martin said.

  “How could we have missed that?” Smiley asked.

  “The King,” Ackley said after several moments of contemplation, his eyes moving to study the map of the area on the wall of the old city council chamber. “When he speaks, there is no other discussion.”

  Martin looked at that same map as did Smiley with a glint in his eyes.

  “Elevated positions,” Martin said with a grin that threatened to form into a smile.

  “Oh yeah, 105s or 155s,” Smiley said. “Maybe even some battlefield buckshot if we’re lucky”.

  “Control the high ground, control the battle space,” Ackley, the former US Marine NCO said.

  Christie watched the exchange between the three prior service members. It was like they knew what the other was thinking and they spoke in short sentences and terms that for the most part, were alien to her.

  “Its not too late to get the forage team at Lewis to start looking,” Smiley said.

  “Bet they never cracked the igloos at the ASP,” Ackley said.

  “Safe bet,” Martin said. “I’ll run it by the colonel.”

  “There’s a few retired DAGBYs here plus what the green beanies might have with them. I’ll round ‘em up and see what we can put together,” Ackley said.

  The three men looked at each other then headed for the door leaving Christie standing there and somewhat confused as to what the conversation had been about. The next time, and there would be a next time, the infected tried to breach the walls of Cascade; they would be met by something that few who encountered it had ever survived.

  ***

  End of Book 4

  As you know from reading this book, and hopefully, the series, there are a lot of terms and abbreviations used within that can be confusing. The initial idea was to add in these items as footnotes but for epub versions those take the reader out of the story and can be quite a nuisance. The other idea was to insert the definition/meaning of those terms and abbreviations within the section that they occur. That may work for some of the shorter terms but there are some definitions that are quite lengthy and would also take the reader out of the flow of the story.

  It was finally decided to add a glossary at the end of the epub books that contained a comprehensive list of all the definitions for the terms and abbreviations used within the entire series.

  Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations

  201: The military numerical designation for an individual’s personal file that details everything they have done while in the military.

  1114: Numerical designation for the 1114 Armored HMMWV (Hummer).

  ABU: Airman Battle Uniform. The US Air Force ground combat uniform.

  AC-130 SPECTRE: A conversion of the C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft that is equipped with a 105mm Howitzer cannon (the largest operational gun ever placed in an aircraft), a 40 mm BOFORS automatic cannon, and 25 mm Gatling guns. The aircraft has been nicknamed “Spooky”. The airborne gunship concept has been in use since the Vietnam War era. The most recent upgraded version is equipped with a television sensor, infrared sensor, and radar. These sensors allow the gunship to visually or electronically identify friendly ground forces and targets in most weather conditions and can even detect spark plugs firing in vehicles. The gunship squadrons are part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a component of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). See SOCOM.

  ACE: Ammunition, Casualties, Equipment. An ACE report is similar to a SITREP (Situation Report) as it lets command know the combat status, i.e., readiness of a unit after contact with a hostile force, what their remaining ammunition level is, status of equipment, and any casualties that unit may have sustained. See SITREP.

  ACH: Army Combat Helmet. Replaced the Kevlar ‘K-pot’ or “Fritz’ Helmet.

  ACU: Army Combat Uniform. The successor to the BDU and Army Desert Pattern BDU (DCU). Features design changes and a new cam
ouflage pattern known as Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP). A blending of tan, green, and gray allegedly to work better in more environments. Similar to MARPAT: the USMC digital pattern camouflage. Eliminating the color black, as it is not found in nature. Some design changes include more Velcro, a Mandarin style collar for a more comfortable fit while wearing body armor, and more breathable fabrics. Slant chest pockets were reintroduced from the older 1960-1970s style OD green ‘fatigues’ as well as the addition of elbow and knee pockets to facilitate pads. See BDU, MARPAT.

  AEGIS: Advanced Electronic Guidance Information System. An integrated missile guidance system in use since 1987. Integrates single ship and ship-to-ship networking, and is able to perform search, tracking, and missile guidance functions simultaneously with a track capacity of over 100 targets at more than 100 nautical miles. This interface makes the Aegis combat system capable of simultaneous operation against a multi-mission threat. In use by other countries as well as the US navy. See CIC.

  AIT: Advanced Individual Training.

  AMA: American Medical Association.

  Alpha Mike Foxtrot (AMF): A term that dates back to the Vietnam War. Originally used as a joke or a way of signing off a radio transmission. Has since been adopted as a way of signing off when the unit/individual is imminently being over run by hostile forces and there is no support or extraction available. Adios Mother F**ker.

  AR-15: The civilian, semiautomatic only version of the M-16. Originally designed as a civilian sporter rifle by Eugene Stoner; creator of the Stoner Weapons System. The AR comes from the manufacturer, ArmaLite which sold the rights to Colt in 1959. Colt marketed the rifle to the US military which adapted the automatic/semiautomatic version into what became the M16A1 in 1963 and was the standard infantry weapon for the US Military by 1969. Other manufacturers continue to sell the semiautomatic only version as the AR-15 to civilians and law enforcement agencies. See M-16.

  ASP: Ammunition Supply Point. A remote yet highly secure location on a military installation where ammunition, artillery shells, mortar rounds, grenades, and other items that go boom are stored in concrete ‘igloos.’

  BDU: Battle Dress Utilities. Phased out in 2008 for the ACU. This style was first introduced in the woodland pattern, then a first generation desert pattern, and finally in a three pattern desert version (DCU) which is still in use but being phased out within the US Army for the ACU pattern. Some SPECOPS (see SPECOPS) units still prefer the woodland pattern BDU over the newer ACU while others are using Multi-Cam. See ACU, SPECOPS.

  BENELLI M90: A tactical 12 gauge shotgun sold by Benelli, an Italian manufacturer.

  BLPS: Ballistic/Laser Protective Spectacles. Eye armor that look like Gargoyle brand sunglasses.

  BRAC: Base Realignment and Closure. The program that combined some military bases that neighbored each other into joint bases like Joint Base Lewis/McChord and closed others that were too expensive to remain open or were deemed redundant.

  BUD/S: Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL. The beginning step to become a Navy SEAL. The course runs 25 weeks or approximately six months to complete not counting pre-BUD/S, INDOC or any time allotted for ‘rollbacks’ due to injuries or too small a class size. See INDOC, SEAL.

  BZO: Battle Sight Zero. This is a basic form of calibration that soldiers will do so that their rifle is accurate up to 300 yards.

  C3I: Command, Control, Communication, Intelligence

  CBIRT: Chemical, Biological, Incident Response Team.

  CDC: Centers for Disease Control. The federal agency that is responsible for monitoring diseases and pandemics.

  CIC: Combat Information Center. The brains and fire control of most naval vessels. See AEGIS.

  CINCPAC: Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, (pronounced as ‘sink’). Example would be ‘sink-pac.’ The position of CINPAC (Commander in Chief, Pacific), CINCEUR (Commander in Chief, Europe) ‘sink- your’, CINCALT (Commander in Chief, Atlantic) ‘sink-alt’. COMSUBPAC (Commander, Submarine forces, Pacific), COMSUBALT (Commander, Submarine forces, Atlantic), COMSUBEUR (Commander, Submarine forces, Europe), are all held by admirals or generals obviously depending on the branch of service.

  CIWS: Close In Weapons System. This looks like a white, round top garbage can on naval vessels. It is a radar guided 20mm Gatling gun that fires depleted uranium shells. It was designed as a last resort weapon to destroy incoming missiles and other hostile flying objects. Normally, CIWS does not have an IFF (identify Friend Foe) setting so friendly aircraft are sent out of the immediate airspace. See AEGIS.

  Claymore: M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel mine contains 700 steel ball bearings fired in a 60-degree arc from a 1.5lb charge of high explosives. Small, man portable, and can be fired remotely with a pocket-sized, hand squeeze type device (a ‘clacker’), a tripwire, or other means. Has raised writing in the front that states ‘Front towards Enemy’ and is rumored to have had ‘Do Not Eat’ on the back.

  Cluster Munitions: Air or ground launched weapons that distribute smaller bomblets, or submunitions. These can be anti-personnel, anti-armor, anti-vehicle, aircraft runway crater charges, anti-infrastructure, or mine laying payloads. They are called “firecracker” or “popcorn” bombs due to the large number of mini-explosions that occur after deployment. They are controversial due to the large areas that can be covered that may lead to non-combatant casualties and the large number unexploded ordnance (UXO) or “duds” that can lead to casualties decades after combat operations have ceased. Recently, submunition-based weapons have been designed that deploy so-called smart submunitions. These use heat and visual sensors to locate and attack particular targets, usually armored vehicles, and are exempt from recent international attempts to ban the weapons.

  CO: Commanding Officer.

  COB: Chief of the Boat. Normally, a senior petty officer, a chief petty officer, or a senior chief petty officer.

  COG: Continuity of Government. A program to preserve government operations and viability after a major crisis such as a nuclear war or devastating natural disaster. There are also COGCON or COG Conditions similar to DEFCON where certain protocols are enacted based on the severity of the event. See COGCON, DEFCON.

  COGCON: Continuity of Government Condition. This term is usually followed by a number that indicates the level of severity of a threat to the US government. Examples of this are COGCON 1, COGCON 2, etc. COGCON 1 means a severe situation where as many members in the line of succession to POTUS are moved to safe locations within a 300 mile radius of Washington D.C. See DEFCON, POTUS.

  CONN: Conning Tower. The upright structure on a submarine hull. Older submarines were commanded from this structure. Sometimes referred to as the sail.

  CSH: Combat Surgical Hospital. Pronounced as CASH. Replaced the MASH units that were in use from 1945 to 2006. Essentially, this replaces the tents with modular prefab structures to create a ‘hard shell’ hospital in the field. Think of it as a relatively mobile trauma center that emphasizes evacuation of seriously injured by air.

  CUCV: Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle. Pronounced ‘Cut-Vee’. Military designation for the M1009 and other variations, usually patterned after full-size civilian Sport Utility Vehicles, (SUVs) and pickups depending on the numerical designation.

  DAGBY: Dumb Ass Gun Bunny. Slang term for artillery personnel. Sometimes complimentary, sometimes not.

  DEFCON: Defense Condition. Normally followed by a number. Examples: DEFCON 2, DEFCON 3 etc. DEFCON 4 is peacetime, DEFCON 1 is war.

  DFAC: Dining Facility. A term now in use to describe what used to be referred to as the Mess Hall in the US Army. However, the Navy and Marines still refer to their eating areas as the galley.

  DGSE: Directorate General for External Security. France’s external intelligence agency similar to the US CIA but operates under the French Ministry of Defense.

  DMAT: Disaster Medical Assistance Team.

  DOT: Department of Transportation.

  DP: Displaced Person. A term used to describe civilians that have
been displaced from their homes due to an event such as war or a disaster.

  DZ: Drop Zone. Normally a designated area aircraft will drop airborne troops and supplies.

  E-6B Mercury: Highly modified Boeing 707 designated as an E-6B by the U.S. Air Force. Also goes by the codename “Looking Glass.” Operation Looking Glass is the airborne military control center operated by the US Navy and the counterpart of “Kneecap.” Its primary mission (TACAMO: Take Charge And Move Out) is to communicate with the ballistic missile submarine fleet in case land based operations are incapacitated. It is also called the Doomsday plane. See NEACP/NAOC.

  EA6B Prowler: A four seat, US Navy, electronic warfare aircraft based upon the A-6 Intruder, which was as all weather, medium attack aircraft in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines between 1963-1997.

  EMCON: Emission Control. No unauthorized radio transmissions/emissions.

  EMP: Electro Magnetic Pulse. These pulses are caused by a nuclear explosion. Normally occurring when a nuclear device is detonated at altitude but can still occur to some extent with any nuclear type detonation. This pulse affects all unshielded electronic devices.

  EMT: Emergency Medical Technician. An individual that provides basic, emergency medical aid and treatment. Similar to a paramedic.

  EOF: Escalation of Force. The measured amount of force used to respond to a threat. The level of force will increase with the level of hostile intent. Essentially, an equal response to a viable hostile threat, usually combined with the Rules of Engagement (ROE).

  ESU: Emergency Service Unit. A select group within the New York City police department who performs SWAT like operations as well as water rescues and administer basic medical aid.

  FAE: Fuel Air Explosive.

  FAST: Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team. Part of the US Marine Corps Security Force Regiment. These units provide security to high value US Navy installations and vessels that contain, house, or are armed with nuclear weapons.