Casserine (17 page)

“Do you still want to saddle up as soon as you get back with the Colonists, and go after the nests?”

“Yep,” Jake answered, as he watched the Marines herd the Colonists on Drop Ship Two. “Especially if the lab comes up with a way to block the Queen’s signal. Let me know if the lab has a breakthrough, or if the General wants to talk to me.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jake jogged over and stopped the flow of Colonists on Drop Ship Two. By the time they finished the final loading, Three of the five companies of Marines were laying down covering fire at over a dozen holes along the escape path. Two companies of Marines deployed to the habitat. Jake watched as Drop Ship Four lifted off. Mercer stood next to Jake, as they waited for the ship to take off safely.

“Let’s get inside, and have Tim clear this area with MAG50 fire. That should seal things up well enough for us to board Alpha.”

“Are you going to leave anyone, Jake?” Mercer asked.

“No reason to. We just have to make sure the habitat’s sealed properly. Even the Bugs can’t get in there. We’ll be back, hopefully with something to isolate the Queen. Let’s go, Charlie.”

Mercer nodded, and called for the companies to retreat into the habitat. He went back to the habitat entrance, and started them inside. Jake waited until the last company covered the retreat. He motioned them to move back slowly. The Drop Ships were opening up full bore now that the Marines were clear of the area.

“Tim?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Open up with the MAG50, and seal up the holes. Lay waste to everything but our LZ and pathway.”

“I’m on it, best give me some room.”

“Drop Ship pilots ease back outside of MAG50 range, and allow Alpha to clear our escape.”

Jake followed the last men inside the habitat as Chief Dougherty began firing the MAG50. As expected, the special firing rounds vaporized the Bugs, and sealed their holes. Alpha’s gunner put down another layer of fire just to make certain of a few extra moments.

“Thanks Tim,” Jake said. “Okay Jas, come on in and get us.”

“Be right down.”

As Alpha Drop Ship landed, the five companies of Marines double-timed out to the lowering hatch. Jake, Mercer, and Jake’s original company of Marines covered the orderly boarding of the rescue mission. Colonel Langston led the remaining men from their positions in the habitat, while Drop Ship Two and Three cleared Bugs from the surrounding area. They were all boarded by the time the first Bug eruptions began since the MAG50 firing. Jake addressed the Marines strapping in aboard Alpha.

“That’s as smooth as it gets. Those Colonists owe their lives to you men. Get some rest when we get back to the Gallant. If they come up with a blocking signal for the Queen, we will be heading back down in force to clean the nests out. Ready, Jas?”

“On your command, General,” Major Peters replied on the com line.

“Take us out. Drop Ships Two, Three, Four, and Five will be landing on the Gallant first to leave off their passengers. Yuri?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Did General Risling want to speak to me? I noticed he didn’t come on with us.”

“He has been apprised of the situation, and has Command Wing Fighters in transit to us,” Tokoru replied. “He told me he would talk to you privately on a secure line after you reach the Gallant. They have everyone working on breaking down a signal for isolating the Queen back at the base too. General Risling says your live feed with audio has been invaluable. You can imagine what the mining conglomerates have been saying about the news their Omaha mining operation, along with its processing plant, are down until further notice.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Jake assured him. “I’m taking off this helmet. Jas, you take over landing instructions for the Drop Ships.”

“Yes Sir,” Major Peters acknowledged.

“Yuri, call Jas if you need me back on line.”

“Will do Jake, Tokoru out.”

Jake took off his helmet and leaned back with a sigh of contentment. Mercer, and the rest of the Marines had already taken off most of their upper body armor along with their helmets. Jake glanced over at Major Mercer, and found the Major grinning at him, his white teeth a stark contrast to his nearly ebony skin.

“You find something humorous I am unaware of, Major Mercer?”

“It’s just nice working with someone I know thinks more about us jarheads than whether some mining company meets its quota,” Mercer replied. “I guess interplanetary warfare hasn’t even slowed those morons down.”

“You heard that, huh?”

‘Tea, I figured saving five thousand experienced Colonists would not sway them much,” Mercer laughed, “but I did think the fact they could lose the quadrant if we are not careful would make at least a mild impression on them.”

“Business is business, Charlie, especially when it’s managed from another universe. I sure hope the Tennyson gets here soon. It may be a little crowded on the Gallant until they do.”

“I heard they were only hours away, but I’m with you,” Mercer said. “We’ll be tripping over each other with all those civilians. Add in the young children factor, and things could get irritating real quick.”

“Not to mention having to worry about the civilians if we are attacked in orbit by our Bug planters,” Jake pointed out. “I think we can go down and take Omaha back quickly if we get the blocking signal down. I’m not too crazy about going though until the Command Wing Fighters get here.”

“Man, you got that right,” Mercer reiterated. “Just what we need. Go down to Bug paradise, and then have something happen to the Gallant.”

“But Charlie,” Jake needled. “It would be just like old times. Think of the adventure.”

“Oh, you are so funny, Mr. Gearknife. By the way, you have any ideas about the Queen, once we can isolate her?”

“I’d like to haul her ass out of there for them to study back at base,” Jake replied, “but I don’t know how the ones who dropped her off, get her to stop procreating. We don’t need a ship full of multiplying monsters, not to mention if she were to somehow get out of containment back at base.”

“Besides,” Mercer agreed, “those assholes would probably want to do the same thing, these alien creeps did to us, to someone else.”

“Major Mercer,” Jake said in a hushed tone of false outrage. “How dare you imply our fuel cell benefactors would do such a thing?”

“Yea, I am just an untrusting dupe of the military,” Mercer sighed, with a shrug of his shoulders. “Since we are agreed we do not want to chance playing games with the Queen, are you planning on jumping on her head again?”

Jake laughed. “It crossed my mind when I heard about Deke, but with the scope of this mission expanding in leaps and bounds, I think I will stick to something simple. Any suggestions that will not ignite the entire underground mining complex?”

“Using our sidearm blasters to clear the Bugs off our escape ship on Bougainville worked pretty well without damaging the ship,” Mercer replied. “If we honed a particle beam pulse down to pinpoint effectiveness, we could use it without blowing ourselves up. Besides, we did try shaped charges here on Omaha. They just couldn’t get through her damned protective shell. On the other hand, they didn’t ignite the crystal either.”

Jake nodded in agreement. “That would still require getting aboveher.”

“Yea, only this time without dropping the blaster,” Mercer remindedhim.

“You just ain’t ever going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope,” Mercer laughed. “Like Deke always said, you dropped the blaster on purpose so you could make it look better on your medal citation.”

Jake burst into laughter, shaking his head, as Mercer joined in. The other Marines watched their two commanders with some confusion. Mendoza, strapped in on the other side of Jake, had heard the interaction between the two. He also laughed at their exchange, but shuddered, thinking of what it must have been like to climb up and drop down on the mother of all monsters.

“I’d like to volunteer to kill the Queen, Sir,” Mendoza stated.

Jake looked over at the young Marine with a knowing look. “I believe you would, Bob, but for reasons I am not going into with you, I will be the one to take care of the Queens. You would be welcome to come along with Charlie and I when we go down after them.”

“He just wants to hog all the glory like he did the last time,” Mercer remarked.

‘Tea, that’s it,” Jake laughed.

“You should have seen him when we picked him up from where the bitch heaved him after he done for her,” Mercer told Mendoza. “He’s rolling around with his armor shredded, with so much blood flowing we thought she had skinned him. Jake here feels us pick him up, and peers at us through the ear hole of his helmet, which got twisted around when he hit the cavern wall. God, this boy looked pathetic. He says, ‘where am I’, and Deke looks at him and says.”

“.’You’re out of uniform, son’,” Jake cut in, as both he and Mercer started howling in laughter again.

Chapter 16 

Politics and Commitment

Major Peters’ copilot walked up to Jake, as he wiped away tears from his eyes.

“Sir, we are next to dock in the Gallant. Major Peters wondered if you want the ships shut down, or prepped again for immediate redeployment.”

“Tell him to shut down for now. We have some details to work out before we go back out.”

“Aye, aye, Sir,” The young Lieutenant said before weaving back to the cockpit.

“Get everyone off of here, Charlie. Make sure they all get fed and cleaned up before the civilians. No telling when we will have to take off again. The Colonists can rest when they get on board the Tennyson.”

Mercer nodded his understanding as Alpha came to a stop inside the docking bay. “Want me to come along when you talk to Risling, Jake?”

“No need, I’ll tell you if he says anything important. Get some sleep. I ain’t going back down without you, so just relax.”

“I just don’t want you sneaking off into a galactic battle without me,” Mercer replied.

“You overestimate my enthusiasm for being trapped in one of these things while someone’s blasting the crap out of it. I have some idea about what to do on land. I’d just get into trouble if I take off on a scouting trip, even with Jas piloting for me. We won’t go near their ship unless they come this way. I’m waiting for the fighters to get here. What the hell’s the use of having war class fighters if we’re going to take off looking for trouble in space with a glorified troop carrier.”

“I see your point,” Mercer nodded, as he stood up and signaled the Marine companies to follow him.

Jake saw Chief Dougherty approaching him with a big smile on his face. “Hello Chief, nice shootin’ down there.”

“It’s sure not like the last time we were here, Sir,” Dougherty remarked. “When do we go back down?”

“Get some rest, Chief, we have to find a way to get at the Queen without taking on the whole nest.”

Dougherty nodded. “I talked to Major Peters. He flies Command Wing Fighters too. I’d sure like to go with him to find exactly who our buddies are out there.”

“Woe there, Tim,” Jake admonished. “We have a lot of work to do right here on the colonies before checking out any other threats. If they wanted a piece of us, they’d already be here blasting away. I’m glad Major Peters is thinking ahead, but one mission at a time, huh? Now go get some rest.”

Dougherty snapped to with a salute and a grin. “Aye, aye, Sir.”

Instead of returning the salute, Jake pushed him towards the hatch. “Let’s go, smart ass.”

Jake turned to Mendoza, who trailed him. “Bob, I won’t need you for a while. You go turn in and get some food too.”

Mendoza nodded. “Just don’t forget me, Sir.”

“Not likely.”

Tokoru, and Stavros met Jake as he exited Drop Ship Alpha. “Any movement, Anton?”

“No Sir,” Stavros said. “They’re just sitting out there. I doubt they even know we’re scanning them.”

“Don’t take that for granted,” Jake replied. “We’d know if they scanned us, wouldn’t we?”

“Well, yes, but,” Stavros began, “okay, I see your point. The Tennyson will be here shortly. Major Stedman says she picked up a Command Wing Fighter from the air base near the Tarawa Jump Gate.”

“Outstanding, any luck with the blocking signal?”

“Not yet,” Tokoru admitted, “but they’re very close. The trouble is you will have to test it out in person.”

“No problem,” Jake replied. “The Bugs just wander around. We were surrounded in the nest when I killed the Queen. We walked out right past them.”

“Good deal,” Tokoru acknowledged. “General Risling is anxious to speak to you. By the time you get to your quarters, I will have him on a secure line with you.”

“Do you need any help with the Colonists until the Tennyson gets here,” Jake asked.

“No Sir,” Tokoru smiled, “only the one you cold cocked.”

“He’s lucky. I almost used him as a dead example.”

“The bastard filed a complaint the moment he disembarked,” Colonel Stavros told Jake.

“That was fast,” Jake admitted, shaking his head. “He won’t be alone by the time this operation ends. Well, I better go see how much heat General Risling’s taking.”

“Well, Jake,” Risling greeted him. “It seems you were right again. I will have the Fighters to you in no time.”

“Major Stedman on the Tennyson brought in a Fighter from Tarawa. That should hold us for the time being. She arrived while I was on my way here. They’re prepping the Fighter as we speak. Our alien intruders probably know by now we’ve scanned them.”

“Earth Civilian Command, who runs our Colony and mining missions, is howling bloody murder,” Risling said with a grin. “They want you down on the surface right now. They don’t care how many men you lose. They claim it is imperative you clean out this infestation right now.”

“I’ll be happy to,” Jake replied, “just as soon as I can isolate the bitch, hatching monsters as fast as we can kill them.”

“We sent what little the lab here on Genoa came up with,” Risling informed him. “They believe the Queen’s signal to be some form of electrochemical pulse in one of her glands. I will be relieved of duty if they order an attack on Omaha before we have the isolation signal, because I will refuse to relay it to you. You will be in danger of a court martial if you refuse to go down there, Jake, once my replacement takes over.”

“I can solve your dilemma, General,” Jake offered. “How long do you think a disruption of communication could go on? You acknowledge the orders, and then try to relay them to me, but communications break down until I get my isolation signal.”

“You are getting good at this, Jake,” Risling laughed. “How is it Lieutenant Byers always seems to get the upper hand?”

“Very funny, Sir, Now what do you think?”

“I think you will not be going down to Omaha until the isolation signal is perfected.”

“I believe you have a firm grasp on the situation, Sir. We’ll be taking a chance anyway, even with the isolation signal. We have an unknown alien vessel on the outskirts of this quadrant. We suspect them of mass murder of our Colonists, and plotting to attack our Colonies. If they make a move while we’re down fooling around with the infestation they caused, things could get real interesting for us on the surface.”

“All true, Jake,” Risling admitted. “The communications breakdown plan will only work on the short term. They will replace us both with people willing to get Omaha back at any cost. I doubt they could do it without you.”

“The United States Military Command was sufficiently impressed with your recon on Bougainville, and subsequent rescue of the Colonists on Omaha to back you in any way, shape, or form. They understand the ramifications of losing thousands of men on the Colonies. After your vid feeds reached them of your missions on the two Colonies, they understood your reluctance to risk your men needlessly.”

“The United States must be at least a little concerned about my theory on the Aliens planting deadly species in the midst of our Colonies, since they foot so much of the bill for everything going on out here,” Jake replied, trying to hold back his anger.

“They care, Jake,” Risling stated. “Until we have things under control, and our colony mining operations back in full production, Command wants to do this one thing at a time. Without the mining production from our processing plants on Omaha, how long do you think we could carry on an intergalactic war? Our reserves on Casserine would dry up at a devastating rate.”

“All the more reason to develop an isolation signal. We can clear both infestations in a matter of days without high casualties.”

Risling nodded. “We’ll stall them, and if I can find someone with a backbone in the United States Military Command, we can take the case to the people. Those kids you have out there have family. I’ll work on it from that angle. Most of the troops originated either from the United States, or United States Colonists. All the hardware is theirs.”

“It seems they would be the ones to appeal to, Sir. As you could see from your screen, these Marines deserve better than to get used as Bug fodder. I realize how delicate the balance of power can be between the damn Earth Command Military and Civilian Commands, but someone has to point out the downside of questioning a course of action that works. Besides, I’ve always believed they’re one and the same, when it comes to screwing us out here.”

“We saw how you handled the Colonist unease on Omaha,” Risling chuckled. “You can imagine the civilian reaction to your demeanor during the rescue mission, after those two idiots were shot on Bougainville. No matter how this all comes out, we will be facing a tribunal when it’s over.”

“Don’t we have any veterans in the Civilian Command?” Jake asked, irritation creeping into his voice. “It should be a law if you have never served, you should not be able to run for the higher posts in the Civilian Command.”

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Risling agreed. “I can understand their reluctance to foster fears of a military coupe, but they need to realize the difficulties in running a military campaign light years from the action. Besides, I’m beginning to believe the same way as you about the supposedly separate Earth Civilian and Earth Military Commands. I’ve heard rumors the United States lost all of its influence on either of the two commands. Hang in there Jake. You’ve given me a few ideas to work on. We’ll update you on a regular basis with our progress on an isolation signal. Colonel Stavros has our labs patched together, and in constant contact with Earth research facilities.”

“What would you think of a scouting party to check out our unknown observers?”

“I would have to disavow any knowledge of it if something goeswrong.”

“Of course,” Jake acknowledged with a grin. “Then I will leave you to your work,” Risling replied. “Keep me informed.”

“Yes Sir.” “Good luck, Jake.”

“As always, Sir, luck better have very little to do with it.”

Jake heard the footsteps even as he gripped his sidearm. He kept his eyes closed.

“I saw that, you sneaky prick,” Mercer called out. “If I were an unhappy civilian, sneaking into your quarters, you’d be dead.”

Jake sat up without the blaster, and ran his hands over his face, turning the motion into a long stretch. “Hi Charlie. I tensed, didn’t I?”

‘Tea Boss, but I never even thought you’d hear me, so not bad my friend, not bad.”

“Did I sleep at all?”

“Five hours, Earth general time,” Mercer replied. “A millisecond in actual rest by the way you look.”

“Oh thanks, the honeymoon’s over then, is it?”

“Yea, my brother,” Mercer grinned. “You are one scarred up, nasty looking, pasty example of a Marine. I hope you can think better than you look.”

“Yest me, wiseass.”

“We have the prototype for the isolation signal generator loaded aboard Alpha. Tim wants to know if you want to try it out. Your weapons officer buddy from the Tennyson, Richardson, fitted it up an hour ago with Chief Russell’s help. He guarantees it to work. He doesn’t know if the signal will work, but he says the generator’s a cinch. It has enough amplitude to knock out both Queens for as long as you want.”

“Man, that’s know how,” Jake marveled. “Risling and I won’t even have to risk getting locked in the brig. Hey, what about power, Charlie? Will the habitat have enough to sustain the signal for a while?”

“Engineering on the Gallant came up with a way to supply the signal from here. The receivers on the habitat act as huge amplifiers, which require very little power,” Mercer replied. “All Marine Regiments are on alert to go down at your command, even Conger.”

Jake laughed, remembering the Commander of Marine Regiment One. “I guess you two get along real good now?”

“As well as can be expected. I did have a problem with authority,” Mercer admitted, “Which Conger took every opportunity to point out to me.”

Jake nodded. “Load ‘em up, Charlie. I’ll be down shortly. I guess Colonel Tokoru has been a bit eager, huh?”

“I had to bolt his ass to the deck,” Mercer laughed. “I think annoying would be a better way to describe what you think of as eagerness.”

“He’s a first class Exec though, Charlie,” Jake said, as he dressed.

“Hell, I know that,” Mercer retorted. “If not for him, you’d probably try and make me stay topside while you had all the fun.”

“Someone has to clean up the Bugs,” Jake pointed out as he dressed. “If something happens to the signal, we will be in a world of shit.”

“We’ll fry them critters all the way down and all the way back up,” Mercer promised fervently. “I want at least a running start.”

“We get the Queen, we won’t need a running start.”

“Did you decide to go after both Queens at once?” Mercer asked.

“Nope,” Jake answered shortly. “If we have all five Drop Ships, and three of our Regiments, killing wandering Bugs, and keeping our escape route open, we take the least risk if the signal conks out.”

“Good thinking.”

“Actually, I planned on hitting both nests at once,” Jake admitted, “but a Marine Corporal in Bravo Company, Second Regiment suggested the plan I just told you.”