by J. L. Curtis
“Let me guess, it will make a warm collar.”
“How did you…”
“Kamala already told me that. I have no problem giving the women one of them. Just make sure Kamala gets a good piece of it,” he said with a smile.
Jiri laughed in relief, “Good!”
As they walked out of the weapons building, Fargo pulled the printout from his shipsuit, and said, “But I’m actually here for something fairly serious. We’ve… the company has been offered a contract through Grey Lady to go provide security for some TBT systems on Endine.” He handed the printout to Jiri. “I figured we need to have all of the company in on the discussion.”
As Jiri read it, Lal asked, “Did you bring Nicole with you?”
Fargo’s stunned expression caused Lal to burst out laughing, “Forgot her, didn’t you.”
“Oh shit. She’s going to…”
Lal looked at the field, “You brought your liteflyer? You wouldn’t have had room for her and the pelts both.”
“I guess I better call her, are we going to meet in the community hall?”
“Yes, I’ll start gathering folks up. You go try to mollify her before we get there.”
Four divs later, it came down to drawing straws to determine who would, and would not go to Endine. Nicole had been icily polite, said she was going, brooking no argument, and hung up over a div ago. Fargo sat off to the side, eating a Rasbari milk ball, and sipping the tea Sushma had brought him. OneSvel was right. The whole damn company wants to go, along with half the women. I know this would mean a lot more credits, but dammit, there isn’t any way to justify that many bodies. Crap… OneSvel can’t go. We’re going to need a medic. And a maintenance person… I wonder if we can borrow them from GalPat…
Fargo got up and wandered out to the head, verbalizing a note to check on those people tomorrow with Colonel Keads. He debated trying to call Nicole, but decided that would be worse than talking to her face to face. She was pissed, to put it mildly, and he knew it was his fault. That was not going to be a fun conversation.
Loggie Time
Fargo and Jiri sat on one side of the table, with Colonel Keads, Major Culverhouse, and WO Boykin on the other. Multiple empty bulbs sat at each place, along with numerous notes on paper, in addition to the notes on the data comps. A holo of Endine rotated slowly in the center of the table with the sites of the feeder locations marked.
Keads leaned back. “Is that it? Have we got everything sorted?”
Fargo looked at Jiri, raising his eyebrow, “Jiri?”
Jiri rubbed his face, “I don’t like going short on the armor, but this isn’t a combat situation. I think four at each site will work. And loaning us a maintainer is a great help. That’s the one thing we don’t have in the company.”
Fargo nodded. “And the Hab modules, and maintenance module. They’re used, but they will work.”
Culverhouse shrugged. “Well, they’re just sitting there since the company at Rushing River got the barracks up and the admin building operational. You’ll be back before they need them again.”
Boykin leaned forward, “Colonel, I need to go, too.”
The all looked at her in surprise, and Fargo felt determination radiating from her. Keads asked, “Why?”
Boykin held up a hand, fingers extended, “One. No shuttle pilot. Endine has a three decimal human requirement. Evie cannot meet that.” She dropped one finger. “Two. I’m tired of ass and trash. I talked to Lieutenant Edwards out at Rushing River. He thinks my job is the greatest thing since molycircs. Four months of flying Stuttering Sally might cure him of that notion.” Another finger dropped. “Three. We don’t have good Intel on Endine. Remember the questions about the last Det that was fired? Boots on the ground. I can collect data in case we need to respond there again.”
Keads pinched his nose, “Stuttering Sally? Ass and trash? Really?”
A small smile crossed Boykin’s face, “She’s a tad touchy. She’s old. She has to be babied. I want to fly a new one! And you know damn well what I’m talking about with ass and trash, present company excluded.”
Keads let that one pass, “Where are you going to get… Ah, one from Rushing River?”
Nodding toward the major, she replied, “Since Meacham is going to be here, they’ll have a spare. I’ve already talked to the major, and she’s willing to let me take Wizard. It has a collection suite incorporated. Did you forget that I was an Intel weenie in my previous life?”
Culverhouse nodded. “Current data is always an improvement over suspect data, Colonel.”
Keads sighed, “Guilty. And the more I think about it, it makes sense. Plus you would provide a senior GalPat rep to ride herd on the maintainer. He might not listen to a mere militia captain.”
Fargo laughed. “It’s not me he needs to worry about, it’s a butt load of WOs and CSMs that will rip him a new one that he really needs to worry about. WO Boykin, I believe I can speak for everyone when I say we would be delighted to have your accompany us.”
A smile flashed across Boykin’s face, and she nodded toward him, “Thank you, Captain.”
Keads slapped the table, “We’re done. I’m sure… And I just thought of one other item. Major, your folks can backfill for Fargo’s troops if anything comes up, right?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve already been talking to Lalband… um.”
Fargo laughed. “Just call him Lal. He’s fine with that.”
“Oh, okay. And yes, we’ll back them up, and they will back us up. Plus the Herms want some more OPFOR,” she said with a rueful grin.
Fargo just rolled his eyes.
***
Mikhail brought the shuttle in for a landing well away from the Hyderabad, once again parked over the river, with both front and rear hatches open. Fargo and Nicole were in their grays, kukris prominently displayed, as they unstrapped their trunks and toggled the leashes on. Mikhail hugged Fargo, “Ivan will be your local contact, I’ve already messaged him that you’re on the way. Stay safe. If you don’t, Luann will never forgive me.” Turning to Nicole, he continued, “Thank you for coming to dinner last night. I think she’s much more comfortable with you looking out for him. And if Holly has any problems, she can call me.”
Fargo replied, “We’ll do our best. Should see you in about six months. Ivan March, right?”
Mikhail squirted the data to his data comp, “Yes. Here are all the contacts. Things are stable right now, for versions of stable. Everyone has the sonic fences operable. You may need to expand those perimeters.”
“No issue. We’ll work that as necessary.”
Fargo and Nicole walked down the ramp, each lost in their own thoughts. As they crossed the field, Nicole said, “I don’t see the shuttle.”
“Boykin is going to pick up the maintainer and his maintenance van when she takes the old shuttle to Rushing River. She’s going to meet us on orbit.”
“Oh, okay.” She squinted then started laughing, “Oh my deity…”
“What?”
“Liz is here.”
“Liz?”
“Liz Hand. Chief Hand.” Waving she yelled, “Liz. Liz!”
A small gray haired lady turned, grinned and started trotting toward them, “Cole! By all that’s Holy! Girl, I haven’t seen you in ages!” Hugging Nicole, they both laughed, and she looked at him, “Fargo, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Are you coming with us?”
“Yep, Wallace and I both. You’re gonna be in Indian Country, so I’m going to ride along and run the Mod Thirty and comms for y’all.”
“Sweet! Let me dump the trunk and we can talk.”
As they cleared the end of the forward ramp, Fargo heard Master Chief Hand laying into somebody, “You don’t dump shit at the hatch. You carry it all the way back to the storage area marked for that material. And stack in properly. If you don’t, you’ll be restacking the entire hold!”
Fargo chuckled. “Afternoon, COS.”
Wallace turned, coming almost to attent
ion, “Afternoon Cap’n. Are you the HMFIC of this cluster?”
“Fraid so. I take it you hired on again? And although I hate to ask, what’s wrong?”
“Yep, me and Liz. Cap’n Jace figured he needed somebody to ride herd on this bunch. We’re behind. All this shit should be loaded and we should be starting to load armor.”
Fargo said, “Let me dump my trunk and I’ll see what…”
Wallace replied, “Don’t worry, Cap’n, I’ll handle it.”
Fargo sensed the Chief of Ship’s iron determination as he headed up the ladder to his stateroom, Whew, the COS is on a roll. Why do I think this is going to be a classic irresistible force versus immovable object paradox… We’re supposed to lift off in five divs. I’m betting we’ll make it with room to spare…
***
Four divs later, the IC pinged, “All pax please finish storing your gear and report to your respective lounges or messes in fifteen segs for safety briefing.
Captain Jace strode into the crew’s mess ten segs later, a smile on his face. “We’re loaded. Only had to kick one stray off. Hatches are closed, and we’re shifting power now. Since all of you have had the safety brief, this will be quick and dirty.” Five segs later, he was done, and turned to Fargo, “I’ve had Wallace and Liz put on this deck. There is one stateroom with a bed big enough for a Taurasian, so I’ve given it to them. They will be down the passageway from you. We’ll lift at nineteen, and rendezvous with Boykin and the shuttle at twenty three, then pick up the Habs and an ice block and should be on our way by zero six tomorrow. Ship time is the same as local here, which is within one div of local on Endine.”
Nicole asked shyly, “Captain, could I watch the takeoff? I’ve never actually seen one from the bridge.”
Jace smiled broadly, “Of course! I know you’ll be much better company than Captain Fargo!”
She stuck her tongue out at him, as everyone laughed. Fargo shook his head, and walked out without a word, but he was smiling.
Fargo, Nicole, and Jiri were in the crew’s lounge going over deployment plans, watch schedules, and personnel allocations when the IC pinged, “Shuttle inbound. Set maneuvering watch. Stand by to receive shuttle Bay Three, port forward.” They stopped as the wall screen came alive, showing an external shot with the blinking lights of the shuttle in the center, and a split screen showing the Bay Three doors sliding open. They saw Wallace shuffling slowly toward the middle of the bay, with what looked like a pair of sticks under his arm. Jiri asked, “What is he doing?”
Fargo shrugged. “Guess he’s going to bring her in manually. We used to do that in the Corps. It was an emergency procedure, but we practiced it quite a bit.”
Nicole shook her head. “He’s f’ing crazy! There is no way I’d want to be in a zero G, open to vacuum bay, with something that big coming at me.”
Liz walked in laughing, “I heard that ‘Cole. And yes, he’s crazy, but he’s my kind of crazy. He actually has had to do that a time or three. Got an MSM out of one of them.”
“Still crazy…” Nicole muttered.
They heard a pop over the speaker and Boykin saying, “Dropping van in three, two, one.”
It gently floated away from the shuttle as Wallace said, “Nose or tail first?”
Boykin answered, “Nose, then spin.”
They saw Wallace look up and confirm the lights were flashing red and yellow, “Confirm zero G, no atmo.”
“Roger zero/no. Have the ball, closure thirty fps.” They watched as the shuttle closed the side of the Hyderabad.
Wallace held up one stick, now lit green. “Bring it.”
Jiri watched in amazement, “She’s going to run into the back of the bay!”
Wallace said, “Drop ten.”
“Twenty fps.”
“Keep it coming. Two hundred, centered.”
“Roger.”
“One hundred, centered, drop ten.”
“Ten fps.”
Wallace started waving the wands, moving slowly backward as the shuttle nosed into the hangar. Moments later, he crossed them over his head, “Spin it.”
“Going left.”
“Stop. Down. Three, two, one. And you’re down. Standby for locks.”
“Standing by.”
Wallace was shuffling back to the interior bulkhead, and they saw him pull a switch down, then look back at the shuttle, “You are locked.”
“Roger locked, starting shutdown.” The bay doors started closing and the van started drifting toward the ship.
Jiri looked up, “What the hell?”
Liz replied, “Moving over the van, going to tractor it into position. Then we’ll go get the others.”
Jiri shook his head. “Give me the ground any day.”
A half div later, WO Boykin, Senior Sergeant Ian McDougal, and Senior Sergeant Kelly Grayson walked into the crew’s mess.
Fargo smiled, remembering McDougal from the formation earlier. He was surprised to see the medic, Grayson and asked, “Why are you here, Grayson?”
“Colonel Keads told me to get on the shuttle. Said for me to collect what medical data and enviro I can. That, and he wanted to get me away from Palette and Cameron for a while.”
Boykin grinned, then coughed to cover it. “The Captain has already given them the safety brief, and assigned them billeting. I wasn’t sure where you wanted to site them.”
Jiri and Fargo looked at each other, and Jiri wearily pulled his data comp out, as Fargo said, “McDougal will be at Feeder Three. That’s where the maintenance van will be.” Looking at him, he continued, “You’re assigned a billet in the Hab van at that location. How much equipment did you bring?”
McDougal shrugged. “Standard detachment kit. Comms, sonics, spare Ferrets, some armor spares, a small fabber, and a standard load of feed material for it. Standard tool kit, and a few spares for the oddball things that tend to show up.”
Fargo nodded and turned to Grayson. “You bring any medical supplies?”
Grayson nodded. “Two pallets. Standard detachment load out. But I hear they have real hospitals there, so I’m looking at load and go if we have issues. I’ll distribute the medical kits to the sites, as soon as I find out what, where, and how many personnel will be at each site. I’ve got my kit, but nobody touches that but me.”
Jiri said, “Well, Senior Grayson, I think the best place for you is going to be in the Palace. All the Habs are full, and you weren’t a planned inclusion. Since the warrant is also going to be based there, if there is an issue, she can get you there and any injured back quickly.”
Grayson’s face lit up, “The Palace? Like a real Palace?”
Fargo laughed. “Not really. It’s a compound where the director and the GalPat Det are headquartered.”
Grayson’s face fell, as he mumbled, “Oh frikkin great. More brass. Dammit…”
McDougal yawned, and Fargo said, “Why don’t you go ahead and hit your billet. Ship time is the same as Hunter local, and it’s midnight.”
The two senior sergeants left, and Fargo turned to Boykin, “I saw that smile. What did Grayson do?”
Boykin laughed. “Oh nothing much. Just gave Palette two injections, one in each butt cheek that had him so sore he couldn’t sit down for two days. And it was apparently a placebo! Palette is notorious for thinking he’s catching something.”
Fargo and Jiri both laughed at that, and Jiri said, “Noted, never piss off the medic. But he’s pretty damn good too! I saw what he did on the raid.”
“Hit the rack Boykin. We’re done. You’re up here with us, and this is our mess.”
Boykin nodded and said, “I am a bit tired.”
Jiri headed for his stateroom, and Fargo sat watching the arrangement and tractoring of the remaining Hab modules, more than a few times laughing at the invective COS Hand used with the tug drivers, as he maneuvered in a hard suit. Got your pilots license out of a tub of Martian Sea Crackers… Oh that was a good one! Those are some nasty damn crackers. They are worse than
e-rats.
Once they picked up the ice block, he saw the stars pitch, and headed for his stateroom. He made a quick pass through the fresher, got in the rack, and pulled the acceleration netting over himself.
Intelligence
Fargo and Jiri were announced and led into the director’s utilitarian office. Director Vaughn said, “Welcome gentlemen. Captain, I am most pleased to see you looking much better than the last time I saw you.”
Fargo extended his empath sense as he nodded. “Thank you ma’am. Apparently I owe much of that to you. This is Warrant Officer Mankajiri Rai, my XO.”
Jiri smiled. “Just call me Jiri, please.”
The director nodded then said, “I…we couldn’t do much for you other than expedite your departure. Sit, please. You know Colonel Zhu?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Fargo and Jiri sat at the end of the conference table, taking out their respective data comps. “Ma’am, we brought enough people to set up security on the TBT feeders that supply power here on Endine, but I really need to know what we may be facing.”
He caught a glance between the director and colonel, then she slowly replied, “Well, there have been a couple of instances of some of the rabble trying to shut down the power grid…”
Colonel Zhu interrupted smoothly, “Captain, we felt it would be better to bring in your militia rather than more GalPat troops, since there are so few in this star system. The Grey Lady security contract is fairly specific on what you’re allowed to do.”
“I know that. I’ve reviewed it in depth with my troops, but I need boots on the ground Intel as to what threats we are really facing.”
Director Vaughn asked, “When are you going to begin protecting the feeders?”
Fargo pulled up the schedule on his data comp and pinged it to both her and Colonel Zhu, “We are getting our ROE confirmation and we will depart this afternoon for the ship. We’ll conduct a final briefing tomorrow morning at zero seven, and will start dropping the first Habs and personnel by zero nine. We should be complete by eighteen, and on line at each site no later than twenty-two.”