by Chris Hechtl
“True.”
“There is one other thing we can do,” the AI said. Renee looked over her shoulder to the holo avatar. “We'll make the bastards pay for it,” Firefly said firmly.
“We damn well better,” Renee growled grimly.
The End
Author's Afterward
Well, hopefully I'm finally getting around to answering the lingering questions and tying up loose ends. Speaking of tying things up, I hope now the cover art is clear. I had been tempted to change the name of the book to Meet the Reaper at one point. LOL.
This book went together quite well, which wasn't too much of a surprise, I've now got some experience, and besides, as you have no doubt noticed, I incorporated parts of Pirate's Bane into the book. That wasn't something like Weber's Harrington series; I don't plan on making a habit of it. Well, maybe crossover scenes with some of the short stories...Maybe. I dunno. We'll see okay? :D
The Searchlight short story should also wrap up some lingering loose ends and let you know what went on with Firefly after she left Pyrax for her first patrol. She's going to have some fun. I'm not certain how much just yet, and if she'll run into things when they happen in future books. That's too much of a coincidence. Once or twice a last minute rescue, but I doubt they'll manage to make a habit of it. Doubt. Maybe....
Dramatic personnel:
Marines:
Major Jersey Forth: Commanding officer of the Marines. Senior most Marine officer. Former Captain of a planetary militia on Avalon. Former Captain of the Marines before promotion just prior to Admiral Irons departure from the Pyrax system. Later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Captain Pendeckle: former Commander of Agnosta 1st Marine recon detachment. Human male. Blocky body, broad shouldered. Tough minded, but fair. Frocked to Major while on board Firefly. Honorary promotion to Major confirmed and made permanent by Admiral Irons in B101a1.
LT Myers: 1st Lieutenant, Marine. No former combat experience. By the book persona, gruff, no-nonsense personality like his noncom Sergeant. Human male. He preferred his bald appearance to the Marine high and tight haircut. A former spacer with EVA and security training. He was a club bouncer as a teen. He joined the college as security guard prior to the pirate attack. The lieutenant signed on as a Marine but was sidelined by a twisted ankle and missed the combat. Offered compensation to officer training and accepted. Sent to Antigua.
Birute Pongo: Lieutenant. Neo Orangutan with gene engineered purple fur with yellow highlights—injured. Transferred to the Admiral's convoy. Bit of a trickster like his Ape type.
Ensign Ufda: male Satyre—rare breed, mean, holds grudge. braying laugh. He has a tech background. He is very much a micro-manager. Freshly graduated from the Academy in Agnosta. Injured in combat in B101a1. Transferred to the Admiral's convoy.
Ensign Tricia Ebensher: human female—A recent graduate of the Academy, classmate of Ufda. She, like him, controlled four squads, mostly shooters. She was injured in combat in B101a1. -Transferred to the Admiral's convoy.
Ensign Esh'z: Veraxin intel officer, classmate of Ebensher and Ufda. He was initially pissed at the transfer to Firefly. He was assigned duty on Oasis to gather intel from the prisoners. He stumbled onto a major secret but was nearly killed for his trouble.
Sergeant Minachelli: Lieutenant Myers noncom squad leader. Human. Tough but fair. Sent to Antigua.
Sergeant Yelt: bluff no-nonsense human male. The good Sergeant is the posture image of a noncom Marine. Sent to Antigua.
Sergeant Zerric: simple Marine, pale skin, sunburnt, heavyworlder genes bald. He was a plodder, unimaginative but reliable.
Deja: former pirate slave helmsman. Selkie. Marine enlisted. Sergeant. Wants to be a shuttle pilot. Went through abbreviated training on San Diego with Hurranna before completing his training and returning to the Marines. Made it to Agnosta. Met up with a tribe of Selkies near the North Pole. Piloted Firefly as helmsman during their run to Antigua and return run back. Promoted to Staff Sergeant in Agnosta. Spent most of his time on duty on the bridge of Firefly however. Was offered a Warrant W-1 slot.
Kiara: Neolioness, daughter of Nara and Simba, love interest of Kovu. Kovu has a reputation as a black sheep in the cat family, bad boy which makes him appealing to the girls. She was a new boot in training prior to the Antigua rescue. Since then she graduated and was assigned duty on Firefly as a newly-minted private.
Valenko's squad:
Valenko: Ensign and then 2nd Lieutenant brown bear/grizzly. Has two daughters, both Marines. Estranged relationship with ex-wife/mate on Anvil. Promoted to 1st lieutenant after Antigua, a battlefield promotion. Later promoted to Captain after return to Pyrax from the battle of B101a1.
Jethro McLintock: Corporal later Sergeant E-5, promoted to E-6 and frocked to E-7 Gunny Sergeant to deal with platoon on Firefly. E-7 rank confirmed by Admiral Irons. Neo Panther. Sniper, scout, DI. Descendant of Tobias McLintock, Federation Cadre. Father was an assassin killed on Firefly.
Ox: Tauren engineer, heavy weapons, communications, and apprentice armorer. Lance Corporal- later Sergeant. Promoted to E-6 Staff Sergeant during Agnosta promotions.
Harley Quinn: Neo hyena Private. Practical joker female. Rifleman. Went through F platoon with the core veterans of Valenko's Squad. Promoted to PFC in Antigua orbit, then frocked to Lance Corporal.
Sergei: white Neoliger. Heavy weapons and explosives. Private-PFC during Antigua conflict. Promoted to Lance Corporal in Agnosta orbit.
Gusterson: Medic, greyhound corpsman, Navy. Petty officer. Transferred to the San Diego Academy to teach basic first aid.
Pa'nash, “Panache”: Veraxin female, shooter/communication's tech Private. Suffers mild PTSD after boarding actions during the pirate attack on Pyrax. A friend of Gunny Schultz. She bounced around various squads and took several medical leaves of absence before ending up on logistics. Gunny Schultz gave her a second chance. Handled herself well in Antigua. Promoted to PFC and then frocked to Lance Corporal for Firefly recon raid. Frocked promotion made permanent when the ship returned to Pyrax.
Asazi: Former heavy world prize fighter. Amazon, has a healed broken nose and battered prize fighter face. PFC infantryman. Later promoted to Lance Corporal. She has an interest in Instructor training and became a junior DI with Jethro and some of the other members of the squad. Placed in stasis after losing a leg in Antigua. Passed promotions to Corporal.
Kovu: Private, uppity neolion with a superiority chip on his shoulder. short black mane, normally would be scruffy. He out masses Jethro but was not as smart. Kovu has a reputation as a black sheep in the cat family, bad boy. Cousin to Leo. He has cougar genes, so he has a leaner frame and lacks a full mane. Kovu was demoted from Private to PFC to Private after disobeying orders to see his girlfriend Kiara. Junior assistant DI Infantry, spotter, and junior sniper.
PFC Clive Bret: Blond, blue-eyed human. Quiet and reserved, no nonsense professional Marine. Married with a child on the way. Rifleman. Left behind in Agnosta.
Gunny Schultz: Doberman, former DI of F platoon. Reassigned to lead DIs on Agnosta. Actual rank of E-9 First Sergeant but prefers to be called Gunny.
Letanga: cousin to Jethro, Neoleopard. Sniper, Marine Private later advances to Corporal. Letganga moved on to another squad on Agnosta.
Hurranna: Neolynx former member of F platoon and Valenko's squad from hell. Transferred to piloting duty on San Diego. Corporal. Moving up to E-5 Staff Sergeant when she encountered Valenko's squad. Moving to W-1 rank.
The 'Fonz' Private Fonzarelli: Human male, rifleman/sniper black hair, he had a mullet and sideburns before joining up. He is friends with Kovu. KIA in Antigua.
Jethro's Squad:
PFC Dawn Anderson: Human. Former boot under Jethro.
PFC Zal Clarke: Human. Former boot under Jethro.
Private Kam Niven: Human. Shooter. Former boot under Jethro.
Private Sieger Stasheff: Human. Shooter. Former boot under Jethro.
Private Lief Asimov: Human Shooter.
Former boot under Jethro.
Spacer 3rd class Honor Weber: Female Naval corpsman. Just graduated course. Quite, lovable. Expressive eyes, deep empathy. Short black pixy hair, tall.
Private Rigs: Neo Coyote. Shooter. Former boot under Jethro. Distantly related to a famous Neo Pirate Don Karnage.
Private Jerry Lee XXXXXVII: Neo Alsatian mix.
Lance corporal Za'vex: Veraxin male. Professional, squared away. Former boot under Jethro.
Lance corporal Trina: Neo domestic feline. Shooter. Does not like being touched or around people.
Corporal Or'og: Gashg male. Professional consummate Marine. Squared away. Marked for accelerated promotion.
Others in the Pyrax system:
Captain J.G. Horatio Logan: Former yeoman and enlisted petty officer prior to and during Xeno war. Sleeper, he was awoken over a century prior to the admiral and served as the Chief engineer of Anvil space station before the admiral's arrival. Currently the commanding officer of Pyrax. Recently promoted to Captain J.G.
Lieutenant Commander Junior Valdez: Son of Senior Valdez, former tug pilot turned small craft pilot and later first fighter pilot in Pyrax. Promoted from 1st LT to LT Commander. He has matured greatly and is in charge of all pilots in the Pyrax system. (CAG)
Lieutenant J.G. Jessie Ball: Cameo. Fortyish human female with a family. Computer programmer. AI core programmer under Lieutenant Veber.
System governor Paul Walker: Elected governor of the system. Tall, rather good looking and charming. A corrupt politician. One of a group of people who conspired to remove the admiral from the system. Walker has a wife and children but goes through mistresses like a buzzsaw. Any who threaten him end up dead.
Mayor turned Lieutenant Governor Ralkin: Political crony of the late Felica as well as Governor Walker. He was the mayor of Vesta when the Admiral was exiled. He took over the Lieutenant Governor and eventually the Governor's position.
Chico Lake: CEO and leader of Lake Electronics. Backer of Governor Walker.
Robert Dean: Owner of Dean aerospace. Civilian contractor and industrialist. Backer of Governor Walker.
Mister Edenver: Investor and backer of Governor Walker.
Madra: Investor and backer of Governor Walker. He has ties to the Horathians and the assassin's guild. He has ghost white skin and long black hair.
Commander Vargess: Love interest of Captain Mayweather. Captain of the Nelson class destroyer Fuentes. Sleeper, former captain of a sublight militia gunship before transferring to the Navy. He and a group of young officer cadets he was sheparding to the Naval Academy were lost when their ship was caught by the Xenos and booby trapped. Admiral Irons and the crew of Firefly managed to rescue the sleepers. Commander Vargess is a loyal supporter of the admiral. He was promoted to full Commander by Admiral Irons after the battle of B101a1 but the orders and promotion have yet to have caught up with him since he and his ship are currently in Antigua.
Lieutenant Fuentes (AI): ancient AI recovered and rebuilt prior to the admiral's departure. The ship AI at the time was a dumb AI of the Nelson class destroyer. It had only 1 of 3 cores and was partially insane. Fortunately the AI had been repaired and returned to service. Fuentes the ship is captained by Captain Vargess and was sent to Antigua to relieve Firefly.
Miss Persephone: Asian human female. Dominatrix and assassin, head assassin of Pyrax in the Assassin's guild. She lost prestige and many clients when she went to Epsilon Triangula in an aborted attempt to kidnap Admiral Irons and return him to Pyrax. She took a lot of pleasure in her work. Killed on Anvil.
Crew of Firefly:
Captain J.G. Renee Mayweather: Former XO of the Carib queen, a star yacht. Rose through the ranks quickly to become Captain of Firefly. Promoted to Commander after receiving a medal from Admiral Irons, then promoted again to Captain Junior Grade for her services in combat in B101a1.
Commander Shelby Logan XO: Daughter of Horatio Logan, formerly his XO on Anvil, recruited as Chief engineer of Firefly before taking over the XO slot. Technically outranked Captain Mayweather by date of rank. She took prize command of the Arboth class Destroyer Xavier for the return journey. Then a long overdue promotion to full commander as she took command of the Cabeiri Zeta class tender Prometheus when it was completed.
Captain J.G. Firefly (AI): Old AI core of the heavy cruiser Firefly. Technically while a Lieutenant Commander the AI had outranked both colloid commanding officers, but did not exercise command since his rank was mostly honorary. The AI put in for command track prior to Admiral Iron's departure from Pyrax and received a long overdue promotion to full Commander a few weeks before his exile. Admiral Irons promoted the AI to Captain J.G. after promoting Captain Mayweather, thus resolving their conflicted chain of command.
Lieutenant Commander Simon Dart: New XO of Firefly. Human male. Stiff, uppity. Speaks with a British accent on occasion.
Personal history: He was briefly on Fuentes as a JTO before transferring to college for remedial classes. Did time in the Yard, rose to command own sector.
Brief transfer to San Diego before return to Annex in admin position, doubling as guest lecturer at war college. Transferred to Damocles as TACO during war games.
Rose to XO of Centurion before personality conflict with Naomi made her transfer him. She called and warned Mayweather about him.
He spent time as a gunship captain before Firefly returned. His ship was in dock for refit, he was transferred over to fill void. Came with promotion.
Janice Yu: 1st Lieutenant, helm and navigational officer. Former helmsman of the Carib Queen. Personal friend of the captain. Transferred to San Diego Academy to teach helm and hyper navigation after the departure of the Ssilli.
Purple Thorn: 1st Lieutenant Elf tactical officer. Also known as Guns, tac witch, and other things. She is the senior tactical officer on Firefly.
Chief Chowler: 1st Lieutenant. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander and transferred to the Yard after acting as a ship Captain of Columbian Express. Very good engineer.
Riley: Sergeant, Marine armorer. Older armorer, can't hack the black. Former EVA suit tech on Anvil. Before that Riley was an armorer on many worlds, making his way from one world to the next as needed. Friend of Major Forth. Sergeant Riley is a bit of a tinkerer, almost as much as his protégé Ox.
Ensign Stephanie Drum: Human female JTO. Lead gossip on the ship.
Navigator Lieutenant Jared House: Replacement of Lieutenant Yu. Human male.
Ensign Darion: Junior helm human male
Sharif: Communications rating. Female.
Lt Leo: Sensory officer (Note, named for metal detecting Time Warner cable guy with his own TV show and YouTube show) Human male.
Chief engineer Saul Edinger: Human, worked in the yard before transferring to Damocles. Replacement to Chief Chowler.
Fighters:
Lt Hang: Senior scout leader
Ensign Ver'c Veraxin: KIA in first engagement in New Andres system.
Other:
Navy Recruit Ida Sedric: blue hair, female. Knows her stuff. Had worked on Antigua Prime in engineering as a power plant engineer. Cycled through the course and college classes fast.
Passed all tests. Graduated accelerated training as an E-2 Journeyman with an eye to bootstrap to officer rank.
Navy Recruit Bjoren: machinist. Bumped into gear train, lost a finger and a thumb. Left in Pyrax.
Tech Miller: Former E-3 spaceman, demoted to E-2 Journeyman. Pissed at Jethro for catching him out on deferred maintenance. Vowed to get even. Transferred to annex. Killed on Anvil.
Space apprentice Gerald Ford: thirties, human, former refugee. Transferred from a passing freighter. dropped off to train in Pyrax.
Lieutenant Tr'j'ck: Former ensign and JTO on Firefly. Prize captain of the prison/liner Oasis of Space XCIV. Transferred as XO of Xavier.
Anvil:
Lieutenant Governor and Anvil station governor Enrique Fernando: An old hand at playing both sides of the game. Enrique will do what he does best, survive. Former
XO of the station. Tough but pragmatic, politician able to compromise his ideals and honor to get things done. Human, black hair with a bit of salt on the sides. Crows feet. Bit of a dress-up queen, politician. Killed by an assassin before the next election.
Smithy (AI): dumb AI turned “Semi” smart by Sprite, Proteus, and Firefly. Smithy is a plodder, focusing on keeping the command staff happy.
Judge Hershey: Judge on the station. Renown for being above corruption and impartial.
Judge Farley: Senior judge in the system, he helped to refine the Pyrax Constitution. He is tough, hard on crime and impartial to a fault.
Sheriff Trask: Veraxin sheriff on Anvil.