“Don’t forget having that lunatic, Dougherty, running around with nothing left to blow up,” Mercer reminded him, only half kidding. “You can’t ever send that red haired rube back to the country after all the action he’s seen the last few months.”
“At least he wasn’t in the brig between missions,” Jake reminded
“True,” Mercer relented. “Getting back with you was the best thing that’s happened to me since I put your ass on that hospital transport out of Rigel. Then Deke went hero on me back at Bougainville, and got himself ate, which is another reason all Bugs must die.”
“Amen to that,” Jake nodded solemnly, while entering the wardroom past the Marine guards, who snapped to attention.
“At ease, you goldbricks,” Mercer snapped, provoking smiles from the two young Marines, who had been with him since the first Bougainville landing.
“Aye, aye, Sir,” they replied in unison.
The scheduled participants, who were due to be at the meeting, were already sitting at the table, with Lieutenant Dougherty outlining what General Richardson had come up with. The faces Jake saw were strained to say the least. He thought they looked much like he felt. Dougherty snapped to attention, as did the others, when they saw Jake.
“At ease,” Jake said. He sat down at the head of the table, where they had left him a seat, with another one open to his right, which Mercer sat down in. “I take it by the looks on your faces, Tim here’s been telling you the good news.”
“Sir, I’m Major Paul Stovronski, XO of the Yorktown. Is this mission really necessary? I mean, we could just write it off, and give the Passallions permission to settle where they will.”
Jake shook hands with the Executive Officer of the Yorktown, and introduced Mercer. “We’ve considered it Major, but my Chief of Staff here and I are reluctant to leave any Bugs living anywhere. My decision, goofy or not, is to go and exterminate these things. If we can save the Passallion home world, all the better. Let’s put the go or not go behind us, and concentrate on how to get it done.”
“If the Queen’s control range has shrunk along with our ability to isolate her,” Colonel Peters offered, “we would be able to set up operations very near each infestation without worrying about the other Queens sending help. Without the rocky terrain of the other worlds, we’ve fought the Bugs on, there won’t be any safe places to walk around.”
“That’s it,” Dougherty exclaimed. “We couldn’t burrow in on the mining colonies because of the fuel cell elements, but.”
“We don’t have to walk down into hell,” Mercer inserted. “We canride.”
“Exactly,” Dougherty went on. “With a small hovercraft, we can tunnel our way into the nest, and fire the shield solution directly from the deck gun on the hovercraft.”
“You can bet she’s way down though,” Jake mused. “We can’t just go straight for her with those things pounding on the hovercraft with literally tens of thousands of the things swarming it. They could probably jam us in the middle of a hole, two miles down.”
“We could use the same kind of reinforced piping they use on the mining colonies,” Dougherty replied.
“If we get an LZ outside the Bug control area,” Colonel Doug Wilcox reasoned, “we can pipe our way right down to pay dirt.”
“They’ll still be swarming out of the ground all over the opening,” Major Corey reminded them. “It may be slow going.”
“I’ll rotate Nest Marines in there to keep the opening clear, while the digging and piping go on,” Mercer stated. “It could work.”
Jake nodded. “It does sound like it’ll work. We just have to hope Nick’s right about the Queen’s control range being affected. Anyone have an ETA on the Tennyson to pick up the colonists?”
“They were at Genoa when they received our call, Jake,” Peters explained. “It will be at least another three days before they get here. You could have Anton move from the Gate, and transport the colonists.”
“No,” Jake replied. “I won’t leave the back door open for anything. It may work out for the best anyway. Sara, call Colonel Stedman, and have her pick up the piping material from Omaha before she comes through the Gate, and bring a few more hovercraft. Tell her to make sure they reinforce the piping. Anybody here familiar with what we’ll need to dig with?”
“The hovercraft come fitted for it, General,” Dougherty explained. “They come equipped with nose inserts for digging and propelling the excavated material backwards. Another craft usually vacuums up the debris, and takes it out. Two more can be fitted to force the pipe into place.”
“It sounds like you have some expertise in this area, Lieutenant,” Jake observed.
“Oh, now wait a minute, Jake, I.”
“That would be General Matthews to you, you disrespectful boob,” Mercer cut in.
“We need you to cut a hole, Tim,” Jake shrugged. “I don’t want miners here who’ve never been in battle with these things. They’d panic, and run over my Marines. You’ll still have the nose gun to work if you get bored.”
“I forgot all about that,” Dougherty said excitedly. “I’ve got work to do Sir, on my hovercraft. May I be dismissed?”
“Sure, Tim,” Jake replied. “Don’t forget we’ll need some solvent charges to cut through to the Queen ready.”
“Aye, aye, Sir,” Dougherty saluted. When Jake returned it, Dougherty hurried out of the wardroom.
“God only knows what that hovercraft will look like in three days,” Mercer sighed.
“I’m sure it will be deadly for the Bugs, and highly entertaining for us,” Jake agreed. He looked around the table. “Anything else?”
After a moment of silence, Jake went on. “Training will begin tomorrow. I want only veteran Bug War Drop Ship pilots in the hovercraft. We’ll need five going all the time, as Tim outlined. We’ll use two for removing debris, so there’s no hold up. We’ll let him handle the digging for the time being, until we see how this works. He can pick a co-pilot to train and spell him on it.”
“I’m surprised you don’t insist on doing it yourself, cement head,” Mercer mumbled.
“I heard that,” Jake retorted, as the others laughed.
Jake and Mercer were helping, observing, and belittling Dougherty as he worked on the third of the hovercrafts scheduled for use. The three of them had been together on the project since shortly after Jake had assigned it to Dougherty. Dougherty had engineered a dual gun setup, mounted in a one hundred and eighty degree add on turret. It fired both pulse and particle beam charges. Dougherty could control it totally from a firing handle mechanism now mounted next to the pilot’s seat. Vid cams inside the makeshift turret relayed a live feed to the added monitor on the pilot’s console. He had changed over the regular nose gun to fire the Queen’s shield solution.
Dougherty stepped back from his work, wiping sweat off his forehead. He turned to his two observers. “How’s it look, guys?”
“Just like the other two, dufus,” Mercer replied.
“It looks great, Tim,” Jake assured him. “Don’t pay any attention to Mercer Mouth.”
“We’ll need to test all the craft out,” Dougherty pointed out. “Want to go down on Binky’s planet and work some population control exercises.”
“Now see, that’s exactly how us humans get a bad name with our Alien friends,” Mercer laughed. “Using our little friends for live firing exercises is strictly prohibited, right Jake?”
“Actually,” Jake rubbed his chin as if in deep introspection. “I thought the little ET’s might make more challenging targets. They would probably explode when we get a direct hit. We.”
“That’s disgusting, General,” Major Corey snapped from just behind Jake, causing all three of the men to jump. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Damn it, Sara,” Mercer complained. “What the hell you sneaking up on us for? You’re lucky I didn’t shoot your ass. It could have been one of those vicious little ET’s with assassination in mind.”
; “Oh,” Corey exclaimed in amazement. “You guys are joking around about using Aliens for target practice, and I’m to blame for quietly coming up on you?”
“Charlie’s right, Major,” Jake said sternly. “Don’t make me have to tie a bell around your neck.”
All of them laughed at Jake’s warning, and Corey handed him a panel. “The Tennyson will be here the day after tomorrow. Colonel Stedman sent a list of everything she had been able to round up before heading here. Governor Risling has the list of the rescued colonists. He assigned an army of people to look for their relatives, according to Jan.”
Jake looked over the panel, and then handed it to Dougherty, who began examining it in detail. After a few moments, he looked up and nodded. “This will do it, Jake.”
“Good, I don’t want to get there, and then start improvising. You know as well as I do, we’ll have to do enough of that anyway.” Jake said. “I’m sorry about fooling around with Charlie and Tim, Sara; but actually, until we get to the Passallion home world, I’d just be in the way on the bridge.”
“I was only messing with you,” Corey laughed. “We’ve been watching you guys screwing around down here from up on the bridge. You three are much more entertaining than mundane drills.”
“Shit,” Mercer said, as all three men looked around the hanger bay, remembering all the live feeds necessary on a ship as large as the Intrepid. “I forgot about the damn vid cams in the bay.”
“You guys were working real hard,” Corey put in. “We had to have a constant watch to be on hand when you took a break, so we could catch all the insults. It seems you were holding back the most outrageous stuff for last. Alien target practice?” Corey shook her head in mock disappointment.
“You’re playing for the cameras, aren’t you?” Dougherty said, interrupting her reverie.
Corey looked up with a quick smile. “A little.”
“Shall I convene a court martial, General Matthews?” Dougherty asked sternly.
“I think we can handle this in house, Tim,” Jake said, moving with blinding speed. In a split second, he had moved around Corey, and pinned her arms to her sides. “Grab her feet Charlie.”
Mercer pulled Corey’s legs out from under her, with Corey shouting commands to stop. In seconds, she was on the hanger bay deck, immobile, but not silent.
“I’ll have you all before a firing squad,” Corey promised, trying without success to twist her body. “Governor Risling will hear of this outrage. Do something, Dougherty, you little red headed worm.”
Dougherty, who had already been doubled over in laughter, now collapsed to the deck upon hearing Corey’s insult. Mercer kicked him lightly in the side while he held Corey’s legs. “Quit rolling around Tim, and get over here. Grab Princess Lea’s legs. I have to get Mr. Snappy out.”
“You wouldn’t dare use that on me,” Corey said smugly.
Jake looked at Mercer, as Dougherty took over for Mercer. “Gee, Charlie, you think Sara here doesn’t know about all the variable settings Mr. Snappy is capable of?”
“I don’t know, Jake,” Mercer smiled, holding up his prized hardware, and firing an arc at full power, “but it’s never too late to learn, right?”
“Before you seal your eternal fate,” Corey said through clenched teeth, as she tried to pull back from the descending Mr. Snappy. “Who the hell is Princess Lea?”
Both Jake and Dougherty lost their grip on Corey, as both turned in gleeful comprehension towards a suddenly sheepish Mercer. Corey took the opportunity to roll out of reach, and quickly to her feet. She skipped away from the three men, but stopped when she knew they would be unable to catch her again, at least she thought, as far as Mercer and Dougherty were concerned.
“He did say Princess Lea. You hypocrite,” Dougherty accused, pointing his finger in Mercer’s face, as he jumped to his feet.
“Charlie, Charlie, Charlie,” Jake intoned, as he stood up, shaking his head. “You’ve been watching Star Wars vids.”
“All the Charlie chatter about what a pack of idiots the rest of us were for watching old Earth vids,” Dougherty added with delight, “and look who’s been firing up the old light saber, but Darth Vader himself.”
“No, Tim,” Jake disagreed, as Mercer put Mr. Snappy back in his pocket, and pushed himself slowly to his feet. “Major Mercer here probably sees himself as Luke Skywalker, right Charlie?”
“A swashbuckler like Charlie? I don’t think so,” Dougherty exclaimed, putting his arm around Mercer, who visibly cringed. “He’d be Han Solo. Charlie would never picture himself as that twit, Skywalker.”
“This disgrace will be all over the ship in the next few minutes,” Mercer said, looking up sideways at a laughing Corey. “You’ll pay for this, Sara. As God is my witness, you will so pay for this. You have broken down discipline on this ship for months with this disloyalty.”
“Oh yea, Charlie,” Corey retorted. “You were just about to burn a hole into my brain, and I’m disloyal? Shame on you, Han.”
Mercer glanced from Jake’s smiling face over to Dougherty’s. “Forget the Alien target practice, you little prick. Give me a second to get in front of the hovercraft, and then put me out of my misery.”
“You ain’t getting off that easy, Mr. Solo,” Dougherty replied, with a sympathetic pat on Mercer’s back.
“Gentlemen,” Risling said sharply. “You three are a disgrace.” Jake, Mercer, and Dougherty were standing in the command cabin of the Intrepid in front of the large communications monitor there. The hatchto the cabin had been closed to block the session with the military governor from the rest of the Bridge.
“How do you think it looks, General Matthews, to have the supreme commander of Earth’s space forces grab assing around on the hanger deck with these two other adolescent dolts?” Risling asked rhetorically. “Imagine my surprise, when in the frame of a twenty-four hour period, the video history of this obscenity gets all the way to Genoa, not to mention every colony we have. Who in hell is in charge out there?”
“Would an apology be sufficient, Governor?” Jake asked in return, “or would you like us all to cut off the first joint of our pinky fingers and crate them up for shipment to you?”
“Why you insufferable, arrogant.” Risling began, but simply lost all pretense at his continuing bluster, as he burst into laughter.
Mercer looked quizzically at Jake, who shook his head sharply, and kept his eyes on the screen. Finally, after long moments, in which Governor Risling tried unsuccessfully to continue his discussion, he managed to regain his composure.
“God only knows how you manage to find the time to command an armada, rescue colonists and Aliens, and still manage to become the laughing stock of all the known universe,” Risling sighed.
“I believe you meant to say entertainment, rather than laughing stock, Sir,” Mercer injected, receiving a painful kick to his ankle from Jake for his trouble.
“I meant exactly what I said, Major Mercer,” Risling retorted, getting back some of his former bluster. “How does it feel to be a cartoon, Major?”
“Pretty much like it did when we saved the known universe, Sir,” Mercer replied, sidestepping Jake’s second attempt at a kick. “Just another day in the Corps, Sir.”
This brought a smile to Risling’s face. “Very well then, I didn’t expect anything of a more contrite nature from you three. You used to be a fine crewman, Lieutenant Dougherty. I see time spent with these two other miscreants has been of a highly damaging nature.”
“Yes Sir,” Dougherty replied smartly. “You are absolutely right,
Sir.”
“Great, another smart ass,” Risling said, leaning back in his chair.
“Yes Sir,” Dougherty snapped. “May I have another, Sir?”
“Call me when you get off the Passallion home world, Jake,” Risling said, ignoring Dougherty. “Fill me in on the situation. President Constantine told me to be sure and send his congratulations on your rescue mission. Your action against the Aliens has u
nited Earth as no other force ever has. The Passallions have achieved celebrity status already back there, as the first video references of the rescues reached Earth. The population of Earth has become the General Jake Matthews’ fan club.”
“I appreciate that, Sir,” Jake replied. “I hope to end this Tattallias threat for all time, and cover all known approaches to Earth. I take it President Constantine has had no further problems with the former Earth Command countries?”
“Only on two occasions,” Risling replied. “The President handled them as you would have handled them. He picked out the center of the disturbance in each instance, and removed them from existence. No other actions have been necessary.”
“I’m glad,” Jake said. “When all this is over, I’d like to go back and visit him. How has the search for relatives of the rescued colonists been proceeding?”
“They’ll be completing the final tally today, and I will send the information to you as soon as I have it,” Risling promised.
“Great, hey how goes the Governorship? You haven’t said anything about how the change went over on the Colonies.”
“Very smooth, Jake,” Risling answered. “The usual confrontations with fuel pirates, and smugglers still goes on; but all the work I did consolidating my position while you were on Earth, went a long way to keeping things smooth when I actually received the commission from the President. Your idea of putting all Colonies, and military under the United States Flag was pure genius. You cannot believe the nationalistic fervor even out here. The Stars and Stripes is flying everywhere.”
“Sounds good, Governor. I will call you before we move on the Bugs again.”
“Take care of yourself, Jake, and those two thugs with you. Rislingout.”
“See,” Mercer quipped, “that wasn’t so bad, right Tim.”
“Oh yeah,” Dougherty agreed quickly. “The Governor was just pleased as.”
“Forget it, Tim,” Jake said, waving him off as he sat down heavily. “I don’t need any blow by blow accounts of a conversation I was part of. If he didn’t need us so badly, we’d be on our way to Tannengate in irons.”
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