by Bill Roberts
In the days of the old United States Marine Corps personnel were largely centrally controlled. There were many reasons for this, but the new realities of nanites and a United Humanity Government seeking to expand across the stars had caused the United Humanity Marine Corps to adopt a different policy. Commanders at all levels now have a significant amount of control on the management of personnel and their promotions. Navah, working with the 12th Marines regimental commander and her fellow artillery battalion commanders in the regiment has promoted Marines from all around the regiment, to include the survivors in her battalion, to fill her vacant leadership positions. She has also worked with the Artillery School to increase their number of trainees to provide enough junior Marines for her battalion. Those Marines will start graduating in a couple of weeks and by the beginning of next month she will have all of the Marines she requires.
In 2nd Heavy Armored we have done much the same thing. We had several promotions to make to replace the fallen. Some of the promotions have come within the battalion. First Lieutenant Vanske is now Captain Vanske, Commanding Officer Charlie Company. Some have come from without. A first lieutenant from 12th Heavy Armored, 2nd Division’s other Heavy Armored Battalion, has been promoted and moved over to command Bravo Company. Several of the Chief Warrant Officers have been promoted as well. Most of those have come from within the battalion. 2nd Heavy Armored has a higher degree of experience than most of the heavy armored battalions in the Marine Corps. People tend to fight to get into 2nd Heavy Armored and then refuse promotion opportunities that would take them to fill positions in other units. We have also received a few junior pilots from some of the other battalions. However, we still are missing a few platoon commanders and junior warrant officers. The next Kodiak pilot’s course will graduate next week. We will get to one hundred percent when those graduates fill out our pilot positions.
With the situation almost resolved all of us are now looking at taking some leave. Bennie is the first, but by next week the rest of us will likely be vacationing ourselves. Svetlana and I are planning on visiting her father on Mars. It has been a long time since we have done so. With her near death experience on Tortuga, her father is almost frantic to see her again.
I look over at Svetlana. She is smiling as she listens to Navah. She has completely healed from her injuries on Tortuga. Nanites, along with Watcher enhanced medicine, have repaired her skin and broken bones completely. I feel the familiar surge of joy and yearning her beauty inspires. These feelings overlay a powerful feeling of contentment. I think back to my proposal aboard the Stern. As I had knelt there next to her with my ring extended she had begun to cry even harder than she had before. Worry and fear had clouded my face and I had grasped her hand again. I started to speak, but she interrupted me: “I know how much you still miss Elizabeth and I have always contented myself with knowing that you loved me as much as you could love anyone after her loss. You do not have to do this.”
God, I had thought, how do I find such women willing to love me? I replied: “When I thought you had died down there,” the memory of that moment had caused my throat to tighten. I had to clear my throat before I could continue: “I felt pain I had not felt in a long, long time. Not since I lost my family. Pain is a good teacher Svetlana. It showed me how I had been holding on to Liz’s memory too hard. I realized that I do love you as much as I loved her, and that I was letting her memory get in the way of me doing something I should have done long ago.” I took a deep breath. “So, again, Will you marry me?”
She had smiled through her tears. “Yes,” she had said. Just a simple yes, but it had sent me into a dizzying spiral of happiness.
We have not set a date. We talked about it after she finished healing and came to the conclusion that we do not want to do it secretly. We already belong to each other heart and soul, the ceremony of marriage will simply make it official. As an officially married couple the UHMC will require us to serve in different units. Neither of us are ready to do that with the threat of war with the Tangul hanging over us. But, we have decided that once the Tangul are defeated we will get married, and take whatever came of it with a smile on our face. In the meantime we have resumed our relationship much as it has been in the past. We maintain a very professional and slightly friendly public persona. Despite what the Marines knew, or thought they knew, we are taking no chances. If anybody ever formally found out about us we will be in serious trouble. By keeping it discreet we avoid that threat as much as possible. That being said, we are sneaking nights together whenever we can, as well as planning vacations far from the prying eyes of Camp Nicholas.
With Bennie leaving I am now the only man at the table. I think it is time to find out what the ladies are up to: “All right. What’s going on you three?”
Navah, Gloria, and Svetlana break off their conversation and peer at me owlishly. Gloria speaks for the group: “What makes you think we’re going to tell you, Shawn?” To her left and right Navah and Svetlana nod their heads in agreement.
“Because I am excellent at keeping secrets,” I reply jauntily. They burst into laughter at that. “What?” I ask. “I keep all sorts of secrets.”
Navah speaks this time. Very quietly she says: “Like you and Svetlana?” Jesus, does the whole Marine Corps know? “Your problem is that you are so open and honest that whenever you act reserved people know you are keeping a secret. Anybody who watches you for five minutes can pick up on how careful you are when you talk to Svetlana in public.” She shrugs eloquently. “The answer can really only be one thing.”
I look over at Svetlana and Gloria. They do not look surprised. I imagine Navah must have talked to them about it at some point. They also look completely unconcerned. Of course they do, Navah is one of us now. Still. I look back at Navah and scowl as I defend myself: “I have never breathed a word about this to anybody except Bennie and Gloria. Which, I would like to point out, happen to be very old and very tight lipped friends. And despite the cleverness of your observations, they are merely speculation. So,” I stop scowling and assume an air of complete assurance, “I stand by my statement.”
The women share a look and Svetlana comes to my defense: “He has a valid point.”
They seem to come to a decision by telepathic means and Gloria looks over at me and says: “We are trying to figure out what woman Bennie is going to meet in Italy.”
“What makes you think he is meeting some woman in Italy?” I am a bit floored so it comes out a little louder than I like as I say it.
From my left Mbiraru’s melodious voice chimes in: “Bennie is meeting someone in Italy? Preposterous.” He sits down at the table and hands me a beer.
From across the table Navah, Gloria, and Svetlana give me severe looks. “You didn’t see Mbiraru coming either,” I say defensively.
Mbiraru continues: “I say it again. Preposterous. He always travels to Italy for his holiday. You silly women are gossiping about nothing.”
The three women across the table from me roll their eyes almost in unison. Gloria speaks: “Men. You never notice anything.” She holds up a finger and continues: “Why is Bennie leaving a week early? He would normally wait until the new pilots checked in.” She holds up another finger: “Why did he leave early tonight? An early flight? Bennie is far more likely to party through the night and sleep on the trip than he is to go to bed early.” She holds up her thumb: “And most importantly why has he stopped hitting on unattached ladies? I haven’t seen him make an attempt since we got back from Tortuga.” Her blue eyes regard me and Mbiraru smugly and she leans back and plays with her braid as she finishes her analysis.
Huh. She might have a point. I sit quietly and ponder her words. The more I think about it the more right she seems. I look over at Mbiraru and see that he too is contemplating her words seriously. After a moment he says: “I will grant you the merit of your words, most beautiful commander. But, where did he meet this mysterious woman? Why is h
e keeping her secret from us, his most constant friends?”
Gloria responds: “That is what we’ve been trying to figure out. It could give us a clue.”
“Well, I saw him with nobody while we were adventuring on the Elowynn border,” Mbiraru muses. “Unless there was some secretive woman moving about invisible to our eyes, I am certain he must have met her before we left.”
I somehow manage not to react to Mbiraru’s last sentence. I nonchalantly lean back in my chair and take a long pull from my beer. As my friends continue to debate around me I put all of the pieces together in my mind. She must have been back on Earth for some reason, preparing for another mission perhaps. I wonder what name she would use. After all, her real name belongs to a person long dead. I wish I could share this with my friends. They would be so happy for Bennie if they knew.
Noticing my silence Svetlana asks: “You are very quiet, Shawn. What are you thinking?”
“Me?” I ask innocently. “I am just an unobservant male. I got nothing.” I pause for a moment and lean forward. “But, I will say that if Bennie wanted us to know about it he would have said something. So, why don’t we just leave it alone?” Everyone looks slightly chagrined. I lean back and drink some more of my beer. Ha. Who cannot keep a secret?
“Fair enough,” Gloria replies. “We’ll let it go for now. But, when he gets back I am so going to weasel it out of him. Any woman who can hold Bennie’s attention must be amazing.” You do not know the half of it Gloria.
There is a long silence after Gloria’s statement. One of those natural pauses that comes after a conversation loses its thread. Nobody seems to have anything new to say. Shaking himself Mbiraru breaks the silence before it becomes uncomfortable: “Most skillful player of pool,” he addresses Gloria. “Would you care for a game?” Gloria agrees cheerfully and they head off to the row of pool tables on the other side of the bar.
Navah excuses herself and heads off into the crowd of people, for what purpose I have no idea. I do however; notice that Svetlana and I are alone for the first time today. She smiles slyly at me. Uh-oh. She says: “You are hiding something Shawn Morris. I will let it be for now. But, Navah is right. You are terrible at keeping secrets.” I do my best to keep my face even. Svetlana’s smile changes from sly to seductive. I can practically feel her body heat from across the table as she smolders: “Perhaps later, under more intimate circumstance, I can sweat it out of you.” I feel myself blush. Damn. How does she do that? Now all I want to do is leave the Officer’s Club with her as soon as possible. Oh, I’m not going to tell her anything, but I am most definitely looking forward to letting her try.
Svetlana’s face goes blank and she looks intently at the rest of the club behind me. What is going on? I turn in my seat and see that the room has become quiet. I notice that the background music has also stopped. I see a major I do not recognize wearing the brassard of the 2nd Division Duty Officer walk into the middle of the crowd. It forms a circle around him as he pulls out a sheet of paper. He begins reading: “At Twenty Oh Five today a Navy courier ship arrived from our embassy in Deeken space. It reported that on May Tenth,” about a week ago, “the Tangul invaded Deeken space and began conquering their planets. Their ships fired upon the courier ship and it was forced to withdraw. As the ship withdrew it observed the Tangul bombarding the United Humanity Embassy. At Twenty Thirty the President informed the Ministry of Defense that she considers these actions an act of war against the United Humanity Republic. She has informed the Ministry to cancel all leave and separations and to prepare for immediate military action. She further informed the Ministry that tomorrow morning she will ask Parliament for a declaration of War against the Tangul Empire.” The lieutenant colonel folds up his sheet of paper to absolute silence. “I recommend you all go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
I turn back to Svetlana and meet her gaze with mine. Oddly I feel no fear or apprehension as I stare into her sapphire eyes. It had seemed frightening only a few months ago, but Tortuga has reminded us that no matter what the odds we will not be defeated. Hosea 8:7 comes to mind: For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. I see it in her expression as well. Get ready for the whirlwind you Tangul bastards. The Marines are coming.
CHAPTER 22
Vengence
I am waiting for the garage door to open. The living room of my house is dark and quiet. Twilight glimmers vaguely through the blinds on my windows. The power has come back, but I cannot force myself off of the couch to turn the lights on. The power had been off for a long time due to the upheaval from the Synti Invasion. But now, a year after the invasion, the power has worked steadily for several months. There is a beer in my hand, but it has become warm and undrinkable at this point. I do not care really. I merely bought some on my way home from my office aboard Pendleton because it has finally become available again. I had bought a lot of beer, more than enough to get blind stinking drunk. Part or me wanted to. Desperately. But no matter how much I drank I knew the emptiness would not go away. I would still sit here listening for the garage door.
One year ago today the Synti came. Time does nothing to dim those memories. We had triumphed in San Diego. I lost almost three quarters of my battalion to do so, but we finished off all three of the Synti ships. The fighting had not stopped there. Over the months that followed we fought endlessly, ridding Earth of the Synti pestilence.
First, we fought across North America. Most cities did not have a large military base close by. Those that did were spared the worst of the Synti destruction. Places like Los Angeles and Seattle had the advantage of such bases and consequently had been badly damaged, but not gutted. Places like Boston and Detroit suffered for days or weeks before the U.S. Military arrived to smash the Synti ships. The destruction had been cataclysmic in those places. That being said, many places were spared completely. Out of the way small towns like Centralia, Illinois or Fort Collins, Colorado look the same as they did before the Synti came. Still, America had about three hundred and twenty million people before that day. Now? Just over two hundred million.
As bad as the devastation had been it could have been so much worse. After defeating the Synti in North America we deployed around the world to help the rest of humanity fight them off. Thanks to our sharing of the Watcher technology, powerful nations had fared about the same as America. Western Europe, Russia, China, India; these places had met the Synti with the superior weapons that the new technology brought. But, in the developing world the loss of life was far, far worse. Places like Nepal or Ghana lost almost three quarters of their population. In the end the human population of Earth had been reduced by almost half. We came to their aid but there were so many Synti and so few of us who could effectively fight them. My final battle had been on the outskirts of Kabul, in a country I swore I would never come to again. After we smashed that last ship we pushed into the city to help the survivors. Amazingly, there had been some, but they were few. Their lifeless faces and hopeless demeanor have figured prominently in my waking thoughts after I returned home.
I wait for the garage door to open. Twilight is gone now. The house is almost completely dark. I still cannot force myself to move. Turning on the lights will not change anything. I just stare at the wall, a nice, empty piece of wall. There is no reason to do anything else.
The entire U.S. Military had been involved in the fighting. Unfortunately, the invasion caught us in the middle of transitioning to Watcher weapons. Many units had the powerful new Kodiaks and MCS’s. However, many units, especially in the National Guard, still retained their older weapons. Those weapons were the best that humanity could produce without Watcher assistance. Weapons like Abrams tanks and Hellfire missiles had been immensely powerful in our wars of the early Twenty-First Century. But, against the Synti they were outclassed. I fought with such unde
requipped units in my battles across the world. They even managed to contribute towards our victories. The Synti drones may have been made from incredibly strong materials, but our heavier weapons could still destroy them. The difference came in the price paid. Units without Watcher technology suffered losses significantly worse than mine. Many of them were wiped out completely. In the end the American Military lost almost three quarters of its Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. Amongst the combat units the deaths had been even worse. Even those of us with Watcher weapons suffered mightily. Of the forty-four other pilots who went with me in to battle that first day only six of them survived to return home.
That story had been repeated around the world. Humanity fought back as hard as it could and the militaries paid a steep price. At first each country’s armed forces fought alone, doing their best to protect the people they were sworn to defend. But as various nations triumphed they began to support those countries still under siege. This had not been limited to the old alliances. Around Kabul my Marines were joined by Russians, Indians, and Chinese. None of us cared by that point. Old animosities had been burned away by the Synti’s guns. By the time we made it to Kabul we all hated them and would stop at nothing to destroy them. After the battle we even celebrated together. There had been little joy in the celebration, we had all lost so much, but there was plenty of satisfaction. An enemy had come from far away and done its best to destroy us. Together we had defeated that enemy, utterly.