by Ben Winston
“He’s already awake and eating his breakfast with his friend. Is something wrong?” was the reply.
“Yeah, you could say that. We will be running back to the ship as if Connors is dying. Don’t do anything that will counter that. We’re on our way.” Alan turned to the other two men; “Are you ready?” They both nodded; “Let’s go!” He turned and broke into a run for the Poseidon.
The Major turned sharply for the pavilion calling for the medic and his second in command, Captain Hansen.
They stayed in the cargo area of the ship waiting for the Major and Chief Adams. Very shortly both men came pounding around the corner and up the ramp into the ship. Alan nodded to them and led the way into the living area.
There, they found Privates Connors and Lieken eating breakfast with the rest of the Raptor team. Doc Adams was immediately confused and was about to start asking questions when Alan explained what was going on to the two young men.
Lieken turned white but Connors just sighed; “I was afraid of something like this. Commander, I… we appreciate your offer and considering the alternatives, I think we should accept.” He looked at Lieken who nodded his agreement. “Though I’m not very keen on the idea of remaining in here for the next two days.” He smiled and took his friend’s hand. “If time permits, I would like to know what options are available to us in your society.”
“We’ll have to discuss those later, I’m afraid. We have to get the ball rolling on finishing your… deaths. We’ll send a small holo-drone with the image of Private Lieken running off into the desert. Later, we’ll ‘retrieve’ his body as a favor to the Army. Private Connors, we will of course surrender your mortal remains immediately. Since Private Connors is still on bed rest, we can obscure our preparations from him; however, there is only room for one in there. Lieken, you will have to go up to the cockpit with Stacy for a while.” Alan got a small earpiece communicator from the replicator for each of the young men. “Place one of these in your ear so we can call you when the ruse is finished.”
Stacy offered the young man her hand and Connors climbed slowly back into the autodoc unit.
The ruse went as planned. General Arlen Irons arrived while Alan and Major Dentin were handling the 'emergency'. The Captain Major Dentin sant out to greet the General explained the situation to the new arrivals while escorting them back to the pavilion.
When Alan, the medic and Major Dentin returned to the Pavilion, the NSA agent posing as a solder and Kevin carried the body of Private Connors on the stretcher followed them.
"What happened to him, Doc?" the General asked of Chief Adams.
"He suffered internal injuries as a result of an ill considered attack on these people. I would have sent him back on the helicopters, but the damn spooks grounded them! By the time we figured out he needed more help than we could give him, it was too late for even the Terrans to save him. They did try, Sir. If we could have gotten him to them even ten minutes sooner I think he might have made it," the man replied.
"I'd heard about the attack, but not the casualties. Damn NSA over-stepping authority again! I'll make sure the right people know this happened, Chief." He turned to Alan. "Thank you for trying to save him. It never should have happened and I apologize for that, Colonel."
Alan nodded to the man. "We did try to warn them. Hell, Major Dentin did the best he could, but the spooks forced him into it. By the by Sir, while my rank is that of a colonel, I'm addressed as 'Commander' since I am the commander of a base. Welcome to Williams Fighter Base General."
"I would have wished for better circumstances for my arrival, Commander, but thank you." He gestured in the direction the dead soldier had been taken. "Since we're all here, there have been some new orders issued for you and your unit, Major Dentin. Due to classified circumstances which I will brief you on later, Lieutenant Colonel Hewes has been transferred to another unit. You have been promoted to the rank of full Colonel and this unit is to become an advanced combined arms regiment stationed here. We will be getting more people, but half the unit will be Terran Marines and we will be using Terran equipment. You're Executive Officer will also be Terran."
"Sir, how did I get promoted two ranks?" Dentin asked.
"Honestly, I think it was a combination of things, but mostly it was a case of being in the right place at the right time as well as having the right attitude for what we need. I'm also led to understand that Admiral Williams asked for you," the General replied.
"Admiral Williams? How does he even know my name?" Dentin asked.
"That might be my fault, Colonel. In my incident report I credited you with minimizing casualties during that attack and trying to control the stupidity of the intelligence agents," Alan replied.
The General nodded. "You did very good work here Dentin. Now, in addition to the new unit, you will also be functioning as my second. This base is going to be permanent, Colonel. Our people as well as their families are being moved here as we speak. Our combat teams will be the only part of this base dedicated to ground defense. There will also be a full squadron of Air Force personnel assigned here as well."
"This sounds like a pretty major restructuring, Sir," Dentin said.
"It is, what we are doing here is completely new, for us it'll be an experiment in force deployment. We'll be learning the ropes from the Terrans who are already structured like this. The other fighter bases around the world will be doing something similar. For now, we will be considered a UN force under the command of Terran Defense. Eventually, we will probably become a fully Terran unit," the General explained.
Alan shrugged. "With respect Sir, almost half of our forces are from this planet. We consider all of you to be Terrans already. It's one of the primary reasons we never engaged your forces; we considered it firing on friendly forces."
"I think we're starting to figure that out, Commander. That's the reason for these changes," the General said.
"Well, if you gentlemen will follow me, I'll show you to your quarters. The base is mostly complete, with only a few things left to finish. As you can see the Command and Administration building is finished. Below that are the command staff living areas.
"Because of the nature of this base, most of the residential and commercial facilities have been built underground as well. All the residential areas are connected by a long, wide hallway that also services the commercial facilities. Although there are many emergency escape routes out of the warren, it will be possible to live indefinitely down there without ever stepping foot on the surface."
"I think that's going to be pretty hard on a lot of folks Commander, especially our civilians. The kids as well as the adults will need to come out and play in the sun every now and then," the General said.
Alan smiled. "We used 'hostile planet' design methods for the base General. I think you'll see what I mean once we get down there. What your talking about isn't new, over the centuries there have been a great many psychological enhancements made for underground living. Not the least of which was the liberal application of holographic technology."
"Excuse me Sirs," Andreya spoke for the first time. "Commander, the Admiral is calling for you."
"Thank you, Andreya," Alan replied. "Gentlemen, Officer Andreya will show you to the residential area. If you'll excuse me, I'll see what the Admiral needs and catch up to you."
When the men agreed, Andreya led the group into the building. Alan watched them go, then leaned back against the wall and accepted the call.
"Sorry to bother you again, Alan, but there have been some changes," Ian said by way of greeting.
"I gathered that much from listening to General Irons, Sir," Alan replied smiling. "I take it we're basically recruiting everyone here?"
Ian nodded. "And then some. Everyone coming to that base is to be treated as if they have been recruited; soldiers and their families alike. If we survive this shit intact, they will all be joining us."
"I don't mean to complain Sir, but there are six of us down here and we nee
d to get other facilities built before the battle. I'm already two days behind schedule with the additions to the base," Alan explained.
"I figured as much, that's why I've arranged some help," Ian said grinning like a shark. "You're AI's last report had you at ninety one percent complete for the base. So, the new command staff and a battalion of Marines are departing Atlas as we speak. I've already sent the alert to the fighter wings and they should begin arriving late this evening. Between the base command staff and the Marines, they should be able to handle the processing of the rest of the people. With any luck at all, you should be out of there as soon as the fighters arrive."
"That is good news Sir, I've gotten a few reports that there have been some gang problems with the west coast installations," Alan replied. "It would appear that they are not happy with our giving the police better weapons and armor."
"You think that's bad? The ACLU and several other groups are already trying to block that based on the whole police brutality issue. We've countered with the fact that every action made by police while on duty is recorded for later review; if anything like those shootings happens again, it'll all be on record. Add to that the fact that the police are not going to have lethal weapons anymore and it pretty much takes all the wind out of their sails," Ian explained. "I'm sure the gang issue will take care of itself."
"Okay, I better catch up to the General and Andreya. So the base commander and his staff should be getting here in about five hours?" Alan asked.
"Yeah, by the way, the new commander is Benesian. So are about half the Marines coming down. Officially, the base is going to be the home of the 18th Regimental Strike Group. The whole unit will share that designation. Incidentally, after it all shakes down, they will have the same compliment as the carrier-class ship Tiamat and her future sister ships."
"I had no idea it was going to be that big. Are the other bases going to be the same?" Alan asked.
"Yeah, once they get used to the new system, we'll start shifting personnel around to help them lose more of their ingrained nationism. If we survive the fight, two of the units will be reassigned to ships, and the base decommissioned. Ah, okay, Alex just told me that Commander T'dran and staff just left Atlas. They'll be there in four hours. That means I'll make sure the fighters arrive in six hours. With any luck at all, you should be clear of that base in eight hours," Ian said. "If you ignore the gangs, where are you scheduled to go next?"
"Northern Patagonia; a village called General Roca in Argentina. They're letting us take have their airport provided we still allow civilian flights. I'm led to understand their troops are already there and waiting for us to arrive," Alan replied.
"Ah, yeah, Argentina was one of the first countries to accept us. They should be helpful and friendly, but I wouldn't take any chances. Now that I know where your going, I'll make sure the fighters and troops are ready to go. Three days?" Ian asked.
"That should be right, Sir. After that we'll need to check on some of the other installations on the continent before we head out to the next fighter base. I'll make sure Alex is kept in the loop," Alan replied.
"Which reminds me, how are the Pacific defenses coming? I don't remember seeing mention of them in the reports," Ian asked.
The three platforms in the south Pacific are almost complete. Kwajalien and Hawaii are finished, but Midway Island got delayed by weather. It should be online by the end of the week though.
"Excellent, thanks a lot and keep up the great work Alan. Every installation you get finished means more people will survive," Ian said, praising Alan's efforts.
"Thank you Sir," Alan replied, smiling.
Alan found Andreya with General Irons and Colonel Dentin in the General's quarters. The rest of the group had been dropped off at their quarters with holograms of Andreya explaining how to use the different amenities in the living quarters.
After General Irons granted Alan entry, The General grinned at Alan. "You weren't pulling my leg about not feeling like it's underground, Commander! These are probably the best quarters I've ever had!"
The residence sections were several hundred feet below the surface and the General's apartment had a balcony over-looking the 'Grand Mall' which was the 'connecting hallway' Alan had described as connecting everything. The ceiling of the mall had a hologram projected on it that mimicked the day cycle on the surface. Along the center of the wide thoroughfare were areas of black dirt where grass had been planted and trees would be added later. On the sides facing away from the mall, there were windows that also mimicked the outside complete with breezes and the animal and insect noises it could be programmed for.
"I'm glad you like it Sir. We did everything we could to make it as comfortable as possible down here. And please, call me Alan." Alan smiled. "Andreya, when will the drones be finished?"
"Current end of task is scheduled in three hours, ten minutes," Andreya replied after checking with the drones.
"It appears that command is in a hurry; the new Base Commander just left Atlas with her staff as well as the Marines and all their equipment. They'll be here in about four hours. The fighter compliment will arrive begin arriving in six hours. We need to move on to our next assignment in eight. Can you move the Poseidon to pad one, please?" Alan asked.
Andreya nodded and sent the commands to the rest of the team. General Irons looked a little panicked. "I thought you were the commander here, Alan?"
Alan shook his head. "No Sir, I've already got a base to run. I'm just making sure the rest of the bases get built and set up. The new commander here is a Benesian women named Almas T'dran. The Admiral wanted me to make sure you folks knew that as well as the fact that about half the Marines stationed here will be Benesian as well."
The General sighed. "I hope she can forgive me for meeting her in fatigues, I'm afraid the rest of my gear won't be here for a couple more days. I'm sure Dentin didn't bring his dress uniform with him either." Dentin just shook his head when the General looked at him. "Benesian; they're aliens aren't they?"
Alan nodded. "While they are a species of human, they do have a slightly different appearance than we do. For one thing they have pointed ears like an elf would. They are also all female; there is a long story there, but male birth-rates have been far less than female birth-rates for a number of years. It has caused them to sequester and protect the few males remaining to them while the women have assumed most of the functions in the society. They are almost all extremely beautiful."
"They're alien, but not too alien then?" Irons asked.
"Well, they tend to be somewhat aloof until they get to know you. Most of them are not used to our society and customs yet. There will be some adjustment pains during the integration of our forces; everything here is co-ed. By and large though, they are far more tolerant than other humans and should serve you well in helping with not only the training on new equipment but with the transition as well," Alan explained.
"Well, in my opinion, this is going to be a challenge no matter what we do; getting the American forces to integrate into something like this will have it's own issues," Irons replied.
"Sir, if you will allow it, I might be able to help you with the uniform issues for you and the Colonel," Alan offered.
"That would be great, Alan! I'd really like to make a good first impression." Irons smiled in relief.
"Come on, I'll take you back to my ship. We can have lunch before we need to get changed," Alan suggested.
"Commander, if we're getting new equipment from you folks, what's to be down with our old stuff?" Dentin asked.
"Well, after you get the chance to brief your men, we'll have you drive the equipment to one of the elevators and take them down to a hanger. There, we will either recycle them into the new equipment, or simply store them for later depending on what's decided," Alan explained.
On the way back to the Raptor, Colonel Dentin issued new orders for the battalion. The drivers and vehicle commanders would remain with their vehicles, but the rest of the
battalion was to off load their gear and report to the large hanger closest to the main entrance to the base and await further orders.
Alan grinned and asked Andreya to take down the pavilion, move the portable replicator over to the hanger and feed the men anything they wanted. No alcohol though. Andreya chuckled and said she'd handle it.
"Gentlemen," Alan said as they entered the Raptor. "I've been told that all your men will be processed as if they have been recruited. That means a full medical check as well as getting communicators. Once the civilians get here, they will be given the same treatment. What that means is that if you have any special needs people, Dependants with cancer or disabilities, they will be given priority as their treatment will take slightly longer. We will also cure any drug addictions and issues such as alcoholism. We're not puritans by any stretch; we like a drink now and then like anyone else does. We just try to keep it from hurting us. Also, Marijuana use is allowed on the same legal conditions as alcohol. If a soldier reports for duty in an impaired state, the drug will be removed from their system and report will be made to their commanders. If the issue becomes recurrent, the soldier can be reprimanded or required to undergo mandatory treatment for addiction."
"I can understand allowing alcohol, but Marijuana?" Irons replied.
"General, Marijuana is actually safer than Alcohol. You can't overdose on cannabis; you can on alcohol. There are long term effects from heavy usage, but there are with alcohol as well. Other than a societal bias against it, there is no reason for the current legal status of the drug. If it were legal, it would sure sap a few drug dealers in their pocket books!" Alan replied. "Now, what can I get you gentlemen for lunch?"
The men talked while they ate and got to know one another better. Alan found the General to be a friendly and fair minded man that was very concerned about the coming battle. Since Dentin hadn't known about it, Alan and the General filled him in.
When Commander T'dran arrived, it was a show in itself. Several shuttles as well as one big freighter arrived. The shuttles landed first and off-loaded hundreds of Marines in armor. The shuttles themselves were pulled into a hanger and lowered down into the base, clearing the way for another shuttle to land. Once all the shuttles had been unloaded. The freighter landed with it's main cargo ramp closest to the hanger were the battalion was waiting. As the last shuttle landed near the command building, next to the Raptor, the newly arrived Marines could be seen waving to the battalion to come help unload.
