Casserine (52 page)

“Who handles the guards with the colonists, Sir?” McClure asked.

“I’ll lead one squad to the starboard side, and Colonel Mercer will take another to the port side, that’s the left as you face the front, Charlie.”

“Screw you, General,” Mercer fired back in the midst of laughing Marines.

“Pick us out a dozen guys, Vic, and then lay out your plans with the men,” Jake told McClure. “I want the pirates on our flanks up front blocked, and killed. Some will surrender, if all goes well. It’s up to you whether to accept or not. Take no chances. Kill if in doubt. Give Charlie and I about thirty seconds to get their attention out in front of the hostages, and then double time it right on past them. We’ll keep them busy, if they ain’t dead by then.”

“Aye, aye, Sir,” McClure acknowledged, as he stood up to quickly pick out twelve men to send along with Jake and Mercer. He then began briefing the remaining Marines, dividing the men up into two groups, with his Sergeant taking charge of one.

“Five minutes, Vic, and then I have Major Corey get us in position.

“Yes Sir,” McClure replied, looking up. “We’ll be there.”

Mercer had already split the twelve Marines, and had his group behind him. Jake waved them on, and followed the group to the hatch they would be using to board the Trenton, on the port side of Alpha. He put his helmet on while he walked. They all un-slung their particle beam rifles as they paused at the hatch. When Jake saw McClure lead his group towards them, Jake called into Major Corey.

“Let’s kiss the Trenton, Sara,” Jake said. “We’re ready to board.”

“Aye, aye, Sir, one kiss coming up.”

“Same deal as before. Keep Lieutenant McClure, and his Sergeant on the command line, but filter off the rest of his men. Tim, you ready?”

“All set, Jake. The bad guys aren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, and the chatter inside is just run of the mill chatter. As soon as you get my homemade panel device on the Trenton’s hatch, I’ll pop it for you.”

“Will do,” Jake replied, as he turned to Mercer. “Let’s keep the talkin’ down, Charlie, and put our guys on helmet to helmet.”

Mercer nodded. “These guys know who to kill anyway. Rightguys?”

“Rah!” Came the chorus from behind him and Jake.

“Anybody gets separated, go on the command frequency,” Jake instructed. “Otherwise, we run up the sides of the cargo bay, and kill everyone with a weapon in front of the hostages.”

“What if they throw down their weapons, Sir?” A private with Naggaro stenciled on the outside of his armor tunic asked.

“Too bad,” Jake stated without hesitation. “Everyone in front of the hostages gets tapped. If they live through the first particle beam fire, maybe they’ll live. If even one hostage gets hit, we’ll vacuum the whole gang into space. Understood?”

“Yes Sir!”

Jake turned his attention to the hatch monitor, as Corey eased Alpha into orbit with the Trenton in the midst of floating space debris. She expertly paralleled the Trenton, and then closed the gap between the projected boarding hatches. Gradually, with only a whisper of the field generating device, Corey locked the two ships together.

“Oh, that was nice, Sara,” Dougherty exclaimed in admiration. “They didn’t feel a thing.”

“Thanks, Tim,” Corey replied with some satisfaction, as she turned on the green indicator over the hatch where the Marines waited. “Good to go, Jake.”

“On our way,” Jake acknowledged, as he slid open Alpha’s hatch, and clamped the small rectangular circuit box to the panel outside the Trenton’s hatch. “Open her up, Tim.”

The hatch hissed open, startling colonists wandering around near the hatch. Jake held up a hand for silence, and motioned them to the cargo bay floor. The mass of humanity milling around in the cargo bay startled Jake, even though he had been prepared to see them. Without pausing another second, he ran for the starboard side bulkhead with his team behind him, while Mercer headed for the port side. Jake quickly outdistanced the Marines following him, threading his way through shocked colonists, who began causing an uproar.

“United States Marines!” Jake shouted through the amp in his helmet. “Hit the deck!”

Colonists began diving to the floor all around as he continued shouting. Mercer and the rest of the Marines took up the call as they ran.

The guards stumbled towards the sounds in confusion. The pirates who had run towards the starboard side, finally saw the reason for the commotion. One threw his weapon on the deck, and dived onto his face. The three with him were blown apart by concentrated fire from Jake and the Marines behind him an instant later.

Two of the Marines behind Jake were knocked off their feet as they reached the front of the cargo bay, by heavy pulse rifle fire from pirates hiding behind shipping crates. They survived only five more seconds as particle beam fire ripped through the crates and their bodies. By the time Jake reached the area they had been firing from, all of them were dead. Mercer joined him from the port side a moment later, having wiped out the pirates there, motioning for the Marines following him to fan out between the hostages and the forward part of the ship. Jake’s Marines picked up their stunned buddies, and took up defensive positions, blocking access on both sides from the front of the ship. Jake saw McClure’s platoon streak past on the way to the other pirates. Private Naggaro took charge of the only live pirate.

“We are in position, Sara, and holding,” Jake said quickly on the command channel. “Tim, how’s the outer bulkheads holding?”

“No outer hull damage, Jake,” Dougherty replied. “I see some glowing inner bulkheads though, where you went through a couple of layers. The Trenton’s armored pretty well around the cargo bay because of the stuff they haul for the military at times.”

“Good,” Jake sighed. “We hit them hard in the front here. I was afraid we went a little too wild.”

“The Bridge crew surrendered, Jake,” Sara put in.

“General, this is McClure, we are at the bridge hatch.”

“I guess the surrender was a little late for the rest of the pirates, huh

Vic?”

“Affirmative, Sir,” McClure answered. “We took fire on both sides, and returned it. All enemy dead. No outer bulkhead breeches.”

“Tell those pricks on the bridge to come out with their hands behind their heads, and round them up, Vic. If they so much as look at you funny, take care of them.”

“Aye, Sir.”

“I’m going to talk to the colonists, Sara. Charlie will still have his helmet on if you need me. I want to get the Trenton’s flight crew back on the bridge.”

“Okay, Jake,” Corey replied.

Jake took off his helmet. Mercer stayed by his side, but kept his on. They walked over to the thousands of prone colonists, glancing up fearfully from where they had dropped down on command. Since the firing subsided, you could hear a pin drop in the cargo bay. Jake had no trouble being heard.

“We have regained control of the Trenton,” Jake called out.

Men, women, and children were on their feet instantly, cheering and hugging in tearful relief. They had been captive in the huge, but uncomfortable cargo bay for a very long time. Jake laid his helmet and rifle down, and gestured for silence. Moments later, he could speak again.

“We need your flight crew to take over on the bridge again, before the commander of the carrier Intrepid releases control. Come forward, please.”

Three men, and one woman worked their ways out from the crowd. They were all military, as was the custom on all transport vessels, which transported military cargo. Although they looked a bit haggard, they were all smiles as they walked up in front with Jake and Mercer. A lean, gray haired black man, with the insignia of a space force Colonel was the first to shake Jake’s hand.

“General Matthews, I’m Duwain Miller. This is my Exec, Major James Westly, and my com and weapons officers, Lieutenants Anna Hoover and Mike Silas. Good lord, are we happy to see you.”

“We’re glad to be here in time,” Jake said enthusiastically, as he and Mercer shook hands all around with the bridge crew.

“We thought you were conducting operations against the aliens,” Miller said. “How in the world did you find us?”

“We went to Casserine, took Sodom Hushanni prisoner, and executed his crew,” Jake informed him. “He told us where to find you folks. We were worried we wouldn’t get here in time.”

“Sir, they have a cruiser out there somewhere too, we.” “That cruiser no longer exists, Colonel,” Jake broke in gently. “My Chief of Staff, Colonel Mercer, and I, will join you on the bridge shortly. We have to see to our Marines, and get my Alpha Drop Ship disengaged from the hull of the Trenton.”

“Aye, aye, Sir,” Miller acknowledged, snapping to attention, and saluting. His three other officers followed suit.

Jake returned their salute with a smile. “See you all in a few minutes.”

Chapter 48 

Rigel

Jake reached down and picked up his rifle, slinging it over his left shoulder. With a gesture to Mercer, he grabbed up his helmet, and started across the cargo bay. As the flight crew hurried to the bridge, Jake and Mercer were enveloped in screaming and cheering colonists. They took the adoration good naturedly, making their way to the rear hatch. Mercer held back their entourage, and Jake closed off first Alpha’s hatch, and then the Trenton’s. Putting on his helmet muffled some of the crowd noise.

“You’re sealed up tight, Sara,” Jake said over the command line. “Head on back to the Intrepid.”

“Aye, aye, Sir,” Corey acknowledged. “That was sweet.”

“Roger that,” Jake grinned at Mercer, who was nodding. “Contact the authorities on Rigel, and tell them the Trenton will be landing for a checkup, before proceeding to their destination. Better tell them we have some prisoners for them too. I want the Marine Commandant down there to meet me when we dock, with Marines to secure the prisoners. Shore leave for everyone over the next couple of weeks. We’ll stay in orbit with a skeleton crew while everyone gets a taste of Rigel’s hospitality.”

“I won’t just contact the authorities, I’ll warn them,” Corey laughed.

“Ah, Jake, you aren’t thinking of letting Charlie go on shore leave are you?” Dougherty added. “I think they’re still rebuilding part of the base there from the last time he.”

“Shut up, Buttface,” Mercer broke in, “before I open this hatch back up and come find you.”

“We’ll ride down to Rigel with the Trenton, and give Charlie a chance to get three sheets into the wind before Buttface gets there, Matthews out.”

Jake heard laughter in his ear just before he took off his helmet, with Mercer following suit. “We did have some good times on Rigel, huh Charlie?”

Mercer glanced up from his hand shaking, smiling broadly. “Oh man, Jake, remember that place on the strip with the dancing girls?”

Smiling and nodding, Jake pushed back into the crowd towards the bridge. “C’mon folks, go about your business. We’ll be landing on Rigel soon. Most of you all need to take a shower before we land, if you know what I mean.”

There was huge laughter amongst the crowd within hearing of Jake’s remark on their body odor. They split off from the two men reluctantly, with a few of the male children tagging along, asking to sign up to be Nest Marines. Jake and Mercer took turns handling their requests with the utmost seriousness, having joined the Marine Corps when they themselves were only a few years older than the boys following them. They detoured to the starboard side, where private Naggaro guarded the only prisoner taken in the rear of the Trenton.

“I see you managed to take a prisoner, Private,” Jake observed with a smile. “I’m glad you thought to watch him while we were busy.”

“He didn’t want any part of us, Sir,” Naggaro replied.

“He took a dive so quick, I thought he was one of the colonists,” Mercer added.

“Survival instinct is a powerful motivator,” Jake agreed. “Put him in the Trenton Brig, if you can get one of the colonists to show you where it

“Aye, aye, Sir.”

On the way to the bridge, Jake and Mercer passed a string of dead bodies. The colonists were already beginning to drag them to a hatch for vacuuming into space, most with smiles on their faces. McClure and the rest of his men were in front of the bridge with five prisoners on their knees with their hands locked behind their heads. McClure saluted, and Jake and Mercer returned it.

“I see you have things under control, Vic,” Jake said. “You guys all ready for some R&R on Rigel?”

“Rah!” Came the answer in unison.

“I expect you guys to uphold the highest standards of the Marine Corps, just as Colonel Mercer and I did long ago, when we were on liberty.”

Mercer choked, and then went on a laughing binge, until he noticed Jake glaring at him.

“Anyway, have a good time down there,” Jake turned back to the now smiling Marines. “I want you guys to stay close on Rigel, and take your sidearms with you. A couple of guys in each group stay coherent so we don’t have any incidents.”

“They’re not going to like us being down there armed, Sir,” McClure said cautiously.

‘Tea, well too bad,” Mercer replied quickly. “Rigel’s had a kidnapped transport, and a pirate cruiser hiding out in their orbit. We don’t know yet whether they had any contacts down there. We have a list of suspects, and our source was unsure of their location.”

“Colonel Mercer’s right,” Jake agreed. “I don’t want any of you young men sniped at and killed down there after all you’ve been through. If the civilians give you any trouble, I’ll lock their whole damn planet down under martial law. Be respectful, but be wary, and watch out for your mates from the Intrepid. They won’t be armed.”

“Aye, aye, Sir,” McClure acknowledged. “Sir, we did start to clean up our own mess, but the colonists wouldn’t let us. They said they wanted to throw out the trash themselves.”

“Tea, we saw that on the way. Do you know the way to the brig?”

“Yes Sir, we saw it while we were searching the ship.”

“Good. Take your prisoners there, and lock them up until we get down to Rigel. I’m having some Marines stationed on Rigel meet us and take custody of them,” Jake instructed. “Vic, call in to the Intrepid and tell your buddies to bring down your dress blues on the first Drop Ship down. You guys can shower, change, and lock down your armor and rifles on board the Drop Ship. I want you guys looking good with the new insignia. We probably have a bunch of Earth Command holdovers down there who need to get educated as to the way things are now.”

“It will be our pleasure, Sir,” McClure grinned. “Will you and the Colonel be joining us?”

“Just as soon as we check in with the Marine Commandant on Rigel,” Jake replied. He turned to Mercer. “Hey Charlie, what was the name of that place on the strip?”

“The Bombay,” Mercer answered with a sigh. “They can accommodate a lot of Marines there too. Stay away from the gambling though, boys. Only the house wins down there.”

“Maybe we’ll see you both later then, Sir,” McClure said.

Jake nodded, and led the way onto the bridge. Colonel Miller had the Trenton moving already, out of the debris, and his bridge crew was hard at work on systems checks for re-entry onto Rigel. Miller looked up from the command panel, and waved the two Marines over.

“It’s looking good, General. They have a dock ready for us. We should be on our way to the colonies in a few days.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Colonel,” Jake replied. “I’ll have a Marine guard in and around your ship until you leave. We don’t want any collaborators down there sabotaging your ship.”

“You really think there are some down there?”

“Yep, but after what will get out about what happened to their maximum leader Sodom, we won’t have to worry too much. Besides, Colonel Mercer here already obtained a list of suspects for the Rigel authorities from Sodom. We’ll be giving the list to the Marine Commandant on Rigel.”

“You actually were able to get Hushanni to give you a list of his cohorts?” Miller asked, surprise plainly showing on his face.

“Oh yeah,” Jake replied. “He was so taken with Colonel Mercer, he’d do just about anything for him, right Charlie?”

“He and I are just like brothers,” Mercer said, with a smile looking more like a grimace. “We covered all the details of his operations on the way over here from Casserine.”

“We’ll be keeping him on Rigel for a few days until I make sure we have all the information we need,” Jake added. “Afterwards, he gets a fast military tribunal, and an even faster public execution.”

“I’d like to see that,” Miller said, and this time, he was not smiling.

“I’ll make sure they broadcast it for all the pirate wannabes around the area, so you’ll be able to get a transmission of it on the way,” Jake replied.

“I’d like that.”

“Well, Charlie and I are going to get out of this gear and kick back on the bridge until you dock, if that’s okay with you. That way, if the Intrepid wants to contact me, you can let us know.”

“It would be an honor, General. Have a seat anywhere you like. We’ll have you on Rigel in no time.”

“Thanks, Colonel.”

Jake and Mercer both stripped out of their armor. The armored outfits were made to be converted for carrying, with a place to attach the helmet. Their uniform fatigues underneath carried the insignia of rank, along with the new United States Marine Corps emblem on the left shoulder, and a United States flag on the right. They both put on the soft hat, which carried their insignia of rank too. As the Trenton descended towards the surface of Rigel, Jake and Mercer sat down.

“That feels better,” Mercer commented, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

“I’m going to have to call the Governor too, before we go traipsing down to the Bombay. If you want to take off, I’ll catch up with you later?”

“No way,” Mercer replied. “I need to get cleaned up, and get my dress blues on anyway. Besides, we should wait for Luke Skywalker to join us. Any chance Colonel Peters and Sara could hit the Bombay with us?”

“I don’t see why not. We ain’t exactly in alien space or anything,” Jake observed. “Maybe Risling will have Colonel Peters’ promotion okayed, and we can pin on his General’s stars. I already have the okay on Sara’s promotion to Colonel.”

“You needed special permission to promote him to General, after all he’s done?”

“They have to get some act of Congress now, just like they did with my recommendation for Nick. Since we threw off Earth Command, General

Officer rank has to be okayed by Congress,” Jake explained. “Those assholes used to make Generals out of anyone with enough bribe money, and a yearning for a title. I can promote up to colonel with a check in to Risling, but he has to get an okay from back in America for anything higher. The medals I recommended for everyone on these missions have all been approved too. We’ll have to have a big awards ceremony when we get back to Omaha.”

Mercer nodded in agreement. “Hey, whose the Marine Commandant on Rigel now?”

“I don’t know,” Jake admitted. “He has to be a General for a post on Rigel, so it may be someone who has been around the block. Maybe we’ll know him.”

“I am General Jacque Chirar, Commandant of Marines on Rigel. You must be General Matthews.”

General Chirar wore his dress blues, but without the new insignia of the United States Marine Corps, as ordered by Governor Risling when Earth Command had been destroyed. Jake looked over the lean, six-foot tall man, with pencil thin black mustache. Jake watched him with frank curiosity. Chirar had spoken with an old, almost extinct accent, Jake had only heard twice before, once on Omaha during the first Bug war, and again from some colonists at the Tarawa Jump Gate. Jake held out his hand in greeting, and Chirar gave him what Jake thought of as a dead fish handshake, cold and limp.

“Nice meeting you,” Jake said, releasing the white flounder of a hand. “This is Colonel Charles Mercer, my Chief of Staff.”

After observing Jake’s distasteful look while shaking Chirar’s hand, Mercer snapped to attention, and saluted to avoid the same experience. Chirar returned the salute, and then clasped his hands behind his back, jutting his head out slightly.

“Well gentlemen, what can I do for you?”

Jake glanced over at Mercer for a moment as if searching for illumination, but his friend had kept at attention with his eyes looking straight ahead.

“A couple of things, General Chirar,” Jake began. “First, I notice you didn’t bring along a Marine detail to take charge of the prisoners aboard the Trenton; and secondly, I do not see the insignia for the United States Marines on your uniform along with the Stars and Stripes. Perhaps you could explain those two items to me before we go any further.”

Chirar chortled, as if Jake had told him a humorous story. Mercer could not help but look over at Jake. Any semblance of humor, or even patience, had fled Jake’s face. Mercer smiled appreciatively, and returned his look to an area beyond Chirar.

“We do not detain prisoners here, General Matthews,” Chirar instructed. “When we have some need for a trial, due to an instance of law breaking, where we have apprehended someone, we turn them over to the civilian authorities here on Rigel. As to this ridiculous insignia business, I am the Marine Commandant here, and have no need for.”

“You are relieved of command, as of this moment, Chirar,” Jake said through clenched teeth. “Who is your Executive Officer, and where can I find him?”

“Surely you’re not serious,” Chirar stuttered, his hands falling to his sides. “Really, Monsieur Matthews, I.”

“I’m not interested in anything else you have to say,” Jake cut him off. “If you don’t tell me where your Exec is in the next five seconds, I will have a detail from the Trenton place you under arrest.”

“I outrank you, Matthews. I.”

“In case you’ve been underground for a while, General,” Mercer interrupted him, smiling at the man’s bewildered countenance. “Military Governor Risling made General Matthews Supreme Commander of all forces.”

“Ridiculous,” Chirar exclaimed petulantly. “Just because you traipsed around in some caves with some form of insect, you call yourself a Supreme Commander? I will.”