Recruiting Drive: Jethro 4 (Jethro Goes to War)

by Chris Hechtl

  “Sir, what's the meaning of this?” String demanded, jerking his thumb to the bird. “That's a militia bird. Major White Wolf negotiated for us to fly her and to work with the Wolf militia group, sir.”

  “Major White Wolf is no longer in charge. I am,” Major Pendeckle replied coldly. “That's military property. We're taking it back.”

  “The hell you are,” Dom said, lunging to get past String. String held the stocky old man back. “That's my baby! I put her back together! She's mine do you hear me? I salvaged her, damn it! I have rights!”

  The Major just eyed the old man coldly. “You will be compensated. Eventually. But Marine hardware does not belong in the hands of civilians.” His lip curled at the last word.

  “Now you see here, bub! The Lady isn't something you sell,” Dom insisted hotly, stabbing a finger at him. His face was turning a rather alarming shade of rage red. “I've taken care of her, put her back together, wiped up her messes and babied her for longer than you've been alive, sonny! No sale! No deal!” His niece got him to back off, murmuring softly to him to calm down.

  “Sir, seizing the militia equipment will be detrimental to the relationship we've built, the trust we've built with the local militias and population,” Sinjin insisted. Arkangel and Lieutenant Locke nodded in agreement.

  “Sir, they've followed orders and worked with us. They've saved our bacon a few times,” Lieutenant Locke said. “Most recently in the tunnel engagement. They also agreed to have military personnel help secure and fly the bird when Mister Santini isn't available.”

  “Or me. Don't forget about me,” Jo said, still restraining her uncle.

  “Sir,” Major White Wolf said, coming up behind them. They all turned to her. “I signed off on their keeping the bird. I forwarded it to Colonel Forth who agreed. He's not thrilled by the idea, but he knows there are more in the pipeline.” She transmitted the relevant report to his implants.

  The Major grunted as his eyes scanned the report. His fingers drummed on his belt as he checked the time stamp just to see if the Major had done it recently to cover their ass. She hadn't. They could put up a big fight, and he wasn't sure where it would lead. Besides, he had a shipment of 222 birds coming in on the next convoy or so the manifest said. “Well, I guess we don't have a choice then. As long as they are willing to fly with military pilots and stay on mission … they can keep the bird.”

  “I guess you don't. Keep your filthy paws off my lady,” Dom growled, eyes flashing.

  “Dom, we won, back off,” Jo told him. Pulling him away. She looked like a woman pulling an angry dog away. Dom kept glaring over his shoulder at the Major and the Marine guards until they were out of sight.

  “You've been working with them?” the Major asked, turning to the intelligence agents first. “And you signed off on it?”

  Arkangel spread his hands. “We work with the tools we can find since we weren't given much to begin with,” he said sounding magnanimous.

  “They are good people, sir,” Locke warned. “The Hawk brothers here were raised by Mister Santini. The Wolf militia unit is the most effective one here. Possibly the most effective on the planet.”

  “Because of the bird,” the Major grunted.

  “They are effective in the air or on the ground, sir. Dom and I have had our share of fire fights,” the lieutenant replied. “He's a crack shot. They weren't keeping him back to protect him, sir. Far from it.”

  The Major raised an eyebrow his way. String coughed in his fist and turned slightly to look at his brother. Sinjin just smiled out of the corner of his mouth. “You could say, sir, he's rather attached. He's also the best mechanic there is. I know he can teach the people here tons. Stuff they'll be able to use when the new birds come online and stuff they will be able to pass on to others.”

  “All right, all right, you won. Don't rub it in. And damn it, don't make me regret it,” the Major growled, holding a finger up.

  “No, sir. The enemy is out there. We need to remember that.”

  The Major nodded and then looked to Major White Wolf. He nodded grudgingly to her then went on his way.

  <(>~^~<(>

  “I hate leaving something half finished. I wanted to be in on the Baroness's take down,” Jethro said as he checked in with the Major.

  “That's probably why her trap nearly succeeded. We all want this to be over. It's clear it's not going to be,” the Major replied. “Not now, not for a while. Not until the last of them is rounded up … and most likely some of the smarter ones will go to ground. Go native.”

  “I hate that.”

  “Me too. It's ancient history too; it happened during World War II. Some of the Nazis managed to escape justice and fled to South America. Many never did face a war crimes tribunal for their atrocities.”

  “And because we haven't captured a personnel database, we don't know who we're looking for. What they look like. They are ghosts.”

  “Yes,” Moira replied. “That part sucks. They could easily cause mischief later. A knocked over lantern, a match … it's going to be hell for many people. The paranoia made real.”

  “One thing I do know is these people don't like fire. They are serious about that. If she or some of her people go that route … it'll get ugly.”

  “I know. I'm actually hoping they do. I never liked lynch mobs … but in this case, any justice is better than none I suppose.”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  Jethro and others said goodbye to those they had met. McAdams would be staying behind, as would Captain Lyon and the Recon squads. But there were some that bothered him more than others. Jethro felt like hell about the idea of leaving Lil Red behind. He'd grown attach to her, more than her sister, but … hell. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do. It wasn't like he could adopt her, right? He shook his head. It felt like he was betraying her and her sister by leaving. He had promised to look after them.

  “I've asked Sergei to look after you,” he said, stroking her fur as he tried to explain the situation to her.

  The looks she shot him broke his heart. “Take me with you?”

  “I can't.” He closed his eyes in pain.

  “See? He doesn't care about us. He was using us like everyone else,” Lil White accused scornfully. “Come on. Let's get out of here,” she said, giving Jethro a disgusted look.

  “I was trying to keep you alive,” Jethro said lamely as she and other Neos in the area shot him dirty looks. “I'm sorry,” He muttered, head down, ears back. “Damn it all in heaven, I am.”

  The general recall pinged on his implants. “Duty calls, Gunny,” Bast said ever so softly.

  “Yeah it does,” he muttered. He lifted his head and moved out blindly.

  <(>~^~<(>

  Jethro got to the spaceport. One look from White Wolf and she sighed. “Let me guess, you wanted to bring the kittens back with you?”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  “Gunny, do you understand what you're asking here? What it involves?” Moira asked him.

  He shrugged off the implications in irritation. “It's the right thing to do, ma'am. I made a commitment to them. I have to honor it.”

  She studied him for a long moment then grunted. “We left people behind a lot. During every war it seems to happen. People get caught up in the works, and we have to leave them behind. Families are torn apart …” she felt the wind cut across the taxiway. “Go. Go get them.”

  “Ma'am?”

  “I'm signing off on transporting them to Kathy's World. You'll have to work out the dependency issues enroute or when you get there. Heaven help you when you try to explain it all to your wife,” she told him pointedly.

  “Thank you, ma'am!” he said, turning. He started to lope, heart lifting. After a moment he dropped to all fours and broke into a fast run.

  <(>~^~<(>

  He went looking for them again in the slum, but they hid at his approach. “Look, I don't have time for this! You don't have time for this! We've got to leave!”

  “Le
ave?” White demanded. “Where?”

  “I'm saying you can come with me! It's what you wanted, right?” Jethro asked, spreading his hands imploringly. His respiration quickly dropped from panting to normal as his implants and nanites scavenged oxygen for him and dealt with the lactic acid build up in his muscles.

  “I'm not going without my sister!” Red called out.

  Lil White stuck her head out of the crate's opening. “No! I'm not going so buzz off!” she snarled then disappeared. He blinked in confusion until he felt a tug on his pant leg.

  He looked down to see a familiar dog there. “I don't understand, Red asked me to take her with me! I got permission!” He looked back up to where the kitten had disappeared to.

  “That was a knee jerk reaction. She didn't mean it,” Zelma told him. She quietly told him they would be okay on their homeworld. She and the others would look after them. “We can't run. We have to stand up and fight; you and Sabu and the others have shown us that,” she said with quiet dignity. She lifted her chin as her hand stroked a pup's drowsy head. “So we're going to fight for our home, our pups, and our future.”

  “Yes, ma'am.” His ears were flat out. “I wish …”

  “I know. But we all have a duty. Yours is to the corps and to help others, not just here but everywhere. They'll be fine. You can talk to them over the mail or ansible, right?”

  “If they are willing to do so.”

  “I'll teach them to read more. You send the messages so we will know you're safe.”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  <(>~^~<(>

  On the ride on the shuttle, he was quiet, deep in his own misery. “Glad to be getting out of there, Gunny?” the cargo master asked.

  “Something like that,” Jethro answered pensively, watching the blue marble slowly drift away.

  Chapter 38

  Jethro traveled with the survivors of the Kathy's World expedition force. On the one hand, he felt elated; they'd survived despite the odds. Not every one of his recruits but most of them. A hundred and twenty-five recruits had survived to return home. From there they would go on to Agnosta for an abbreviated run through boot camp, implant procedures, and then on to advanced training before they joined a formal unit. But first they had one last stop and one last duty to perform.

  They had to bring back the dead to their families.

  “It's beautiful, isn't it?” she asked softly as Jethro stared out the simulated window to the blue, green, and white marble below. He turned to her, but she waved him back to his meditation. “Sit. At ease. I'm off duty. I'm getting too old for this shit no matter how much I love it,” the Neowolf admitted to Jethro as he looked out the window to Kathy's World seven weeks later. She eyed him for a long moment. “You, however, you're just getting started.”

  “I guess so, ma'am,” he replied with a shrug.

  “Good. Keep kicking ass and not bothering to take names. Consider that an order from an old soldier,” the snow white wolf said, flicking her ears to him and smiling ever so slightly.

  “Yes ma'am,” Jethro replied with a nod.

  “One last honor to perform. One I do actually hate. But one that is necessary. Are they ready?”

  “As they ever will be, ma'am. I drilled them carefully.”

  She stared at him and then nodded slowly. He'd worked with the Marine recruits to handle the protocol. “They'll be fine. You'll be fine.”

  “Will I, ma'am? Will Shanti … and Rah, will they ever forgive me? Will Red and White?” he asked, sounding distressed.

  “The real question is, will you forgive yourself? You didn't abandon them, Gunny. You didn't abandon your wife or Sabu or the kittens. Yes, duty took you away from them. But they made their decisions too.”

  He closed his eyes as he felt her hand pat his shoulder. “Think about it. Survivor guilt is a false guilt. It's for petty people to work out what really matters. Remember with pride those who gave their lives for freedom and honor their sacrifice by living up to their ideals and choosing your own.”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  Bast nodded on his HUD to him. He watched with unseeing eyes as the Major eyed him for a long moment then departed.

  <(>~^~<(>

  When the first shuttle landed, they rendered honors the right way. Everyone who had survived the conflict was in formal uniform. Even those who had been injured or maimed were in uniform. Their injuries were healing, but they could only fully recover when they got to the medics on Agnosta.

  Twenty-three Marine recruits remained in stasis on the starships. Just about every recruit had earned a purple heart in the campaign, some several times over. It was a hell of a thing for a boot to get a purple heart before they even actually entered boot camp Jethro thought as the ramp began to drop.

  “Atten-hut!” he intoned. Marines stepped up to the sides and waited patiently for the ramp to get all the way down.

  Their landing was being covered by the media with the families of the recruits present. Those that had lost loved ones were there as well. The joyful reunion was instantly sobered when the coffins came out first, escorted by Marines on either side.

  Shanti and Rah were there in the crowd acting as both crowd control and as a part of the audience. They too were excited to see Jethro but instantly sobered when saw the panther leading a procession carrying a flag-draped hovering coffin. Shanti shot him angry accusing eyes.

  “Ma'am. I regret to inform you of the loss of Private Sabu. He and the others of his squad died with honor. We bring his remains home for burial,” Jethro said in a strangled voice. Shanti stared at him, ears flat back as her sister hissed softly in pain. She was instantly bitter, he could tell from her expression that she blamed him for her brother's death.

  Her eyes caught the glitter of the golden medal around his throat. “What's this?” she demanded. “You got a pretty piece of ribbon, and my brother comes home in a casket?” She demanded as she lashed out and ripped the medal off. It fell to the ground as he stood there mutely. “Say something!” she demanded. When he didn't say a word, she slapped him.

  That broke him. He flashed out, faster than she could see and hugged her tightly, crushingly tight. “I'm sorry,” he breathed in her ear. “I am so, so sorry,” he said, voice foggy with tears. “I wasn't there!”

  She struggled in his grip. He let her go after a moment, and she pushed herself away from him. She liked his strength; his speed had shocked her. But she was so angry. Confused, and ….

  “That's right, you weren't! You promised me you'd take care of him!” She shrieked. He winced, ears out, fighting to keep his expression professional as a Marine cleared his throat behind him. “He needed you, I needed you and you …,” she lunged forward to beat on his chest and then cried when he didn't defend himself. He took her in his arms slowly. “He needed …,” she sobbed, over and over.

  He nuzzled the top of her head ever so softly with his chin and cheek. He saw Rah standing there with her hand over her mouth, struggling to stay calm, to fight the tears and sadness. “I'm sorry. I couldn't be there for him or for you. But I'm here now,” he murmured simply.

  Moira came over to the tableau. They had made quite a scene; she saw it on the media report she had playing on one corner of her HUD. The commentators were talking about it. She picked up the medal, brushed it off and handed it to the gunny. He put the thing in his pocket.

  “He's right,” she told them. Shanti's claws dug into Jethro's arm. “He wasn't on the planet. It's my fault too,” she said roughly. Shanti and Rah stared at her. She seemed older, forlorn.

  Shanti took a breath, let it out, and then stared at them. “All right, what happened?” she said, getting control of herself. Her eyes searched Jethro's for the truth.

  “We got a tip about a cache and safe house. Sabu and two mixed squads of militia and Marines hit them. The house Sabu's squad went into was a trap. The moment they entered …,” Moira said. After a moment she looked away. “The thick brick walls and lead paint and panels prevented th
em from seeing the explosives until it was too late.” She closed her eyes in pain. “Jethro was ordered to the flagship for the ceremony for the Medal of Honor. I conspired with the other officers to get him awarded since the navy was ignoring him and his accomplishments, for ignoring our accomplishments,” she said. She was aware of the cameras and microphones near. For the moment she didn't care.

  “I'm sorry I wasn't there,” Jethro pleaded, eyes searching Shanti's.

  “It's not your fault,” Rah snuffled. She had a hand over her mouth. She rested her free hand on her brother's flag draped coffin then reached out and touched her brother-in-law. She wrapped an arm around him and hugged him. “He loved to help people. He loved … he was so full of life,” she whispered as Lisami and the two cubs arrived to their side. Lisami reached out to hug Rah, then touch foreheads with her.

  “Let's bring my husband home. One last time,” Lisami murmured.

  <(>~^~<(>

  Jethro was forlorn, unsure what to do. “Are you coming home with us?” Rah asked him as they left the cemetery.

  “I don't know,” Jethro said, unsure. “I don't know if I'm wanted.”

  “Of course! Oh,” Rah said, looking to Shanti. “I'm … you should go. You should know.”

  “Know?”

  Rah started to say something more then stopped herself. She ended up smiling and flicking her tail and ears at him. “You'll see.” She turned to her sister. “One way or another,” she said with a hint in her voice.

  “Come on,” Rah said. She looked at Shanti. Shanti just shrugged and turned away.

  Jethro followed, ears back, unsure of what he was getting into. He felt horrible. He knew it would be bad but … he exhaled slowly, then inhaled as they got near a sprawling house of stone and wood in the suburbs. When he inhaled he caught the scent of the leopards as well as others. He raised his head, sniffing and heard a kitten cry.

  “What …”