Gods of War (Jethro goes to war Book 5)

by Chris Hechtl

  “We can talk, General,” the colonel said.

  “Right,” the general drawled.

  “As I understand it, Army is supposed to garrison the planets once they have been reduced and taken. Are there any Army units currently deployed? I didn't note any mentioned in the briefing material I was given.”

  “Not at this time, Colonel. There are some Army recruiters here and in some of the other star systems. They are all noncoms. junior reservist noncoms.”

  “Right,” the colonel said. “So, we need to get a force together to take over in Protodon to free up your units there.”

  “A tough order. You've got what amounts to a brigade here. You've got a solid company of artillery experts. A company of infantry, but they are of medium quality. I just sent a division to replace the division currently there.”

  “We can still do our duty. We need the experience after all,” the colonel stated stubbornly. The general raised an eyebrow at him and then to the lieutenant. Both stared at him firmly.

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “Your call obviously. I'm interested to see how you can multitask,” he said.

  “First off, I'm going to get the ball rolling with Lieutenant Lincoln, Captains Yee and Church, and Sergeant Rajestan. Then I will need some ansible time to talk with someone about the Army mission objectives and budget.”

  “Good luck with that last. Right now you report to me, and we both report to Admiral Irons. There is a senate military oversight committee being formed, plus a budget committee, but they are up in the air.”

  “Frack,” the colonel said mildly. “Well, I'll give my people here their initial marching orders, kick some asses in gear, and then I'll work on that mission objective statement. Can I borrow a copy of what you have that is comparable to use as a reference, sir?”

  The general nodded slowly. “No problem,” he said. “It's good to work with a professional,” he said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  <)>^<)>/

  Major Bear settled in to the XO position of First Division slowly with a few minor bumps, but he seemed to pick things up rather well according to Schultz and the grapevine. Schultz had good reports on the bear; he knew how to tap into the noncoms and draw people out. He wasn't afraid to admit when he was wrong or uninformed and did his best to rectify those rare times. He was also very interesting in broadening his scope of knowledge and skills. He tested well on some subjects and took online courses to bring himself up to speed.

  He also exercised regularly, though he wasn't interested in jogging. He did a walk each morning.

  Which was good. Major Bear was the highest ranking major on the planet and the second highest Marine since he outranked the other majors by time-in-grade. He had been a major for nearly a decade in Bek. Once he'd settled in, Jersey had given him high enough marks to feel no qualms about handing the bear the Fifth Division once Major V'th came back from his leave.

  He wasn't certain if the bear knew it, though he was certain Sergeant Bok and of course Gunny Schultz did, that he and V'th had carefully arranged the Naga's schedule so he would be off to give the bear time to fill his shoes, which would drop him into a well-oiled machine to see how well he fitted.

  Which he did. It was too early to consider a promotion, but it was going to happen eventually Jersey knew as were others.

  One thing Jersey realized he'd put off for way too long was a certain other officer's much deserved and long overdue promotion. He had rammed it through BuPers. It had come back that morning, and he was gratified to see it make its run straight to his desk.

  “Sir?” Major Bear asked as the general put the lieutenant's stats up on the main viewer. They were waiting on Captain M'mbeki to return from his errand.

  “I thought I'd looked at this on the main screen since we're waiting,” the general said. What he really wanted was to get the major's opinion on the lieutenant and what he was about to do. “Are you familiar with Lieutenant Lewis and his mission?”

  “No, sir, the name is familiar though,” the Neopolar bear said with a pensive frown as he studied the 2D image and then read the file. Slowly he nodded. “The Hidoshi's World expedition. A forlorn hope sent there by Admiral Irons when he was in B100 omega. As I understand it, the unit is comprised of partially-trained personnel.”

  “We've augmented them since then. They've taken losses,” the general explained. “But the thing that grabs everyone's attention is what they've been able to accomplish. They tore apart a Horathian brigade and its supports. The militia supports added up to several divisions' worth of troops—all natives, all poor quality in training and equipment, but still shooters.”

  “And they've won so far?” the bear asked.

  “And they've beaten the pants off the enemy so far. There are fresh reports of terrorism. It seems the surviving Horathians and their followers have realized they can't go toe to toe with our people, so they are mounting what is basically an insurrection campaign, a guerrilla effort to attrition his forces and sap the will of the populace.”

  “I see,” the bear rumbled quietly. “Not easy to fight against.”

  “No, no it isn't.” The general paused and then cocked his head. “Your thoughts, Major?” He spread his hands. “Consider it an exercise and a test.”

  The bear turned his sharp beak of a muzzle to the general, then back to the file. He cocked his head then shrugged. “I see now why you are promoting him to captain junior grade. Personally, I'd promote him and then transfer him, but he knows the players on the ground,” the bear said thoughtfully.

  “I intend to do that. Dana convinced me to ship her Gamma Company of Fourth Battalion Second Brigade in on a Liberty ship loaded with supplies instead of her entire division. I signed off on the order change when she was in Pyrax. Now I am second-guessing myself.”

  “Their orders are to relieve the new captain and take over? That will cause some political issues including some ruffled feathers with the population,” the bear said thoughtfully.

  “Exactly. Also, they are set up for a combat drop. They can transition to a standard drop and insurrection before they make orbit. I've issued the orders now.”

  “A company … replacing a short platoon?”

  “Roughly that. The original platoon took casualties over the years. Unfortunately, we've only been able to ship them in the occasional unit to lend them a hand. Lewis has been in charge the entire time. I'd like to give him a break and get him back here so we can decorate him, give him some downtime, then work on training and rubbing off any of his rough spots in his education.”

  “I see. As someone who didn't realize he had any of his own, I appreciate the effort. But it says there he is married to a local. Won't that cause a conflict?”

  “That is a problem,” the general admitted as he looked at the file again. I gave special orders to allow Lewis to bring his dependents as well as the dependents of the others in his unit, also to pick up as many recruits as possible.”

  “Concerns about a wolf among the sheep, sir?” the major asked.

  The general frowned as he parsed that simple blunt question out. “You are referring to someone who might be a saboteur or spy? A native born Horathian sympathizer?” the bear nodded once. “I see. Yes, yes, it is a problem. ONI will interview everyone in Pyrax.”

  “They should do it before the ship jumps out of Hidoshi's World. As you mentioned, the enemy can't hit back conventionally. Hitting Lewis by suicide and taking the ship out is a good way to harm us. To take out a large number of people with a minimum of effort.”

  “Damn, you are a scary thinker,” the general stated. “Okay, write the proposal up, I'll sign off on it, and we'll send it to ONI. Let them take it from there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Dare I ask for any other scary thoughts?” the general asked.

  “Getting in with the local populace is important in order to root out the enemy. If the populace is on your side, it is harder for insurrectionists to hide and operate. Other tha
n that nothing at this time.”

  “Okay,” the general said with a nod.

  “He has a child,” the bear said quietly. “With the native woman,” he said, reading the bio.

  “I know. Which is why I authorized him to bring them. They'd be safer here.”

  “It sounds like he has his hands full, sir,” Major Bear stated. “But it is her home—their home. They may wish to remain and fight for it.”

  “I know. He is spread thin. His people are attritioned. Most of his forces are militia at this point.”

  “Damn. He's going to be looking forward to that company when it arrives,” Captain M'mbeki said as he led some of the other junior officers into the room. “Are we late?”

  “A bit. But I was catching up on a few things,” the general said as he gave a polite nod to the major.

  “Sorry, sir. We're ready to get started,” the captain said as he pulled up his customary chair.

  “Good.”

  Chapter 28

  “If it was anyone other than you Jethro,” Captain Lyon said, shaking his head. Jethro grimaced. “You know you can't trade on the medal forever, right?” the captain asked, raising an eyebrow at the cat.

  “I didn't know I was doing it at all, sir,” Jethro replied uncomfortably. Getting Red into the motel had been easy; he'd issued her a weekend pass as a friend and gotten it cleared by a harried Captain Lyon. But the captain had called him on it the following Monday morning.

  Which had left him all weekend to get Red to take a shower and relax. She preferred baths in the sink. The shower had been tricky; she was a tiny thing and barely could reach the controls. She was feral, wild, but very much into him. Also playful as all hell.

  She had remained jumpy about all the Marines and had rarely strayed from the room. He'd also gotten a lot of weird looks from people. He was depressingly certain some thought she was a mistress or something. If anyone dared make a comment about size, he'd …

  He fought to keep his expression straight and his tail from twitching in annoyance. He needed to focus he reminded himself.

  “Oh, you are. That and all the other stuff you've done. But one oh-shit like this can wipe away all those atta boys in a heartbeat. You've got,” the captain shook a finger at him, “to get her under control.”

  Jethro nodded once. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Apparently Lieutenant Fletcher was the one who was looking out for her by the way. Or I should say looking for her to question her about why she knew you. He figured part of it out. I guess he knows the rest. Correct, Lieutenant?” the captain asked, looking up to the ceiling.

  “Yes, Captain, I do,” the A.I. replied from the speaker.

  “Nice to know ONI cares I suppose,” the captain said dryly as he continued to look up at the ceiling for a moment before his eyes fell on Jethro. “Okay, so, we need to figure her out and set some ground rules. How we're going to work this though …”

  “Given the warrant already has a family, it is a problem,” the A.I. replied. “Have you consulted them yet on this new development?” the A.I. asked maliciously.

  “It's been rather sudden and in flux, sir,” Jethro said, looking up to the ceiling before the A.I. took over the captain's desk holo projector to project his image in front of him. Jethro looked at it. “I will inform Shanti shortly. Considering I can't use the ansible, it will take months for her to get my message and months to get her answer.”

  “Okay, that is obviously between you two. But, for the record, I was looking for the cat because she was inquiring about you. That flagged her since certain parties are also looking for you. You are certain she isn't a spy?”

  “You can interview her if you wish. She's … brittle, sir,” Jethro said.

  “Brittle?”

  “Trauma. A war orphan, sir,” Jethro explained. “She tends to climb back into her shell if provoked. It took me all weekend to get her to relax.”

  “I see,” the A.I. replied. He knew there was more to the story but at the time wasn't interested in drawing it out of the warrant. Interviewing organics directly was time consuming. He could digest the data they had in a microsecond if they could just be more efficient at getting it out of them. Sending a low level ONI organic agent to do it for him might be better. It would be a learning experience he thought as he made a note.

  “Fine then. So, your next step?”

  “We're still discussing that, sir,” Jethro replied, spreading his hands. “I honestly don't know what to do with her at this point. She provided good solid INTEL on Protodon.”

  “Pity she isn't still there acting as a CI,” the A.I. said.

  “I know. I know she isn't cut out for the Marines; she doesn't have the mindset. She's also not thrilled about being in enclosed spaces but can handle it for a while obviously.” He grimaced. “I guess I see something of myself when I was her age, sir. I think with encouragement she will be a positive contributor to society,” he said.

  “Interesting concept. Her size and ability would make her good at detective work or even ONI,” Captain Lyon offered.

  “Most of what she did was pure luck,” Fletcher replied. “But I do admit her small size and street sense are assets. Have you broached the subject?” he asked.

  “No. She's still in early puberty,” Jethro stated.

  “Ah, hormones,” Captain Lyon said with an ever-so-brief smirk. “Good luck with that,” he said.

  Jethro flicked his ears.

  “I can't see allowing a civilian on a military base for any length of time given that she is not a blood relation to you or another marine. Nor is she any sort of asset in her present condition,” Fletcher stated.

  Jethro frowned. He'd tried to puzzle out what to do. His frown deepened into a grimace as he realized that the A.I. wasn't leaving him many options.

  “I don't think I can put her up. I tried talking to her about going to Shanti on Kathy's World, but she's not ready for that either. I want her to go to school. She has a sharp mind when she applies herself.”

  “That's a red flag there,” Fletcher stated. “A maturity problem isn't something ONI needs now, Warrant McClintock. It seems like she does need some growing up.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jethro said. “And she's attached to me.”

  “So, you are considering what, adopting her?” Captain Lyon asked slowly. He looked at the A.I.'s image and then the cat. He stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  “I … think that is the only option currently available to me, sir,” Jethro admitted.

  The captain nodded slowly. “Look into it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I'll send an agent by to interview her,” Lieutenant Fletcher stated.

  “Preferably someone female and small, sir?” Jethro asked suggestively. “I wasn't kidding about trauma. She tends to open up with someone closer to her size as long as they aren't energetic,” he said. He rolled his eyes. “She's energetic enough for an entire room full of hopped-up bunnies,” he said.

  The captain cracked a brief smile but then banished it from his face.

  “Female?” Lieutenant Fletcher asked.

  That caused the captain to grimace. “She's from a war zone, Lieutenant. Women have it a lot harder than men,” he said in a dark tone.

  “I haven't gotten that far with her actually,” Jethro said. “I know she needs therapy,” he said, shrugging uncomfortably. “I only know about the one incident when her father was trying to pimp her and her sister out to the local cats.”

  “That was what, over a year ago?” the captain asked, face taking on harsh lines.

  “Yes, sir. It was just after I'd met them. The duo latched onto me. Their mother told me to take them or else.”

  “I see. So you do have good basis for an adoption claim,” the A.I. stated. “I will do you the favor of sending you the appropriate forms. I will inform you someone from Child Protective Services will need to be informed,” he stated unemotionally. Jethro sat up straight, fur rising in alarm. “It is protocol,
and as an officer, I am duty bound to do so even though there are no signs of criminal misconduct on your part. Which is why I'm not recommending NCIS or JAG get involved,” the A.I. stated.

  “That's good,” the captain said when the ensuing silence went on for a full minute. Jethro slowly nodded.

  “CPS said they will send out a representative later today,” Fletcher stated. “I have an ensign who could use the interview experience. She is an elf.”

  “Thank you, sir. I'll need to let her know and possibly be on site,” Jethro warned.

  “Both will wish to interview her without you in the room,” the captain warned.

  “That is fine. But I'd like to … introduce them so she knows it is okay. And … be on hand in case they press her too hard and she bolts.”

  “Understood,” the captain said with a nod and glance to Fletcher.

  “Understood,” the A.I. echoed.

  “Okay, on to another problem. As you know Caroline returned. It is going to impact everything, including an immediate impact on our Cadre schedule,” Captain Lyon stated.

  Jethro's brows knit in confusion.

  “Admiral Irons is wrapped up in the briefings and discussions through the ansible,” the captain explained. Jethro caught on and nodded. “So he's going to be detained indefinitely. So, we're going to be in something like limbo with the additional personnel. It will, however, let you get caught up on the suits.”

  “We're almost there, sir. We have ten suits complete including my own. Four of them occupied including myself.”

  “Right. Well, the additional delay will give Doctor Thornby time to work on her side too so it might not be a total loss. But do your best to get the other ten suits completed, plus get an inventory of spare parts started. While you are at that, I want Letanga and the others to begin training.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jethro replied with a nod.

  “The others need to get caught up on their suit quals and advanced suit training too,” the captain reminded him. “I know they've been working on some of it, but they can't exactly do it from the RECON base. So, I'll issue orders for them to go through basic suit training at the Armory.”