Jethro: First to Fight (51 page)

Robots were deployed, they moved cargo
from the LZ's to the designated storage centers. Some moved prefabricated
structures to designated locations on the plans were Marines set them up.

There was a learning curve for workmen,
robots, architects, and logistical managers alike. It was an exponential one
however, once they learned what worked and what didn't the work crews picked up
tricks to make things go faster or easier. The robot's programming could be
adjusted with software patches during their maintenance downtime.

Other machinery took the raw earth in,
mixed it with sand from the beaches, gravel, steel rebar, and water, then ran
the entire slurry through a chemistry plant and then outputted prefab concrete
structures. On board kilns dried the concrete in less than an hour.

There were three different concrete
forming machines, one for the roads, one for the defensive structures, and a
final one for concrete buildings. Each required rebar as a skeletal element to
the construction.

The barracks walls were built somewhat
differently. Plastic forms were set up. Each form was about a meter long with
interlocking edges. In between the two pieces of Styrofoam were plastic struts
to keep them apart. Rebar snapped into these struts. The interlocking edges
also locked together. Layer by layer they were built up like Lego bricks. The
joints were staggered to prevent structural weaknesses. Once the forms were
completed the nearest concrete machine was tapped to fill the forms.

Workmen and robots moved about, using vibrators
to keep air pockets from forming in the forms. When the forms were filled the
machinery moved on. The Styrofoam served as layer of insulation for the
structure. Trusses tied the walls together and formed the structure to lay the
floor on top of. Once the forms cured the process began again, building the
walls up to the desired height.

Assembly crews fed the robots that made
the trusses for various projects. Some would 'feed the beast' with pallets of
parts, others would take the completed truss out of the robotic assembler and
transport it to the job site it was designated for.

It was all a carefully coordinated
ballet of men and machine, one following a master plan.

Parris Island would have multiple bases
scattered all over it when the base was finished with its phase 1 construction.
A full fledged space port, water harbor, firebases, training bases, garrisons,
an academy, hospital, armory, supply depot, proving grounds, training fields,
planetary defense center, aerospace depot, vehicle depot and training center,
civilian centers of living, and other structures were all in the plans. The
island chain was destined to become a military city.

...*...*...*...*...

There was over twelve million tons of
cargo on the shuttles, it took weeks to get it all down to the surface in one
piece.

One of the largest things to land was
the class one military special industrial replicator and fabricator. It was
massive and had to come down in their largest boat, the barge. The barge was an
ungainly craft, a saucer designed not for comfort but to move massive loads to
and from a gravity well. She was so massive she hadn't fit in any of the ships,
she had been strapped with her load to the outside of Destiny for the ride
through hyper.

Normal shuttles were about moving their
loads quickly up and down. The barge was all grunt. She was so large she
required her own shields and a massive power plant to run everything. In Pyrax
she had been used as a tug to move ships and equipment around in the yard. This
was her first taste of atmosphere in seven centuries so more than one person
was nervous about her ride down.

Her cargo was incredibly precious, a
thousand ton device designed to make virtually any piece of military hardware
needed. That was, if you had the keys and the blueprints.

Commander Logan had been reluctant to
let the replicator go, but admiral Irons had specifically designed it for this
purpose, to be used on Parris Island.

The barge made it's hair raising drop
without incident, then drifted like a petal down to a water landing off shore
of the island. Prejudice shuttles flew out and dropped lines to the barge. When
they were attached the three shuttles towed the barge to the improvised port on
the shore. A pair of cranes and a multiwheel carry vehicle were waiting there
to offload her precious cargo.

Once the replicator was moved to her new
home building she was plugged into the net and then the Spacebees began
stuffing her maw with raw material. They threw in packing material from the
various drops, along with other bits. The replicator spat out pallets of goods,
furniture, fittings, small jeeps, and everything a growing base needed.

...*...*...*...*...

Valenko's squad scouted the island chain
with the other Recon squads. They kept one step ahead of the infantry and engineering
scout teams. When they met up with another squad, they stopped to exchange maps
and hand signs, talked softly, keeping in practice as if it was a combat
environment. Sometimes they had to meet a dropship to resupply. Sometimes they
had to wade across a river or between islands at low tide. Sergei had a close
call with a shark.

They had a couple of other close calls
with animals and mother nature but came through relatively unscathed. Harley
used the liger's tail to fish, dangling it over the water until he snatched it
back. They were surprised by the changes to the base when they returned six
days later.

A week after arrival the shuttles were
stood down for a thorough maintenance tear down and overhaul. Many of the
airframes were close or past their required thousand hour tear downs.

The mechanics found some micro fractures
in the wings which required replacement. Apparently a few of the craft had been
overloaded or over abused by their crews. This unseen and unplanned for problem
required new parts to be created which caused a headache with logistics for the
base. Not only did the need for replacement parts cause headaches with
manufacturing and the logistical pipeline, it also caused a headache with
transporting material to and from orbit.

The headache rippled through the plan,
throwing the carefully thought out schedules out of whack, irritating the
officers and enlisted. The Major however took it all in stride, pointing out to
those who griped that it was a learning experience. “You have to leave a little
slack in for something like this. Murphy. If the plan is too rigid it will
fail.”

“No plan survives contact with the
enemy,” Captain Pendeckle replied with a grudging nod.

The Major eyed him for a moment and then
returned the nod. “In this case we set ourselves up to be the enemy. Let this
be a lesson people. Fix the problem. Check over the plan. Paper over any other
cracks and plan for downtime on the equipment.”

“Yes sir,” Captain Pendeckle said.
Valenko nodded.

...*...*...*...*...

Valenko's squad was tapped to do more
recon of the island chain and then handle security as work parties made up out
of Marines and boots set up the perimeter.

Valenko handed the job off to Jethro and
headed in to the base to handle the growing mountain of paperwork the base
seemed to generate daily. Jethro didn't mind, it wasn't like they needed a lot
of oversight. He looked around the perimeter once more and sighed. There was a
bit of heat haze in the air and the net flies were swarming in clouds. Another
day in not quite paradise.

Four meter deep trenches were dug along
the perimeter, roads were plowed but there was no gravel plant or other
infrastructure so they were left bare. The occasional rock had been used to
line the trenches but there weren't enough of them. He wasn't looking forward
to the first summer rains, the entire base was probably going to turn into a
quagmire of mud and muck. Trees were cut down and removed to provide clear
firing lanes along the perimeter. They had stacks of trees all over the place.
It seemed like they didn't know what to do with them all.

Jethro spent a week watching over a team
setting up the fence. The chain link fence was about four meters high topped
with razor wire. When it was completed it would be electrified. If it was ever
finished he thought wryly. So far the boots and grunts on the job spent more
time sucking down water and bitching about their sunburns than they did digging
the post holes and stretching the wire. You'd think someone somewhere would
have thought of an easier way to do something this labor intensive.

He wasn't sure why they were bothering
with the perimeter right now. Oh in theory he understood it, but technically
the entire island chain was a military reservation. Anyone setting foot on the
beach was up for being probed by drones and long range sensors. He looked to
the left as an armed drone floated by. Speaking of the devil...

“They ever going to get this done?”
Sergei asked again tiredly. Jethro and the others looked over to him. He was
basking in the shade. The tip of Kovu and Sergei's tails were flicking. All of
the Marines were flicking off the net flies that tended to buzz in their ears
and eyes. Guard work was necessary but boring. So far they had only had to
chase one predator away all week. Maybe having the fence up wasn't so bad he
thought. Though the deer they'd bagged yesterday had been a welcome change from
the MRE's they were used to eating.

They had a long ways to go. Not only did
the team get stuck digging and putting up the fence, they also just found a
section of trees that had somehow missed the boffins who designed this whole
plan. Which meant they had to do something about them soon.

He was looking forward to the mid afternoon
breeze. Not only would it bring some relief to the work crews but it would also
get rid of the damn flies.

A heavy set Marine looked up and glared
at the cat. The guy had to be part heavyworlder, he had a short bull neck and a
massive chest. Slitted golden eyes looked back at him lazily. The human took a
swig of water and then took his tank top off. He had one hell of a sunburn from
the tip of his shaved head to his waist line. He had something of a farmers tan
on his arms. Like a lot of spacers he had little body hair so his skin was ripe
for the sun. “Why don't you come over here and try it kitty?” he growled. He
wiped at his sweaty face with the shirt and then tossed it over a shoulder.
“Otherwise shut your yap,” he growled, flicking the flies away with an angry
hand. They buzzed away for a second and then came back.

“I...” Sergei started to get up but
Jethro waved to him. “You know, He was right. I tell you what,” he said looking
at the squad. “You,” he pointed to Sergei and then to Kovu and Fonz. “You and
you trade with him and him and her.” He pointed to Sergeant Zerric and two of
his privates who were swooning and not getting anything done. “You three take
five and watch the perimeter. Work one hour then we'll swap in others.”

“Shit you serious?” Fonz asked.

“He was serious,” Sergei sighed getting
up. He dusted his hand paws off as he handed over his C-42 to the eager grunt
ready to take his place. “Me and my big mouth,” he said pulling his gloves on.

“Just going to get this done faster,”
Jethro replied with an ear flick. ”And getting away from the damn flies,” he
said, snorting as one tried to crawl up his nose. He waved them away from his
face.

“You sure about this Jethro?” Sergeant
Zerric asked. Jethro waved. “I mean I don't want to... holy crap!” he said
startled and wide eyed as Sergei ripped a tree out of the way and then held it
in his arms.

“Where do you want it?” he asked as the
Marines around him ducked and covered.

“Um, over there,” Zerric said pointing.

Sergei turned his head and then grunted.
“Sure thing,” he said tossing it. The twenty meter long former tree flew about
ten meters before landing on top of the pile of other trunks. It bounced a bit,
causing a minor landslide before things settled down. The sharp sounds of
breaking branches and crunching bark had more than one Marine ducking for
cover.

Sergei dusted his gloves off. “Next?” he
asked mildly.

...*...*...*...*...

Once the streets, main buildings,
officer housing, galley, and barracks were up, the base layout began to take
shape. The various parade grounds were leveled and seeded with grass seed.
Yellow footprints were painted on the tarmac, street signs were erected. Motor
pools were set up, along with the garages, washing stations, and vehicles.

Buildings like the PX, BX, barber shops,
temporary billeting, credit union, library, college annex, movie theater, rec
center, fitness center, visitor center, Laundromat, and the first restaurant
were either under tents or still only marked out. Unfortunately the civilian
structures weren't a priority so were left for last.

Solar panels were on most of the roofs,
some formed shaded pavilions for parking, picnic eating, or other outdoor
activities. Wind turbines were mounted in strategic locations to catch as much
wind as possible. The renewable energy was sufficient to run the base's basic
functions, such as computers, lighting, heating, and air conditioning. A micro
fusion reactor was buried in an undisclosed location and then covered in layers
of armor. It would serve as a backup, and to power some of the bases air
defenses.

Unfortunately, with the admiral gone
they didn't have the energy shields they had planned on having for phase 2, nor
the full fusion reactor or some of the thousand and one other things major ground
bases had had. Major Forth stated that they would have to make do with what
they had.

As the base settled in they started
traditions of base life, including the ceremonies of raising the flag, morning
bugle call at 0730, morning PT, Roll call, and the lowering the flag, folding
it, as well as taps at 2200 at night. Marine platoons exercised and ate
together, worked on the construction teams or manned a post.

...*...*...*...*...

Three weeks after they had arrived the
Marines were assembled for a brief ceremony christening the base. The evening
before Marines were kept busy getting their uniforms and gear squared away.
Just before lights out the noncoms held the first inspection on the base.
Things that had thought would be overlooked were found. Trash and other
discrepancies were handled.

In the morning the Marines and naval
personnel assembled in full mess dress. The ranks were called. When roll call
was complete and all personnel were accounted Captain Pendeckle ran them
through saluting the colors and the national anthem. Then he called the Major
to the stage.

The winds whipped the flags into a
frenzy. The Major ignored it, walking smartly to the podium in his dress blues.
He stood there for a long moment, staring out over the sea of stern faces. Then
he took a deep breath.

“Hooyah!” He bellowed, clutching the
podium. “Semper FI!”

Despite the injunction to remain silent
the Marines cheered. He smiled, straightening as the Marines clapped, cheered,
hooted, and whistled. He nodded, and then motioned for the men and women to
quiet. After a moment the noncoms got things under control.

“Now that we've got that out of our
system,” the Major said, smiling ever so slightly. “I'd like to welcome one and
all to Marine Corps base Parris Island. Command and training center for the
Federation of Sapient Planets Marine Corps for the foreseeable future.” He
looked out of the sea of faces again. “We're here. We're here to stay. We are
the seed, the seed to grow into a mighty army to take back our sister colonies
from the pirates. Here we are going to grow, grow strong, train hard. The
easiest day was yesterday folks, we've got a lot of work ahead of us. You know
I'm not big on speeches so this is it.”

He turned and moved away from the
podium, then turned back and came to attention. “I'm damn proud of all of you,”
he said simply. “Semper Fi. Carry on,” he said.

As one the noncoms called for a salute.
They gave it. The Major returned it. Then he turned and saluted the flag of the
Federation once more. The Marines saluted as one.

...*...*...*...*...

The civilians were eager to get off the
crowded ships and down to work or to be with their spouses. That posed a
problem. The Major informed them that there were no facilities but they eagerly
waved that off as unimportant.

The first landings were met by the
families of those coming down. They were greeted happily. Many were born and
bred spacers, being outside on a planet was an entirely new experience. The
islands were warm, and the wide open spaces caused agoraphobia in some.

The Marines tried to make the newcomers
as comfortable as possible. The soldiers treated it like a camp out, some still
had fires at night and cooked food over the open fire, or relaxed and
socialized. The fires kept the local bug population away.

Within days though, there were some
complaints from civilians who shuttled down expecting housing only to find
tents. The Major fielded such complaints for a while before he passed them on
to Captain Pendeckle. The Captain was diplomatic for a while, but after a while
he became tired of the whining interruptions to his schedule and grew cross and
blunt. He coldly told the complainers to either deal with it or go back to the
ships and wait. Word got around to suck it up.

Slowly the base housing situation began
to sort itself out. The squad bays were constructed the second week after
landing. Once the bays were complete the Marines moved in. Then the
construction crews turned their attention on temporary billeting for the civilians
until more permanent homes could be completed.

...*...*...*...*...

Base housing on the ground was much
different than expected. Some had expected apartments, and the Major had been
sorely tempted to go that route. Instead he'd gone for a more... traditional
approach. Full suburbs with homes were constructed from blueprints in certain
sections of the island.

Grading and pouring the roads was easy,
building the homes was a bit different. It took a month to get the first homes
completed, not without some teething issues in the construction process. Once
they passed inspection the first families moved in.

Clive Bret lived with his wife in base
housing. That made things interesting in training and unscheduled exercises.
His wife worked as a clerk in base administration, though she had been going
for a teacher degree. “It's... different,” Clive said quietly.

“Living with a civilian? I'd think you'd
of gotten used to it. You weren't born a Marine,” Harley teased.

“I know. And she's part Marine in a way.
She's damn scary, won't let me get away with anything. She's on my ass if I
miss the hamper or leave the toilet seat up,” Clive said, making a face.