by Chris Hechtl
“Something like that, sir,” Jethro said.
“Teenagers, especially female teenagers, should be locked up in small rooms until they turn adult and lose the ability and desire to whine, stomp their feet, and generally drive parents, especially fathers, nuts,” the admiral said. “And that's from the voice of experience. There is a reason I was deployed so much,” he said with a hearty laugh. “And also why I was divorced so many times come to think of it.”
“Thank you, sir. Let's hope it never comes to that for me,” he said.
“Well, as I said, eventually it will pass. Surviving it though … that's a rite of passage for the both of you,” the admiral said with a nod.
<)>^<)>/
Lobo's procedure went off without a hitch. Now that they had experienced it, the doctor knew what to expect. Admiral Irons congratulated her and started to discuss Jethro's idea when he got a ping. He grimaced.
“Sorry, I'm getting a text about a courier arriving with news of Second Fleet's action in Nuevo Madrid. I've got to go,” the admiral said hurriedly. “Jethro, fill her in about your idea,” he ordered as he rushed out.
“Yes, Jethro, fill me in,” Nara inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Jethro blinked at being put on the spot. “Well, ma'am, I was thinking, instead of trying to do everyone's procedures all at once, I mean one at a time but stick everything in, I was thinking, can you do it assembly style?” He waited a beat, then rushed on with his explanation. “I mean get the Royal Jelly in and then let them recover without initializing it. Then the admiral can come around and do the final wake-up like he did with me. That would allow us to better maximize his and your time,” he offered.
Nara frowned thoughtfully as she finished cleaning up. “I see the wisdom in some ways. It is less body insult taking it in stages. What about the fact that everyone is different? I have to tailor each procedure you know,” she warned.
“I was thinking about that. I was considering what some hospitals do. Where they schedule the same procedure for certain days. So, if there is a common Royal Jelly pack for persons A through D, you do them each in a row like an assembly line. Then reset for the next one a week or so later, and so on and so forth.”
“The body types are different but … that makes sense. Okay, I'll look into it further. No commitment at this point …,” she shook her head. “Careful or you'll be doing my job soon,” she warned.
He snorted, then winced as he got another ping. “Thanks, but no thanks, ma'am,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
<)>^<)>/
When he got home, he couldn't help but scold Red, despite her wrapping herself around him, when he came into the doorway. “Well, I'm sorry for caring!” Red said, clearly hurt as she disengaged from her hug.
“Look, Red, I told you I was busy with something and would be back very late. Why didn't you get into things? Why did you start in early?”
“I forgot,” she mumbled, squirming.
“Sure you did. You don't like the break in routine,” Jethro said, eying her.
“Sorry. Can we move past this? How was your day? Did you …?” he waved a hand. “What?” she asked, blinking.
“My day was fine. I can't go into specifics; you know that,” he said as Bast eyed him. “How did school go?”
“School is boring,” she said, flopping herself into the chair. “Do I really have to go every day?” she demanded.
He snorted. “Count your blessings,” he said.
“Gee, thanks,” she drawled mockingly. “What'd I ever do to deserve this? It feels like my head's going to explode!” she whined.
Jethro winced but didn't say anything to that. “So, did you eat?”
“No, I wasn't sure if you were going to bring something home again. That was why I was calling you,” she said, perking up.
“Well, we're in a house now, and we went shopping ….” Wasn't that an experience he'd rather forget he thought with a mental shudder. “So, let's see if we can find something and put it together. And you need to learn to cook too. Even if it is just heating something up in the microwave,” he warned.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
<)>^<)>/
April O'Neill received a note from one of her contacts at the Marine base of a new development. The woman ran a cleaning agency and had a new client, a black Neocat and a domestic cat. The woman thought they were in a tryst, and thought that April would love the juicy gossip but April latched onto the name of the black Neocat right off.
Jethro McClintock. There wouldn't be another. But Jethro in Antigua? She frowned thoughtfully at that news. She'd thought he'd died. She'd heard he'd had a brush with death on Anvil in Pyrax, but then the military had shushed up the incident and after that he hadn't made the news until his Medal of Honor notice a year or so ago.
She frowned thoughtfully and checked the bio files Knox News had on Jethro. Given that he was a member of the legendary F Platoon and had made the news so often, the head office had decided to keep a file. But there was little there other than a notice that he'd been deployed on Protodon to clean up that mess and then had vanished.
And now he was here, in Antigua she thought. Should she pass the news on? Report it in media, so they'd know eventually without exposing her contact? She wasn't certain which way to jump.
As she thought about it though, she realized that reporting it as news was a minor story, not worthy of bringing it up at all. A public flack maybe, a softball for Marine public affairs … but since the military was keeping his movements hush then they obviously didn't want him to be in the news.
So, she was back to the original problem. She knew about the location of a priority target of the Guild. She had been the one to originally alert them of his … inability to keep his mouth shut she thought, which had sparked the incident on Anvil.
If she let them know and if the Guild tried … and if they failed … she closed her eyes. She had faith that there would be cutouts, but the exposure wouldn't be something she'd be comfortable about. Nor would she be happy about any fallout or civilian casualties if there were any. If they succeeded … Jethro wasn't the enemy. She knew that. He was a warrior, a soldier fighting for the Federation.
No, she decided as she opened the file. Her cursor hovered over the delete button for a moment before she pressed it. Gone she thought as it went through a file shredder.
<)>^<)>/
April hadn't turned over the information to the Guild … but the Guild was aware of it … and the knowledge that she had chosen to hold the information back. They had a tap on her information systems, and since the information had come in unencrypted, they knew who had sent the tip. It would be only a matter of time to backtrack the trail to the source. After all, there weren't that many black Neocats in the Marines and only one panther.
The decision to act had to be carefully weighed since it would involve a military base and exposure of assets. If they could pick him off in transit, that would make the operation far easier. Making it look like a robbery gone wrong or a vehicle accident would be ideal.
For the moment, they would wait.
<)>^<)>/
“So, you are saying she didn't pass it on?” Admiral Irons demanded. He was secretly elated that his girlfriend hadn't betrayed the Federation and him in that way. Well, not so secret he thought noting his own tone of voice. He felt vindicated, but it was a small thing he thought.
“No, sir. But the information came in from a contact she established on the Marine base. It came in unencrypted,” Lieutenant Fletcher warned. “I noted a tap on her line; there is a server in the chain that copies everything directed to her to another source. I am following that chain now,” he warned.
“So you are saying the Guild knows anyway,” the admiral said slowly. “Wonder-fracking-full,” he drawled. “Exposure to the Cadre program?”
“Some. They are aware of where he is but not aware of what he is doing. They know his general location. Moving him would be ideal.”
“Wouldn't moving him expose them to the knowledge that we are aware of the pipeline and leak?” Protector asked.
“I am aware of that. But I have to balance out the potential exposure of our investigation and tap into their pipeline with an active threat to a member of the military as well as his or her dependents as well as dependents of others in his vicinity,” Fletcher stated with some dignity.
“Let's leave the I Told You So's out of it,” Captain Montgomery stated. “If we move him back into the Cadre barracks, it will make them go hunting again. Potentially finding him since he won't be off world.”
“I know,” the admiral grimaced.
“We will need to restrict his off-base time and activities,” Fletcher stated.
“Why? After the incident on Agnosta, the Guild has proven they can reach into a Marine base just as easily as in a civilian environment,” the captain stated.
“I am aware of that,” the A.I. stated patiently. “But minimizing the risk is important, sir. His is at a higher risk outside of the Marine base. He endangers others around him since that is the highest probability point where they would strike.”
“You are thinking a sniper? Assassin?” the captain asked.
“Anything up to vehicle sabotage. Such as in a shuttle loaded with innocent people,” Fletcher stated, “or a train.”
“I shudder at those ideas but he has a point,” the captain said as he turned to the admiral. “We'll have to limit his movements and have them more or less brief and random.”
“Secure military transport is also in question given the Agnosta incident,” the A.I. stated. “Couple that with the Bismark incident and …”
The admiral raised a restraining hand. “Okay. We can't separate him from his dependent though. She can go off base since she is a civilian. Ideas on keeping her from becoming a hostage and bait?”
“Restrict her movements as well. Make it difficult or annoying for her to go on and off base. A full security scan, long wait time, and body search would be enough of a hassle for her to reconsider the idea,” Monty said.
“Agreed,” Fletcher replied.
“Okay. Look into moving them. Once the Cadre is fully online, he is going to be in the field more acting as a DI. So he needs to get his adopted daughter sorted out soon.”
“Yes, sir. I'll pass it on to Captain Lyon,” Fletcher responded, flashing that missive off in an email. “Done.”
“Good. Next problem?” the admiral asked.
“We've gotten the INTEL brief from the Nuevo Madrid mission. We're obviously still processing it,” Monty replied. “I know the Marines want a copy of what we know about the ground but most of what is being sent is Navy. They'll have to wait for the full download to get to us by courier,” he said.
“And what about the ships? They confirmed the battle cruisers were destroyed, I noticed that. Any information from any survivors?”
“Not much at this time,” Monty said shaking his head. “We can't access the databases they downloaded at this time. Right now, we're still getting summaries and basic information.” He shook his head. “The ansible is just too limited to try to send terabytes of data, sir.”
“Damn. Okay, keep me posted on that front. I'd like to know what's in front of Amadeus. Next?”
“Well …”
Chapter 29
Lil Red settled in over time. She enjoyed having her own room, which since it was set up for a standard-sized human meant she had a massive play complex for her. It took time for her to get used to sleeping on the bed rather than under it. Since the bed was too big for her, Jethro got base housing to swap it for a toddler's sized bed. That fit her better, though she grumbled about not having all sorts of nooks and crannies to crawl into under it.
On her second week of being in school, Red learned the art of skipping class and then playing hooky from school. Unfortunately for her, the school reported her to Jethro. He called her on it. She grudgingly had to go, though admitted it wasn't so bad, just tiring. She wasn't a naturally gifted student; she had a bad habit of just wanting to coast unless someone got behind her and pushed.
She regularly tried to distract him and play off her problems, but that didn't work with him. He quizzed her on her day and her school. Even tired from his own day, he forced himself to help her with her homework to get her engaged in learning and to bond a little. He realized being a parent was more of a two-or-more-person job, but he was it. Single parents had handled the job for eons; he'd figure it out. Besides, he had no support other than the school staff, and he felt for them. He only had to put up with Red; he could just imagine what it was like putting up with dozens like her.
One thing Red enjoyed the most, other than their walks or playtime, was to doze after dinner with a full belly as he watched the evening news. She had taken to watching the news draped or curled on the back of the couch rather than on the actual seat cushions much to his amusement. She'd also found just the right spot to get the evening sun before the sun set for the night.
It was there though that he got confirmation of the latest battle of Admiral White's Second Fleet. They'd heard grapevine reports of the battle and interest in what had happened. He'd heard it had come out okay, but hearing the official word was nice to know. Knowing they got the bastards, well, most of the bastards, who had bombed Protodon, was also nice news. Red had even been awake for that part.
“So, they won't come back?” she asked.
“Those people will rot in hell. But they've got friends. It's not safe until we go all the way to the source and root them out once and for all,” Jethro said.
“Oh,” she said blinking. She yawned. “That's next?” she asked.
He snorted. “Not quite. I'm not sure what's next,” he said as Bast looked at him meaningfully on his HUD.
“Okay,” she yawned louder. He snorted as her eyelids fluttered, then she went down for another nap.
<)>^<)>/
They finished building their last three suits just as Doctor Thornby approved Jethro's plan and informed them that she would begin implementing it shortly. “The good news is, you are going to have less downtime and will hopefully not go so deep as Letanga did,” Jethro said as he explained the situation to the remaining fifteen candidates. “You will have a shorter recovery each time, but you'll go more often.”
“Great,” Shiku drawled.
“Shut it,” Pamplona growled at him. He flicked his ears at her but subsided.
“We now have one command suit, or one designated for an officer if we can ever get the captain fully fitted,” Jethro said as he indicated the captain's suit. “Four heavy weapons suits, one engineering,” he paused to indicate Gunny Z'v'll's suit. “Nine scout suits including my own,” he said, placing a hand over his heart, “and five shooter suits.”
“Eh, not to complain, but why don't we have any of the other specialty suits? We're going to need medics, right?” Tikaani demanded.
“Are you going to volunteer?” Tungulria demanded. The gray wolf shook her head.
“To answer your question, we’ve got or you soon will have, nanites,” Jethro said. They will take care of most wounds. You can heal fast. No more worrying about damaging your skin if you get hit. No scaring. If it is serious like a lost limb or major organ failure, then yes, a medic will have to step in to help you recover. But you'll find the nanites will keep you alive through just about everything short of a direct plasma hit or decapitation,” Jethro stated.
“Damn,” Tikaani said, eyes wide in surprise. “Cool,” she murmured. That earned a round of chuckles from the group.
“As you all know by now every suit has a cloaking ability but there are tradeoffs. For instance, RECON scout armor has weaker armor and shields than the shooters or other suits,” Jethro explained. “We're faster than anyone though,” he said with a small smile. “Heavy weapons has the best weapon mix, armor, and shields, but they are slow.”
“As molasses,” Tungulria said. They had completed a few SIMS of the team
to test things out, all virtual up until that point. The quartet of heavy weapon suits hadn't been happy to slog along behind the rest of the group, but they sure enjoyed the firepower they could dish out.
“The shooter and heavy weapon suits are modular. Actually, they all are to various degrees. It's why I can use my jet pack,” Jethro said.
“Heh, I'd like to see you use that in a real combat environment,” Letanga said.
“I already did. On Protodon. Twice,” Jethro said looking at his cousin. Letanga blinked then cocked his head. Jethro didn't bother to elaborate however.
“Tomorrow you fourteen and Captain Lyon are going to get whatever Doctor Thornby throws at you. After that, the medical procedures will be tailored to your individual needs. Some need more implants than others to get them fully up to spec. Be patient, be a good patient, or I'll have your ass when you are recovered,” Jethro growled at them.
“Why? It’s fun harassing nurses. Besides, you are going to have our ass anyway,” Shiku quipped. There were a few wolf whistles and catcalls from the apes and others in the group.
“All right, settle down. I guess I earned that one,” Jethro said, making a touché' touch. “Yes, training will commence as soon as you are fully initialized. Actually, you'll be training even during recovery but it will be light. I do mean light, not physical activity,” he said. They groaned. He grinned evilly. “Don't be that way. You'll do your share of paperwork and reading, yes, but you'll also be watching videos that ONI has assembled. Stuff about armored warfare, so take notes. In fact, I'll do a homework check,” he growled menacingly.
“See? He gets a kid and has to help her do homework and now he's got us doing it too,” Shiku said in mock exasperation as he threw his hands up in the air. “What's next, PTA meetings? Conferences with mommy?”
“Don't tempt me,” Jethro growled as the others laughed.
<)>^<)>/
Doctor Thornby took Jethro's idea and ran with it. She had researched and started to line up the procedures the following day after Lobo's activation and by the end of the week had been ready to perform the first round on all fifteen remaining candidates.