by Sam Schall
The Devil Dogs.
Her heart skipped a beat and memories washed over her. If she’d been thrilled to be selected to join Special Forces, she had been much more than that the day she’d been tapped for the Devil Dogs. To know they were here, in the building . . . .
Relief filled her. Marines looked after their own and Devil Dogs went even further. She was safe now. She could relax and trust the DDs to make sure nothing else happened.
“Point taken, Doc, but you have to know none of my injuries are serious enough to keep me from reporting back to Major Santiago.” She shook her head, a bitter smile touching her lips. “Believe me, they’re nothing compared to what I’ve suffered the last two years.”
“I know, Captain, but you have to understand that I need to document everything.” His voice was hard, flat, and she looked at him in time to see the flash of anger in his pale eyes. “I have my orders. I am to make sure every injury you suffered after being transported to the penal colony is noted in my records. FleetCom and the major have been very clear on that. Just as they’ve been clear that I’m to treat what injuries I can right now. I only wish I had the equipment here to bring your implants back online and get them calibrated.”
“You and me both, Doc.” She’d feel a great deal better when that happened. “But, as you said, we don’t have time. Now, if I promise to be good, will you hurry up and finish?”
He shook his head, a slight smile touching his lips, and told her to lie back. As she did, he reactivated his medi-scanner. Ashlyn closed her eyes, willing herself to relax and let him work.
Half an hour later, Ashlyn stared at her reflection in the mirror over the sink in the small bathroom that connected to the room where she’d been examined. For the first time since her arrest, she wore the daily uniform of the Fuerconese Marine Corps. The pattern of colors had been optimized to help them blend into any background. But, just then, those muted colors were the most beautiful she had ever seen.
Maybe it wasn’t all a dream after all.
“Ma’am,” Talbot began from the doorway. “As soon as you’re ready, the major sent word asking if you would join him and Admiral Tremayne now.”
“Thank you, Gunny. Please tell him I’ll be there shortly.”
Ashlyn took a moment to study her reflection one last time, shaking her head as she did. Santiago had surprised her again. When Talbot arrived at the examining room a few minutes earlier with a change of clothes for her, she’d been happy to have something, anything that wasn’t prison issued. Then, when she’d recognized the pattern for the BDUs, she’d smiled slightly, relief filling her. There was no way she’d be allowed to wear the uniform if she hadn’t been pardoned. So the document Tremayne had her sign before they’d fled the security complex had been real. Hope filled her because surely that meant the other pardons had been real as well.
But that relief had blossomed into something else as she shook out the BDUs once in the privacy of the bathroom. This set looked like it had been made for her, down to the proper rank insignia and name tab. There was no way Santiago could have gotten them from the quartermaster, not in the middle of a firefight. Had he been so sure he’d be able to win her freedom that he’d had them made up ahead of time or was there another explanation? Not that it mattered. What did was once again being able to wear the uniform that had meant so much to her. It was almost as if the last two years had never taken place.
Almost.
All she had to do was look in the mirror to know those horrible months had been all too real. The scar marring her cheek and the other bisecting her right eyebrow had been acquired early into her imprisonment. Other unseen scars marred her body. There was a haunted look to her brown eyes that had never been there before, not even when she’d been about to go into battles she knew she might not return from. Her face was thin, almost gaunt, and her complexion pale from lack of sun. The swelling and bruising to her nose and left cheek made it worse. At least those newer injuries had been properly treated and would soon be nothing more than a bad memory.
Still, all those hours spent exercising in her cell to keep from going mad had given her arms a definition they’d never had before, something she hadn’t realized until she’d rolled the sleeves of her BDUs.
“All right.” She drew a deep, bracing breath and winced as pain lanced through her ribs. This was real. She had to remember that.
“This is yours, ma’am,” Talbot said as she stepped into the treatment room once again.
Ashlyn’s fingers closed tightly around the datapad he handed her. For a moment, she just held it, then she swiped a finger across the screen, waiting for it to activate. The first document in the queue was one that meant everything to her: her pardon. Following it were copies of the documents reinstating her to the Corps and removing all mention of the charges leveled against her, her conviction and her sentencing to the Tarsus military prison from her file. Then came the pardons for those convicted with her. Attached to it was a copy of the orders being sent to the commandant of the prison, instructing him to release her people and see they were well cared for until transport arrived to bring them to the capital. Everything was there, everything she had spent so long hoping for and knowing she could do nothing to bring it about.
Then the gunnery sergeant was there, his expression concerned as he handed her a tissue. Until then, she hadn’t realized she was crying. Tears ran down her cheeks and she swallowed hard. It was over. Finally. Or at least it would be as soon as she’d seen for herself that her people were safely away from Tarsus.
But this was a start – a damned good start.
“Ma’am, I can’t begin to understand what you’ve been through. But I’ve seen the scars you bear, scars I damn well know you didn’t have when you were brought up on charges.” The gunny’s voice was a low growl. His anger slowly penetrated and she looked up, brushing away her tears with her right hand. “Ma’am, I promise you this isn’t a trick. You are free. Your name and the names of the others have been cleared. I wish there was time for you to accept and adjust to everything that’s happened. Unfortunately, we’ve got a damned battle to win right now and we’ll win it a lot quicker now that you’re back.”
“Sorry, Gunny.” She slid the datapad into the pocket at her left thigh and scrubbed her face, doing her best to pull herself together.
“No, ma’am. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. But we should get on our way before the major and Admiral Tremayne start to worry.”
“All right. I’ll be just a moment.” With that, she ducked into the bathroom to wash her face. She might not totally feel like a Marine yet but, by God, she’d look like one. After all, her parents had always told her the looking the part was often as important, if not more so, that acting the part.
Miranda Tremayne looked up from the small holo-plot she’d been studying as the door to the room Santiago had appropriated as the control room for the FOB opened. For one moment, she was transported back in time almost four years. That day, the newly promoted Captain Ashlyn Shaw entered then Admiral Tremayne’s ready room for her first briefing as Marine CO onboard the Pegasus. Shaw had worn the same expression of disbelief and determination then that she wore now. The only difference were the scars that now marred the young woman’s face and the band of white in her dark hair. Those scars, if anything, made her look more determined. Of course, she probably was. She had reason to be. Her family lived in the capital. Also, unless Tremayne missed her guess, Ashlyn was determined to prove not only to those who had so willingly thrown away her career and her freedom – as well as the careers and freedom of her people – but to herself that she was still one of the best Marines around.
Ashlyn stepped forward, Gunnery Sergeant Talbot a step behind her. She stopped before Major Santiago and braced to attention. Her right hand snapped up in a perfect parade ground salute which she held until Santiago returned it. Then, still braced at attention, she stared forward, waiting for his command.
“Stand easy, Captain,�
� Santiago said before dismissing the gunnery sergeant. Talbot executed a perfect about face and then took up a position beside the door. “I have to admit, it’s good to see you in uniform again, Captain.”
“Believe me, sir, it is even better to be back in uniform.” Ashlyn paused, her expression clouding. “Sir, I want to apologize for my behavior the other day–”
“No need, Ash.” He waved aside her protest. “I – we –” He nodded to Tremayne – “should have done our homework better. For that you have my apology.”
“And mine,” Tremayne put in. There was so much more she wanted to say, but it had to wait until the current crisis was over.
“Ash.” Santiago surprised both of them by reaching out and lightly touching her scarred cheek. “I wish there was time for you to adjust to everything that’s happened, but there’s not. Just as there’s no time for your injuries to heal and your implants to be brought back online.” Anger filled his voice now, an anger Tremayne shared. They’d had a few minutes to study the doctor’s report before Ashlyn joined them. Those in charge of the military prison had a great deal to answer for.
However,” Santiago continued. “I have managed to get you assigned to SpecOps, at least for the time being. Until Major Pawlak gets here and carries you off to prove to the rest of the Devil Dogs here that you’re really back, let’s go over what we know of the situation.”
Ashlyn nodded and stepped toward the plot. As she did, Santiago entered a command into the control panel and a three-dimensional display of the center of the capital appeared before them. From where she stood to Santiago’s left, Tremayne watched as her former protégé studied the plot, her brow furrowing as icons lit to show the current locations of the enemy.
“Do we have any live feeds from the fighting?” Ashlyn asked, her eyes moving from one blinking icon to the next.
“We have the feeds from our troops’ suit-cams,” Santiago answered.
“Not enough,” she muttered, moving around the plot’s holo display. “This doesn’t make sense, sir. I can understand why the enemy would attack the security complex. That’s the nerve center for the military. It makes sense as well that they’d attack the governmental offices and the presidential palace. But why here? Isn’t that a residential complex?” She pointed to the area in question.
“It is and we don’t know why it has been targeted,” Santiago admitted.
For a long moment, Ashlyn didn’t say anything. Her lower lip caught between her teeth, she continued to study the holo display. Watching her, Tremayne had a feeling Ash was missing nothing as she looked from it to the monitors across from them that showed some of the video feeds from the various areas of fighting from around the city.
“It doesn’t look like the enemy is attacking by air any longer,” she commented.
“They haven’t for the past hour,” Tremayne answered. “Our best guess is that we managed to shoot down their birds, but we are still in a no-fly zone until we’re sure. First Fleet has sent out additional patrols and Second Fleet has been ordered to move closer to the home system in case we need additional back-up.”
“Do we know yet how the enemy managed to get air support through our defenses? Or how they managed to get boots on the ground here?”
“Yes and no. The long-range scans showed several unidentified ships jump in-system approximately twelve hours before the attack began. FleetCom ordered several of our cruisers to investigate. Before they could get close enough to get an ID, the ships jumped back out. We picked up nothing on scanners to show they’d done anything but jump in and then out. Still, we went to alert status and shifted Div-1 closer to the coordinates where the bogeys had been,” Tremayne said. As she spoke, she expanded the area shown on the plot and highlighted Div-1’s current location. “What we didn’t anticipate was that the ships might have dropped troops and in-system fighters before jumping out. That’s a mistake we won’t make a second time.”
“As for what’s happening now,” Tremayne continued and once more adjusted the plot so it showed the groundside fighting. “The enemy has dug in in areas where we can’t risk air strikes. There are too many civilians in the fire zone. Because of that, and because we don’t know how many may be holed up in the surrounding buildings, it’s going to be slow going as we retake the areas of the capital where there’s been fighting. Then we’ll have to make sure none of the enemy is hiding elsewhere.”
Ashlyn nodded, her expression grim. “A ground fight then.”
“Unfortunately.” Santiago paused, his eyes focused on the plot. “Ash, we’re fighting blind in a lot of ways here. Yes, we’ve managed to take out most, if not all, of the stingers the enemy used in their initial attack. That’s the good news. The bad is that we haven’t been able to get to them in order to examine the wreckage. The fighting has been too intense. So we don’t know for sure who they belong to.”
For a moment, Ashlyn didn’t say anything and Tremayne studied her, watching as she processed the information. “Have we managed to capture any of their fighters or recover any bodies?”
“No.” Santiago shook his head, his frustration clear. “To be honest, during the early stages of the battle, we were too busy trying to make sure the President and other key members of the administration didn’t fall into enemy hands to worry about it. Now we’re trying to retake the areas where the enemy has gone to ground but, so far, they are dug in too well.”
Before anything more could be said, the door opened once again and Major Paul Pawlak, the commanding officer of the Devil Dogs, stepped inside. Like Talbot, he wore light battle armor. His graying hair was mussed and his green eyes troubled. But that disappeared the moment he saw Ashlyn standing by the plot. After giving the briefest of salutes to Santiago and Tremayne, he marched across the room and stopped before the captain. To Tremayne’s surprise, he grabbed Ashlyn in a bear hug that lifted her off her feet. Then, for the first time since before her trial, Tremayne heard the younger woman laugh. She beat a playful fist against the major’s armored shoulder and told him to put her down.
“Damn, Major, what will the others think?” Ashlyn grinned as her boots hit the floor.
“That I’m a wise man to know how lucky we are to finally have you back in uniform, kid,” the gravel-voiced major replied. “Hope you weren’t expecting to be pampered your first day back.”
“Hell no, Major. I’m a Marine. We don’t know pampered.”
If there was a bit of bite to those words, Tremayne didn’t hear it. Watching Ashlyn respond to Pawlak, she swallowed hard. This was the first natural reaction, outside of how Ash had responded when they’d been fighting to get safely away from the security complex, she had seen from the young woman since they’d brought her back from Tarsus. For a moment, Tremayne wished she had been the one to be able to elicit that sort of reaction from the younger woman. After all, she’d known Ashlyn for years, had watched her grow up. But that wasn’t enough and she knew it. Like it or not, she represented those who had turned their backs on the young woman even if she’d hadn’t been one of them. Pawlak was a Marine, a Devil Dog, and there was a special bond between them because of it. She had to accept that and be glad someone had been able to break that final barrier of self-control Ashlyn had erected over the last two years.
“That we don’t,” Pawlak agreed with an approving smile. “Sorry, Major, Admiral. It’s just that I’m so damned glad to see Ash and have her back in uniform.” He stepped back and looked the young woman over with a critical eye. “Even if the fit isn’t quite what it should be.” The undercurrent of anger in his voice had Ashlyn shaking her head slightly, her expression darkening.
“I know I speak for all of us when I say we understand, Major.” Tremayne watched as Ashlyn straightened her shoulders, as if that alone was enough to negate any concern they might have.
“I take it you were going over the current situation,” Pawlak said.
Tremayne nodded slightly. She could trust him not to push Ashlyn about what happened to h
er and the others, at least not yet. The time for that would come later, after they secured the capital and turned back the attack.
“We were,” Santiago confirmed. “Do you have anything to report?”
“Negative, Major. I have our teams ready to move out to support the ground troops.” Now Pawlak turned his attention to the plot. “I’ve designated this as Target Alpha.” His gloved hand pointed to the presidential palace “It has one of the largest forces trying to take control of it, but it is also the most easily defendable by our side. The security force there reports that they have been able to dig in and should be able to hold out until we get reinforcements to them. At least that’s the case as long as the enemy doesn’t bring in more air support.
“Target Beta is the security complex and the area immediately surrounding it. There is a smaller enemy group there. That’s probably because they thought the initial air strikes against it would decimate the security force stationed there. Fortunately for us, the complex did what it was supposed to – it stood up to most of the attack. So not only were we able to evac most of the civilians to secure areas but our troops have been able to hold the building.
“The third area of concern, designated Target Delta, is here.” He pointed to the area Ashlyn had previously identified as a housing complex. “The enemy is dug in at the front of the building. They’ve been attempting to breach through there but, so far at least, have been unsuccessful. My concern is that they also have a smaller force that has moved to the rear of the building. They’re trying to make entry there but, so far, the occupants of the building have been able to hold them off.”
“Your plan?” Tremayne asked. She knew the question probably should have come from Santiago but SecDef had recalled her to active duty. That made her senior officer. How easy it was to slip back into the role. Command was something she had trained hard for and had been a part of her life for decades. The only problem was this was not her kind of fight and she would do well to remember that.