A Hero

by Stephen Arseneault

  "Do I have time to think?"

  "You always have time to think, but you never do. So take an hour. Otherwise I'll be looking for another Assistant to the Director."

  Hayden crossed his arms with a grin. "Assistant to the Director. I like it. Okay. I'm in. Gunny? Corporal?"

  I thought Hayden would be one to stay in the Corps. But his attitude had soured after losing Max. He was proud to be a Marine, and we needed more warriors like him, but this was an offer he felt he couldn't refuse.

  Four days later, a shuttle landed and collected Sheila, Hayden, and sixteen other members of my platoons. They were all good fighters. It saddened me to see them go. But at the same time, I was glad they had the opportunity. With my units gutted, command sent new recruits.

  Privates John Ballard and Deana Bowman were among them. John was one of those gregarious people who was always in the center of whatever was going on. He was easy to like and although he asked a lot of questions, he always followed orders. Deana was quiet and reserved but determined. She integrated into our squads as if meant to be there. They promoted Benjamin Houser, one of my corporals, to staff sergeant. My other sergeant was a transfer, Peter LaFleur, bringing with him Private Tam Mickleson. The remaining replacements were also transfers.

  The year that followed was without event. I was beginning to think TC's notion of a coming major attack was only a ploy to get me back. I wondered if I had made a mistake by refusing him.

  Sheila had commed several times to let me know what I was missing. They gave her and her team the best of everything. Out on Echelon, three orbital battle stations now provided extra defense, along with nineteen fast frigates, each rumored to be more powerful than a full cruiser.

  Sheila had seen to it they drilled crews on a daily basis. There would be no slackers under her command. She forbade politicking of any kind. Similar forces were busy providing defenses for the other members of the Corporate Defense Pact. My requests to Sheila for some of the weapons they had available fell on deaf ears. The consortium of corporations would not allow sharing resources of any kind.

  I had just finished a long conversation with her. She was nervous. She hinted at disaster but provided no details. I thought about what TC had told me during the interview a year before. I prayed that he was wrong. The Corps was as corrupt and chaotic as it had been when I first joined. I soon found my prayers unanswered.

  Our new lieutenant, Jane Dako, two weeks fresh to our platoons, hurried into the barracks we inhabited on the military colony planet of Richland. We manned a fortress named Horvil. It had earned the nickname "Horrorville" because of the constant repairs required to keep its systems operational.

  The lieutenant stood with a grin as she took heavy breaths after an apparent run. "Everyone over here. I have good news. We have spotted a Togmal fleet. I don't yet have details, but it looks like we might finally get some action!"

  I was not expecting that reaction from the lieutenant. In only a few sentences she had revealed what her driving goal was... promotion. Field promotions weren't had during peace. She had no idea what real war entailed. I took in and let out a deep breath at the thought of how many of our Marines she would get killed.

  As the din of speculation and excitement grew, I made my way outside into the hot Richland sun. I needed air.

  Art was out just behind me. "You'd think they all just won a vacation or something."

  "It's been eighteen months since we've been in a real fight. Half our people have yet to see what war is about. The other half are eager for it. We did well the last few years of fighting, but our equipment is now as junky as ever. And some of these recruits lack hard training. I have to believe the bases back home have reverted to a more relaxed regimen since we began winning."

  "I get the feeling that will change. Lieutenant Dako seems giddy. She doesn't understand what she's in for." Art placed his hand on my shoulder. "Tell you what, you and I make a promise here and now to keep each other alive. How's that sound?"

  I chuckled. "Sounds like I just won a vacation."

  The first fight came three weeks later at Merchain. The civilian population was evacuated, forced to leave after the repeated earlier attacks. Only those working for the Aarlis Ore Processing Corporation remained. The colony itself was sold to Aarlis Goodall and the defense of it privatized. Sheila Getz had seen to it the defense was top-notch. The small Togmal fleet that attacked was swiftly turned back.

  Word of the decisive victory trickled down over the news feeds, making the commanders above us all the more eager for a fight. A week later it came to Richland.

  Comms chimed and alarms blared. The twenty-six warships parked in high orbit were sprinting out to meet a Togmal fleet of sixty-five. Command had confidence in victory as forty-seven of the Togmal ships were transports. Ground command had thirty-two gunships in the air within minutes, although four had to return to base due to malfunctions. Another eighteen never made it off the ground, unable to fly due to being under repair.

  They stationed us at the military base built at the site of the former city of Desmondy. Most of the prior fifty thousand inhabitants had perished during the Togmal attack on Richland, five years earlier. The few thousand who escaped had found passage before the raid occurred.

  The city, now a base, housed five thousand Marines and fifteen thousand soldiers, along with close to two thousand civilian support personnel. Our initial orders were to protect the civilians until we could enact an evacuation. As I expected, no transports for an evacuation were coming.

  Art stood beside me on a wall as we scanned the sky for the invaders. "This is like our first time at defense since we first met."

  The memories of that raid flooded back. "That first meet wasn't the best of outcomes, if I remember."

  "No. I suppose it wasn't. You nervous?"

  I smiled. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. We have the same equipment failures as before. And much worse, the same leadership."

  Art chuckled. "If only I had a credit for every time I've heard you say that."

  "That would only make you a rich man who was about to get slammed by a Togmal assault, instead of a poor one."

  "True. But one day I will retire and when that happens, I'll take rich over poor."

  "What are your boys, like ten and twelve now?"

  "Ten and thirteen. Both want to be Marines like their daddy. Makes a man proud, but at the same time, I haven't been there to guide them on how to think and act. I see some of these other clowns they send us, and it makes me worry my kids might come in just as dumb."

  "War will slap that dumb right out of them by the end of the first day... if the Togmal make it to the ground."

  Art looked around. "You know, we need to add a third and fourth wheel to this cart. I miss Sheila and Hayden. They were fun."

  "Great fighters too. With the three of you I felt like I could go in anywhere and take on anyone."

  "Maybe a few of these greenies will step up and surprise us today."

  The lieutenant came up behind us. "So, what are you thinking, Gunny? We have a solid fort and a sizable force. Gunships are buzzing over our heads. You think we'll see action?"

  "Let's hope not."

  The lieutenant stared for several seconds. "You've got as much experience at this as anyone in this Corps. Do you not have confidence in us?"

  "This is war, Lieutenant. People will die if those Togmal ships make it to the ground."

  The lieutenant smirked. "We all die eventually, Gunny. What's the big deal. Wouldn't have thought that would be something you feared."

  "Fighting is not that simple and clean, Lieutenant. Until you've had Togmal firing their blasters your way, and your best friend is lying beside you, in severe pain and bleeding out because his arm has been blown off... and his guts are exposed, death doesn't really hit home. That's when you realize you'd rather be dead than like your friend, who's not dead yet. And that's when you realize you'll do everything in your power to not only save yourself and you
r friend, but every Marine in this outfit... and every other outfit."

  "We'll see. Carry on, Gunny." The lieutenant walked further down the wall.

  Art shook his head. "She's not gonna last the day."

  "Let's hope she does. It would be such a shock that tomorrow she might come out fighting instead of walking around with a puffed-out chest."

  Art chuckled. "My wife has a puffed-out chest. I miss it."

  The sky was suddenly black with Togmal troop transports. The bottoms of those transports splintered into what I had to guess were fifty gunships. Our fleet of twenty-eight raced up to meet them.

  — Chapter 31 —

  * * *

  The fight in the sky was over in minutes. Neither side could claim victory. The forty-seven transports seen coming in with the Togmal fleet were approaching the ground. One hundred four skink missiles were all fired at once.

  Five shot from their tubes only to fizzle and fall to the ground around us. Another sixteen spiraled up and away, not coming close to a target. Sixty-two were shot from the sky, while twenty-one found their targets. The external damage was heavy, but only two ships of the transport fleet crashed to the ground.

  Art was shaking his head. "Those are bigger than we saw before. If I was to guess, they each carry a thousand troops."

  I took in a deep breath, counting the numbers in my head. "Two-to-one odds. We've faced worse."

  "Let's hope these are the same low-quality soldiers we fought the last few years."

  Just as the Togmal ships reached the ground, gun ports opened on their sides with plasma bolts streaming out. Our plasma cannon towers, situated every fifty meters along our fortress wall, were ripped to shreds. Coming from behind us, three of the four gunships that had returned to base as the raid began flew overhead.

  Our gunships silenced the Togmal cannons, but only seconds before being shot from the sky. The next scene looked as though the flood gates on a dam were opened. Togmal soldiers poured out onto the ground in wave after wave. Some in vehicles.

  Sections of wall opened on our fortress. Forty-six Army tanks shook the ground as they zipped out, hovering only a meter off the dirt. The Togmal countered with handheld missiles, taking out half the tanks with the first salvo. Forty thousand Togmal warriors sprinted in our direction. The field in front of us was quickly turned blue and orange from plasma fire.

  Seconds later, the Togmal revealed a new strategy. A thousand smoke canisters bounced off our walls, dropping to the ground and raising a cloud that our sensors would not penetrate. The Togmal continued to fire their weapons, having an accuracy we were not expecting.

  I fired several blind rounds into the smoke before ducking for a word with Art. "They'll be hitting this wall hard in a few minutes. Pass the word we have to take out any fighters who come through that smoke. They'll be carrying explosives."

  Art got on the comm to our platoons.

  I opened a comm to Lieutenant Dako. "Ma'am. They'll be hitting our walls with everything they have in maybe two minutes. With the smoke, we are likely to see explosives carried in. You should instruct your platoons to watch for that type assault and then pass that thought up to command."

  "These walls will hold, Gunny. They were designed to handle conflict."

  "They were designed during a time when there were no wars, Lieutenant. The contracts to build them probably went to the lowest bidder. If you think they will stand up to anything the Togmal have, you have far more confidence in them than I do."

  "Just keep the pressure up on that field, Gunny. We've got this."

  I turned back to Art. "Pass the word. If they breach the walls, fall back to the barracks. We'll defend from there."

  Art nodded as he turned away. "Got it."

  It was an order not coming from the lieutenant, but at that point I didn't care. I would not see my people die because of the inexperience of new leadership.

  As I expected, the Togmal had runners with explosives. They came through the smoke, tossing satchels and turning back. Those in front of our section of wall fell in place with the satchels still tens of meters away. Sections of the wall to our north and south exploded, leaving gaping holes for the Togmal army to rush through... and they did.

  I gave the command for my platoons to fall back. In only seconds we were on the ground and sprinting across the compound. Togmal warriors were paying the price for coming through the breaches, but with each wave they knocked a few more Marines from the walls surrounding them. It only took minutes before we lost containment on the first breach. Orders to fall back came in rapid succession.

  Fighting from the ground to the walls was fierce. The raised platforms our Marines stood on offered no protection to the inside. Attrition rates rose fast, leaving us woefully short of the numbers needed to defend our base.

  We fought from the sides of the barracks for fifteen minutes before the Togmal wave pushed in our direction. We next fell back to the commissary and then to the administrative annex. Before we knew it, they were backing us toward the eastern wall, the Togmal having come in through the west side.

  I found the nearest captain in charge panicked—not knowing what to do. He had his Marines crouched along the platform on top of the wall, awaiting commands from his major.

  "Sir, we have to abandon the fort."

  "What? Where? Where would we go? Who gave that order?"

  "We run, sir. We've lost this fight. If we stay, we die. That's a certainty. Defending this property to the last man doesn't serve a purpose. Pick two squads to set down suppressing fire while the rest of you hustle through those gates. Just run and keep running until you can find a terrain that gives you advantage."

  I waved my platoons over. "Alpha Platoon. You hit the armory. Power cells are your priority. Grab what you can and set the place to blow. And don't linger! We don't have time! Bravo Platoon, you come with me. We're hitting the supply hut. We need food, water, and water filters. Go! Go! Go!"

  As we hustled toward the supply hut, I could see the captain was hesitant to decide.

  I opened a comm. "Captain! Get those Marines moving! That's an order!"

  I hoped it was enough to shock him into action. We entered the supply hut before I found out what his response was.

  The supply officer was holding a plasma rifle and refusing to let us pass. Art put an open hand to his face and pushed him to the floor. We gathered what we could and headed for the door. On the way back, Art pulled the lieutenant to his feet. He was told to follow us out.

  Plasma fire was just reaching the supply hut when we sprinted away. I felt shame over the Marines who had perished fighting while we ran. It was their sacrifice that had given us the time to flee. But it heartened me to see the captain had taken my order, the east walls were now bare. Gateways leading out into the fields beyond were open. We hustled through.

  The guilt as we ran was almost overwhelming. A dozen times I wanted to turn and fight. My last glance back at Fort Horvil saw Togmal warriors taking positions on the wall. A few plasma bolts flew our way, but from the distance we had made, their aim was ineffective.

  We topped a hill at a steady jog, catching up to the captain and his company as they had slowed to a walk.

  "Gunny, what are we doing?"

  "Living, Captain. We lost that fight when those transports hit the ground."

  I glanced at the captain's company. None of his Marines were wearing their packs. They had come out of the gates with nothing but their rifles. I wondered how it was he had earned his bars. I beat being prepared into the skulls of my Marines daily.

  The captain looked over my platoons. "Good. You have extra supplies. We'll need those."

  "I'd like us to put at least five kilometers between us and that fort before we slow to collect ourselves," I said. "We can discuss supplies at that time. Until then, you and your team need to pick up the pace."

  The fast-march continued until we reached a wooded area. I gave the order for my platoons to stop and take a rest as I walked ar
ound taking an inventory of the supplies we had rescued.

  The captain was soon at my heels. "Gunny. My Marines are thirsty. We'll need a supply of water."

  I glanced over my shoulder with a sigh. "Where are their packs?"

  "We were on the wall, Gunny. Packs were an encumbrance."

  "Packs extend our lives, Captain. My teams never move without them. You now have a company of Marines who are without supplies because of your laziness."

  The captain's attitude turned to one of anger. "I'm ordering you to turn over those supplies, Gunny, and your packs! Everything will be counted and divided equally!"

  I shook my head. "I don't think so, Captain. We'll be counting the extra supplies we've taken and will divide those. Your company will have to manage on that. Our packs stay with us."

  "You are insubordinate, Gunny! You'll pay for that attitude when they rescue us!"

  I stepped close to the captain with a lowered voice. "That's if they rescue us, Captain. If you hadn't noticed, we got our asses kicked back there. Twenty thousand Marines and soldiers are dead. The Togmal own that fort. The only way for them to own that fort is if they also own the heavens above. We've lost Richland, Captain. If a rescue is coming, it may be a long way off. Think six months for them to plan a counter offensive and to put it in play."

  "Six months? There is no way we can survive out here for six months."

  "Your packs, if you had been prepared, had a data module with a complete workup of the flora and fauna on this planet, Captain. We know what is edible and what will kill us. I'll have a few of my Marines turn theirs over to you. I suggest you load them into a few comms, gather around, and study those until your eyes bleed."

  "You're delusional if you think we can live off the land for six months, Gunny."