Recruit

by Jonathan P. Brazee

  “You be lookin’ for a good time dere, sailor boy?” a heavily accented male voice came from behind him as he entered the passenger pickup.

  Ryck spun around, took in the dark blue shirt of a Torritite, and took a step to hug the man.

  “Hey sailor, we must be agreeing to price afore we be getting cozy-like,” Joshua Hope-of-Life said, but returning the bear hug.

  “Josh, good to see you. I thought we weren’t going to get together until next week, though,” Ryck said as they broke their hug.

  “Eh, I’ve already been back for a week, and my sibs are driving me crazy. It’s crazy and boring at the same time, so I told your sister I’d come into Williamson to pick you up. It gave me a good excuse to get out of the house for a bit,” he said, back in the accent and manner of speaking he’d cultivated in the Marines, all trace of his Torritite drawl gone.

  “Looking copacetic, there, Marine,” he continued, eyeing the Silver Star on Ryck’s chest.

  Ryck was still self-conscious about the medal, which had been approved seven months after Luminosity. The citation read that Ryck’s “ingenuity” and “courage” while “wounded” had cleared the way for the stalled assault to continue. Ryck had only participated in the war for an hour, really. He’d been picked up by a corpsman while sitting at the wooden obstacle, all fighting much further inside the camp. He’d been casevac’d back to the Prake where they immediately began the regen on his dislocated shoulder and frostbit ass. The fighting on Luminosity took a little longer than expected due to the arms the rebels had acquired. Ryck tried to rejoin his platoon while they were supporting the recovery of the main mines, but even with his shoulder basically set, the Navy docs wouldn’t clear him. The dead skin on his ass and leg evidently took longer to regen for some reason, and so he was stuck on the ship while the rest of the platoon fought.

  It was a minor miracle, from Ryck’s point of view, that no one from the squad was killed. Four PICS had been knocked out, but only the boot Prifit had been seriously hurt and put into long-term regen. All told, the battalion had lost 21 Marines and one Navy corpsman with 28 Marines, mostly from the light platoons, going into long-term regen. The fighting in the mines had been the most fierce of the operation, and the light platoons, in the skins and bones, had been the go-to Marines for that.

  Two men, one of the Marines from India Company and the corpsman from Fox who had been killed, had been put in for the Federation Nova, which had been approved only a couple of months ago, while another two Marines had been approved for the Navy Cross. One of those was Sgt Homer Phantawisangtong, King Tong, who had single-handedly blown the central bunker. Along with the two Platinum Stars, four Silver Stars, a Legion of Merit for the colonel, and more than a few Battle Commendations of all three classes, that made the battalion one of the most decorated for a single operation since the War of the Far Reaches. And Ryck missed most of it.

  This was not false modesty. Ryck realized that what he’d done was pretty grubbing copacetic. But when the war stories on the two-week battle were brought out in the galley, at the club, out in town, he could just listen in. When they gushed over King Tong’s one-man assault, with “Did you see when he . . .” or “What about when he blasted that . . . ,” no Ryck hadn’t seen. When they described the Helicon Mine going up, a suicide by the rebels inside of it just before the Marines of India entered, no, he hadn’t seen that, either. He was already on his way back to the Prake. He stayed on the ship, getting three hots and a cot, while the Marines slugged it out on the planet below.

  “Nice stripes, too,” Joshua continued, pointing at the corporal chevrons on his sleeve.

  “Shit, just in the right place at the right time,” Ryck said, uncomfortable under Joshua’s gaze.

  Joshua had served his entire enlistment without one actual operation. He’d gone to First Division, yet nothing had happened. Ryck had three combat stars while Joshua had none.

  “Hey, no more Marine shit for now. Let’s get you home to your sister. You’ve got to see your nieces, cute as a grub in a rug. The big celebrations don’t start for another two days, so you’ve got to get out of the uniform and decompress.”

  This was Ryck’s first time home since he enlisted. “Home,” though, didn’t really fit anymore. It was where he grew up, and it was where his sister was, but not much else tugged at him. Barret had let him know that there was a place for him in his company, a well-paying job with room for advancement. If Ryck got out in another three months, he knew he could be set with a comfortable lifestyle. That was one of the reasons why he took his leave back on Prophesy. The timing also coincided with Incorporation Day. Even with PCDC bankrupt and out of the picture, the people of Prophesy still celebrated Incorporation Day, the anniversary of when they became a legal entity. This was a time for family and friends.

  Ryck followed Joshua out into the parking and up to a brand new, shiny red Hyundai Tonora.

  “Holy gubbing shit! This thing yours?” he asked.

  “Hell no! You know my lowly lance corporal’s salary. This is my baby brother’s. Only 21, and his processing company is going gang busters. The company is not even a year old, and look at this baby,” he said, pointing at the Hyundai.

  “Damn! Sure looks like we picked the wrong line of work,” Ryck said, stepping back to take in the sleek lines of the sports hover.

  “Yeah, sure did. Caleb says he’s got a job for me in the company if I don’t re-up. I could get one of these for myself.”

  Ryck went quiet for a moment. Talking about re-enlisting was something generally off the table. But Joshua was his friend.

  “You going to take him up on that?” he asked.

  “Me? In an office? Nah, I don’t grubbing think so. I’m not a grubbing combat hero like you, but still, I like it, and if I stay in long enough, I’ll see some action. Show you what a real warrior can do!” he said, punching Ryck in the arm.

  Ryck was both relieved and disappointed to hear that, and he wasn’t sure why. Ryck wanted to re-enlist, and he had a good tour, but he wasn’t sure yet. He’d lost friends, he’d had a miserable year plus in regen, but he had actually made a difference. On the other hand, if he took Barret up on his offer, he could make a good living, find a wife, settle down and start a family.

  He dumped his pack in the Hyundai’s small trunk and slid into the passenger seat. It felt decadent, and Ryck was in love. That love deepened as the Tonora lifted off the pavement and slowly moved to the exit. He knew that the hover could be almost silent, but the sound engineers for Hyundai created a low rumble, more felt than heard, that reflected the power in the car. Lysa’s home was on the other side of Williamson, so Joshua took the ring road around the city, opening the hover up at 240 KPH. This was better than a Stork!

  Too soon, Joshua pulled off the ring road and was on the surface streets to Elysium Hills, the subdivision where Lysa and Barret had bought a house the year before. Ryck had been to their previous home, and he thought it had been rather nice. But with two kids, Lysa told him they needed someplace bigger, and Barret wanted to be in the capital city.

  Bigger was an understatement, Ryck thought as Joshua pulled in front of a, well, a mansion. There was no other way to describe it. Easily twice as large as Barret’s old home, it had all the architectural extras currently in fashion. The front yard was stately, with two huge trees of some sort as the main features. The water tax on those two trees alone represented a huge chunk of Ryck’s corporal’s salary. From one tree, a rope swing hung, out of place in the new construction, but a nice touch. Above the side wall, Ryck could see the tops of what looked like a jungle gym. This wasn’t Barret’s old bachelor pad. This was a family home.

  “Here you go, my man,” Joshua said as he pulled up.

  “You coming in?”

  “Nah, this is family time. Do your duty. We’re all getting together on I-Day to watch the fireworks, so I’ll see you then. Don’t worry, we’ll have some time together, just you and me,” Joshua told him.

>   Ryck took his pack, watched Joshua pull out, and walked up to the front door. Before he reached it, the door opened and Lysa ran out, colliding with him in a hug.

  “Little brother, it’s so good to see you. Come in, come in!”

  “Uncle Ryck, Uncle Ryck, come here,” a little voice said in back of Lysa.

  Ryck had spoken with Kylee on the cam, but this was the first time he’d seen her in the flesh. She reached around Lysa to take his hand.

  “Kylee! What did I tell you! Give Uncle Ryck a chance to breathe first. He’ll see your room later,” Lysa told her daughter. Lysa took Ryck’s hand and led him into the house. Barret was waiting there, a beer in his hand that Ryck gratefully took, giving his pack to Barret in exchange.

  “You look good, there, Ryck. I don’t know what all those ribbons mean on your chest exactly, but your friend Joshua says they are pretty important. I know the girls want you to stay in your uniform, but I bet you’d like to get into something more comfortable,” Barret said.

  Ryck was towed to his room by Kylee as she pulled on his arm. He managed to get into the room alone and changed into shorts and a 2/9 t-shirt. As he opened the door, Kylee was waiting, and grabbing his arm, she dragged him back into the living room. Barret was sitting down, another little girl peeking out from behind his chair.

  “Hi, Camyle,” Ryck said to his youngest niece.

  The two-year-old retreated back a little further behind her father’s chair.

  “Don’t worry about her. She’s a little shy, but she’ll warm up to you,” Lysa told him.

  The next few hours were pure domesticity. Lysa cooked up some katsudon and yakisoba, Barret talked about the job he was offering Ryck, sports, and asked about Ryck’s military operations, Kylee dragged him to her room for an introduction to over 30 stuffed animals, and Camyle even said a few words to him.

  Ryck didn’t have much time alone with Lysa. He managed to catch her while she was making the noodles for the yakisoba. She had flour on her forehead as she kneaded the dough. She was different. Not just the weight, which had crept on during the last four years. This woman was not the woman who left the house in skin-tight dresses for a night in the bars and night-spots. This was a woman who was at home.

  “You look happy,” Ryck told her, knowing it was true.

  “Like this?” she said with a laugh, brushing the hair back off her forehead, leaving more flour.

  “Yeah, just like that.”

  “You’re right. I am happy. I’m not sure I deserve it, but I thank God every day for my two little girls, my husband. The only thing I am missing is you. If you take Barret’s job offer, then that would complete me. Of course, then I’ll be bugging you to find a wife and give me some nieces and nephews.”

  “And I’m happy for you, big sister. Really, I am.”

  Dinner was great, and conversation was surprisingly interesting, even when initiated by a three-year-old. Three-and-a-half, that was, as Kylee took pains to remind everyone. Ryck had to watch his language a bit as some phrases and words almost leaked out. Little girls should not be faced with the same language as salty Marines and sailors.

  To his surprise, Ryck was tired, and he went to bed early. He had to show up at his high school the next day to receive an award. He’d have liked to skip it, but he got three extra days of leave for what the Marines considered a recruiting trip. In the afternoon, he promised he’d visit Barret at his office to check out the position being offered.

  He had never been in Lysa and Barret’s house before, and never in the guest bedroom. But as he lay down, with the little-girl shrieks of laughter coming from downstairs, it was feeling much more like home than he would have imagined.

  Chapter 25

  “This is your office,” Barret told him, as they stepped into a good-sized, if barren room. “Of course, you can personalize it as you want when you get here. But you can see it has a pretty good view. You don’t get a private bathroom, I mean ‘head,’ but who knows?” he said with a laugh.

  Water, or water reclamation and prospecting, had been good to Barret. With PCDC off the planet, water was scarce, and those who could find it were at a premium. Barret’s company had done very well since the PCDC’s charter was revoked. Barret was offering Ryck a position as vice-president of operations. Ryck didn’t know the first thing about the water business, or any business for that matter, and he knew this was an offer based entirely on Barret’s love for his sister. Still, as Barret said, the discipline Ryck had gained as a Marine would enable him to quickly grasp the ins and outs of his job.

  The day had turned out better than he’d expected. Going back to school, this time in his dress blues, had been a rush. He felt like a flick star with all the attention. He was even moved by the Distinguished Alumni Award he’d received, much to his surprise. He’d received an extra three days of leave for meeting with his school, but frankly, he’d do it again even without the extra leave.

  Barret had picked him up after lunch and taken him out to one of his projects in the area, which proved quite interesting. The company had dug several “lead wells” around what had once been a producing well but was now dry. With modern technology, the lead wells were able to “suck,” as Barret explained in not so technical terms, the residual moisture from the area. The science was beyond him, but Barret assured him that the understanding would only take a bit of time.

  During the long drive back to Williamson, Barret did most of the talking, and most of that was family-related. Barret would never fit in with a Marine platoon, and he had no idea of what Ryck had experienced, but he was a good man. Ryck felt guilty for not liking him at first. He would never be Ryck’s best buddy, but he was good for Lysa and good for the girls. For that, he deserved Ryck’s respect.

  “Well, what do you think? I mean, do you like it?” he asked Ryck.

  “I have to admit, it’s kinda interesting. You’ve certainly done well with it,” he said.

  “You will, too. We’ll talk about salary and perks later, but be easy on me, OK? No Marine combat attacks here. I’m not the enemy!” Barret said with yet another laugh.

  Barret’s sense of humor was not the most developed, and that fact alone made Ryck smile.

  Chapter 26

  “You ever get to Goa?” Charles asked as they looked out over the crowd.

  “No,” Joshua and Ryck said in unison.

  “You’ve got to get there,” Charles said. “Grubbing amazing! Better than Vegas or Pattaya, and I’ve been to both of them. We pulled into Goa, and as soon as you get off the spaceport, there’s this line of bars with hot, and I mean hot mares . . .”

  Ryck and Joshua had met up with Charles at The Park while waiting for the fireworks. He was obviously military, and he could tell both Marines were military, too. After introductions, they found out he was Navy, a petty officer second class. His ship was in the same sector as with First Division, and the talk drifted to bases in the area, then liberty ports. Ryck listened with half an ear while he watched Joshua’s and his families. Joshua’s dwarfed Ryck’s in size, but for the little kids, Kylee was making her presence felt, bossing the other little ones around into playing her games.

  She’d make a good DI, Ryck thought.

  Ryck turned back to the two others. Charles was in the middle of a description of a very perverted, obscene, and frankly funny escapade he and another sailor had on Goa. Ryck found himself laughing along. Even Joshua got into the flow of it, with a few somewhat-risqué stories of his own. Ryck knew better now, but before he enlisted, he thought the Torritites were all pretty up-tight prudes. In fact, he doubted that his family would be sitting there together with a Torritite family, sharing food and companionship, if Ryck and Joshua had not become friends. If nothing else, the Marines gave him the opportunity to have his eyes opened. If he got out of the Corps, he promised himself to stay in contact with Joshua’s family.

  His eyes roamed over the crowd. There were a lot of eligible women there, and Joshua had assured him that
it was a good time to be in uniform. There was a new romance-flick that was all the rage, and the little-understood-but-noble-hero was a Marine lieutenant. Usually, the heroes, if they were military, were Navy or Legion, so this was something new, and Joshua was more than willing to take advantage of the current popularity if he could.

  Joshua’s own sister, Hannah, had grown into a fine-looking young woman. She had talked with Ryck for about 30 minutes as they set up the picnic dinner. Whether that was out of politeness to her brother’s friend or something more, Ryck had no clue. He wouldn’t mind finding out more about that, though.

  He shifted his gaze to his sister just as Barret leaned over and kissed her. She accepted his kiss and laid her head on his shoulder as they sat on the blanket, waiting for the show.

  Joshua’s laugh brought him back to where he was. Charles had finished the sea story, and Joshua was hurriedly launching into his own. Ryck didn’t really have any of his own such escapades. He had combat stories, but those were usually only shared with those who were there, too. He could discuss regen, but that was for other gen hens. Still, the very nature of the military made him part and parcel to the stories, even if he hadn’t actually been there. If Ryck decided to get out when his enlistment ended, he would miss that. He would miss the brotherhood.

  Down in front of him, there was family. Beside him was the brotherhood of the uniform. He had to make his choice.

  His train of thought was interrupted when the first explosion showered the sky with color. The show was on.

  Tarawa

  Chapter 27

  “Enter!” the voice ordered.

  Corporal Ryck Lysander opened the hatch, then marched in to center himself in front of SgtMaj Huertas.

  “Corporal Lysander, reporting as ordered.”

  “At ease, Lysdander, at ease. You know why you’re here. Your enlistment is up in seven days. It’s declare time for you. As you know, you’ve been approved for re-enlistment. It’s yours if you want it. You can stay infantry, but there have been by-name requests for you from the armory and armor. Have you made your decision?”