by Saxon Andrew
“My systems will not be operational for another two hours and twenty five minutes.”
Mike pressed button on his left collar and said, “Computer, do you recognize my transponder?”
“I do.”
“You will follow any orders you are given until told to do otherwise.”
“Force two program loaded.”
Mike walked back to the row of chairs and left the platoon standing at attention. Chetzen selected two recruits to step up and start the program. Mike stared at the platoon closely and saw most of them were looking at one of their number in the third rank. He would shake his head slightly and they would look away. Mike glanced at the two on the platform and saw they were overrun in less than twenty seconds. Their time was horrid. He heard the Sergeant giving them grief at embarrassing him in front of Sparta’s Leader.
Mike remained silent and watched the programs run. He saw that as the numbers of recruits taking part increased, their performance improved dramatically. They were really good at using good overlapping fields of fire, but all of them were overrun by the computer programs. He watched the ones that took part in the exercises and it didn’t take him long to see that this platoon hated their Training Sergeant. He wondered why.
The squad size program ended and Mike heard the door to armory open and then slam. He turned and saw Alex walking quickly into the armory; he walked up on the stage and slammed his fist into Sgt. Chetzen’s forehead dropping him like a bad transmission.
Mike jumped up, “General Dunlov, is there a reason for your behavior!?!”
• • •
Alex looked at the back of the room and came to attention. He saluted and Mike returned it, “Yes Sir. This giant piece of ox excrement put this platoon through training that was sadistic at best and insane at the least. No one should have been forced to endure what he’s done!”
Chetzen struggled to roll over and Mike looked at two members of the platoon, “Please drag the Sergeant out of the way.” Gomez and Thomas each grabbed one of Chetzen’ arms and dragged him to the side and went back to their place in ranks. Mike walked in front of the platoon still standing at attention and then walked into their ranks. He stopped in front of Derek and said, “Recruit, what do you think about the Sergeant’s training regimen?”
“He belongs in an insane asylum, Sir.”
“Why is that?”
“He deliberately structured our training so that every female recruit would wash out. He took pleasure in inflicting pain on everyone that reported to him. He washed out members of our unit that are head and shoulders better than those in other platoons stationed here, Sir.”
Mike looked at Alex, “Is he right?”
“Yes Sir, he is.”
“I want those recruits brought back here and reinstated.”
“Yes Sir.”
Mike turned back to Derek and said, “You aren’t afraid of retaliation.”
“Sir, our Fort Commander has taken a look at what he’s done. If the Sergeant still has a place in our ranks after this, I will humbly resign and go work in the factories.”
Mike looked at Alex and saw his barely restrained rage. “I don’t think you’ll have to do that, Recruit. However, I want to know why you’ve been hiding your tactics.”
Alex’s head jerked around. Derek said, “I’ve hidden nothing.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve hidden nothing, Sir.”
Mike stared in Derek’s eyes and knew he was telling the truth. This recruit wasn’t afraid of speaking his mind. “Pick one of your unit and step up to the activation pad.” Derek looked at Aman and nodded. They stepped up to the pad and raised their training Sliver Rifles. Mike said, “You’ve shown me what you can do during official training hours. Now show me what you do after hours.” Derek turned and looked at Mike. “Am I clear?”
Derek stared at him for a moment and said, “Crystal, Sir.” Mike saw him nod to the recruit standing next to him on the pad.
Chetzen regained consciousness and sat up as the computer program started. His mouth was open as he watched Derek and Aman destroy everything coming at them as they stepped up and back in an intricate pattern. He knew he was in big trouble.
Alex and Mike watched the two recruits blast the charging Gracken as they performed an incredible movement back and forth behind each other. They heard the Computer announce, “Program completed.”
Alex said, “Why haven’t you told us about this?”
Derek said, “I tried to tell Sergeant Chetzen three times and the last time I tried I was given two hundred pushups and made to run twenty miles in full armor.”
Alex’s face turned nasty. He turned around and looked at Sgt. Chetzen who had managed to stand up, “IS THIS TRUE!?!”
“They had to learn how to do it by the book before they did anything else.”
Alex’s hand gun came out of his holster faster than could be followed. He fired and hit Chetzen in the center of his chest with a Sliver Round. Chetzen’s chest exploded and he was thrown back to the rear of the room bowling over three rows of chairs.
Mike looked at Alex and said, “Please explain your behavior, General.”
“Sir, the recruit is right. Chetzen is insane and would only cause extreme problems no matter what we chose to do with him. He’s done more harm to our efforts than an enemy could ever accomplish. We should have known about this long before now.”
Derek looked at Mike, “Sir, what was Sgt. Chetzen hit with?”
Mike looked at Derek and said, “A sliver.” Derek shook his head and Mike said, “What’s the problem, Recruit.”
“The training programs are all wrong, Sir.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve not seen an actual sliver hitting a target.”
Alex shook his head, “That’s not true. You were shown a sliver hitting armor plating.”
Derek nodded, “And it made a nice hole through it. However, if one of them knocked a two hundred pound man thirty feet, they will stop a Gracken Warrior in its tracks. That would force those coming from behind it to jump over them. They’re much easier to hit in the air; it’s not easy to change direction off the ground.”
Mike looked at Alex and said, “The video used to make these programs were taken of a Gracken attack that didn’t have any resistance. The Recruit is right.” Alex nodded. Mike looked at Derek, “How long will it take to get the recruits that were washed out up to speed on this method you use?”
“They’ll be proficient in a week and be able to do it without thinking about it in three.”
“What is your name?”
“Recruit Derek Daniels, Sir.”
“You are no longer a recruit. You will take command of this platoon and get them ready for a demonstration in three weeks.” The platoon instantly started cheering and Mike knew he had made a good choice. He heard them start yelling ‘Daniel’s Dance, Daniel’s Dance’ and knew that he had to be the one that developed the maneuver. He raised his arm and the platoon became instantly silent. “Who do you want for your second in command?”
Derek looked at Aman and saw him move his eyes to the left. Derek lowered his eyes asking Aman if he was sure and saw him nod. Mike saw the exchange and smiled. Derek said, “Sir, Recruit Brandon Hail.”
Brandon’s eyes went wide and the platoon cheered. He was stunned Derek had chosen him. Mike said, “I’m counting on you putting on a good show in three weeks.”
Derek said, “We’ll be ready, Sir.”
Mike nodded and looked at Alex. Alex followed him out and Mike said, “Alex, you need to refrain from executing our troops.”
“Would you have done it if he reported to you?”
Mike remembered staking an Air Force pilot, who had tried to kill Tilly, out in the desert with wire that would cut his limbs off if he struggled. He was staked out next to a huge fire ant mound and he eventually placed a gun in the pilots hand to end his misery after the ants had found him and began eating him alive. He didn’t have wh
at it took to do it himself. Mike looked at Alex and smiled, “Just use good judgment in the future.”
Alex smiled, “I suspect after this I won’t have to do this again.”
Mike nodded, “I certainly hope not.”
• • •
Brandon went to Derek after Mike and Alex left and said, “You should have chosen Aman, he deserves this more than I do.”
Derek looked at Brandon and shook his head, “Why do you think the platoon chose to train after hours with us?”
Brandon was taken aback by the question and his eyes narrowed, “I think they wanted to learn how to survive in combat.”
“No, they chose to do it because you wanted to do it. They saw your excitement at learning the technique and knew if you wanted to learn, they needed to do it as well.” Derek looked at Brandon and smiled, “You have a real sense of presence, Brandon. I really don’t think you know how much you impact those around you.”
Brandon smiled and slowly shook his head, “So how do we do this?”
“Aman and I will teach the recruits that are coming back and you will work with the others. I want you to think about anything else we can do with these concepts.”
“What’s bothering you, Derek?”
Derek blew out a breath and tilted his head, “What happens when we need more than two lines? There will be some instances where there might be eight ranks of our soldiers. How do we use this with that many lines?”
Brandon saw the problem. He thought about the issue for a moment and looked at Derek, “You must have thought of something we could do?”
“I have but I need you to think about it as well and see what you can come up with. We’ll compare notes afterwards and see what we have.”
“Did you ask Aman to do the same?”
Derek smiled, “Why do you ask?”
“He knows as much as either of us; he could come up with something we could use.”
Derek nodded, “He’s working on it as well. He’s actually using the computer to see what it can dream up.”
Brandon nodded and started walking over to the platoon, “We need to start working; I’ll get with you later.” Brandon stopped, “Do you think we could get the use of a second armory to train the new arrivals?”
Derek saw General Dunlov standing outside with Mike and he ran out of the building. The two saw him coming and Mike stopped talking and said, “Is there a problem?”
“Sir, we could use another armory to get ready for the presentation.”
Mike looked at Alex and he said, “You can have the one used by Platoon 22. I’ll have them share time with Platoon 23.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Derek turned and sprinted back to the Armory.
Alex watched him go and said, “He had a lot of nerve to speak his mind about Chetzen.”
Mike nodded, “When the platoon was called together, they all looked at him to see what was going on, not the Sergeant; that told me where the real power resided. He appears to have a natural ability at leading others.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
Mike smiled, “If you could do whatever you wanted, what would you have done in Russia when you uncovered someone like him?”
“That would never happen, Sir. The higher ranking officers protected their positions with a passion. Fear, intimidation, or outright treachery was their tools.”
“Well, now we can do whatever we think is needed to make our forces the best they can be. What do you think I’m going to do with him?”
Alex smiled, “May I assume you are not going to allow me or my trainers to command our active duty forces?”
Mike nodded, “You’re too important getting our warriors prepared. I can’t spare you.”
“Then he and others like him are going to command our armies in the field.”
Mike looked back in the armory at Derek and the big recruit giving the platoon their training schedule. “He may not have the confidence to accept the rank but I know he will be effective at getting the most out of his units.”
Alex smiled, “I suspect you have your leaders in that room, Sir.”
Mike smiled, “I think you’re right, Alex.” Mike looked at the huge Russian and extended his hand, “Keep up the good work.”
“You know I will.” Mike boarded his carrier and disappeared.
• • •
Three days later, Halley walked up in armor and gave Derek a huge kiss. His face turned crimson as she said, “I’ve been asked by the women to thank you for getting rid of that piece of…”
“It’s good to have you back, Halley.”
Halley smiled and went to attention, “It’s good to be back, Sir.”
“Are you ready to go to work?”
“Lead the way.”
The fifty two recruits that were washed out of training followed Derek and Aman into the armory. Derek was wrong; they were doing Daniel’s dance without thought in ten days. The hundred members of Platoon 21 came together after fourteen days and began working together. The Aman Square was learned in six days and perfected in three more.
Chapter Five
Jeanette Adams looked at the work being done on her Q ship and shook her head. Mendrel and Howey Jurnigan had their heads stuck in two large tubes that had been cut into Tuffy’s hull. Jeanette looked over their shoulders and after a few moments shook her head, “Are you two sure this idea is going to work?”
The Assembly engineer pulled his head out and said, “It looks good in the computer.”
Jeanette rolled her eyes, “So did my late father’s plans. You know where that led?” Jeanette looked at Howey as he pulled his head out and said, “I thought the chemicals used in the slivers had to be spun to mix them. These cannons used on the Abrams Tanks are smooth bore.” Howey looked at Jeanette and wondered how a woman knew so much about the weapons used by Earth’s military. She saw his expression and said, “My father was one of the highest ranking generals in the United States Military; of course I know about all the weapon systems used by all our services.”
“We’ve cut rifling into them.”
“Why didn’t you just use a cannon barrel that already had the rifled bore?”
“The Abrams’ main gun was portable. Its breech could be automated for a belt feed such that it could fire at a much higher cyclic rate.”
Jeanette’s mouth went into a pout. She stared at Howey and shook her head, “There is no way you can feed 120 mm rounds like a machine gun. The heat alone would melt the barrel.”
“What is the temperature of open space?”
Jeanette was surprised by the question. She tried to remember and Mendrel said, “It’s slightly higher than absolute zero. Cooling the cannons will not be an issue.”
“How are the spent shell casings going to be removed?”
Howey sighed, “That’s what we’re working on now. The belts have an empty space beside each of the cannon shells that is magnetized. The belt will move in line with the barrel and the injector system will push it into the barrel’s breech. Once the round is fired, the belt will move one notch forward and the extractor will drop the spent casing on the magnetic slot.”
Jeanette nodded and said, “So what’s the problem?”
Mendrel still had his head in the hole and his voice sounded hollow, “Carrying the spent shell casings takes away from the number of rounds that can be carried.”
Jeanette looked at one of the new 120 mm shells that was standing next to the work table and said, “Why are you using the old propellant to fire them?”
Howey and Mendrel both turned and looked at Jeanette, “What?”
“I’ve been reading the properties of the explosive used by the slivers and it’s my understanding that it is as hard as steel until you spin it.”
Howey nodded, “Yeah, go on.”
“It just seems to me that you could take the projectile portion of the shell and use a much smaller base made of the new explosive. You put the shell in the barrel and spin it as it ente
rs the breech. Now the base is active and once you ignite it, it will push the projectile out of the barrel and not leave anything behind.” Both engineers stared at Jeanette in silence and she said, “Hey, the normal shell casing detonates a large explosion of gunpowder to fire the projectile. Wouldn’t this accomplish the same thing?”
Mendrel looked at Howey, “Could the barrel withstand the pressures?”
“They do now. The issue would be the heat they would have to endure… but, if the barrels are in open space that would not be a problem.”
Mendrel pulled out his pocket link and began punching numbers into it. After three minutes he looked at the result and showed them to Howey who began shaking his head. Jeanette watched them and said, “What?”
Howey said, “Your idea is a good one. I thought the blast might set off the explosive in the projectile but it won’t become active until it has left the barrel spinning. Our tests have shown that the projectile won’t be activated until it’s twenty feet out of the barrel.”
Mendrel nodded, “So the blast in the cannon’s barrel won’t harm it.”
Jeanette smiled, “But you have to be able to spin the shell to activate the base; won’t that activate the projectile?”
“No, we’ll make the two mixtures different so the base can be activated at a much lower RPM. Developing a device to spin the shell before it enters the breech is a lot easier than extracting the spent shell casings.” Howey smiled, “Thank you.”
Jeanette curtsied, “Don’t mention it.”
Mendrel said, “If you come up with any other ideas…”
“How are you going to target the cannons?”
“Just like the tanks did; you’ll point the cannons on the path you need to fire them to hit your target.”
“No human is going to be able to do that.”
“You’re right. The ship’s computer will feed information into your helmet with a cursor on where you need to line the ship up. Once you move the ship to the correct alignment, a circle will overlap the cursor and the cannon will fire automatically.”