Jethro Goes to War (Wandering Engineer Jethro's tale)
Page 12
“Wanna throw the towel in now?” Hurranna called.
“I tell you what, we'll go half and half,” the gunny said eying the platoon. “Since mine out mass yours, I'd say that would be fair.”
“I don't know. I still think yours has the advantage,” gunny Thompskins said, rubbing his chin.
“All right, how about this. Your entire platoon against two of F squads.”
“Hmmm... Loser buys the beer?” Thompskin said grinning.
“And losing platoon runs laps,” Schultz said nodding.
“Fair enough,” Thompskin said. “If only to see egg all over your face and mud all over theirs.” He turned to his platoon. They were looking a little nervous. “All right, Alpha platoon you've got the advantage. Don't screw it up!” he snarled.
“Yeah!” the men and women tried to pump themselves up, making muscles with their biceps and showing off their legs.
“If I'd thought it was a beauty contest I'd have worn a ribbon and a bikini,” Hurranna sniffed. “We sure about this?”
“Like we have a choice?” Zebo growled.
“I'm anchor,” Sergei said going to the end of the rope. He wrapped it around his waist and then grinned a feral grin. “Valenko?”
“Yeah, I admit, you're heavier than me. A lot heavier.” A few tittered at that. The bear picked up the rope. “My squad will anchor. Let’s see.” He looked over the platoon. It was a pain. They had finally been re organized into fire teams, squads, and platoons from the fifty team units of before. Now he had a whole host of headaches to deal with and a lot of members he wasn't sure about.
“Um..”
“Got it.” The bear turned to see the gorilla had taken the rope. He nodded to the members of his ten man squad. They reluctantly slotted in place. Jethro ended up in the middle of the pack.
“Twenty versus a hundred. This is a piece of a cake.”
“Come on pussies!” F squad was cheering already. Sergei turned in the harness, facing backwards and digging in. His claws flexed for the deepest purchase he could get. The bear growled as the line went taught.
“Wish we had more leverage,” he muttered, eying the other team. “Hmmm...” He growled menacingly then louder. A few of the others eyed him and then grinned. Jethro added his own snarl, twisting his head a little, ears flat and exposing his sharp teeth.
The gorilla chuffed in amusement and then stepped back and beat his chest. He grunted and then picked up the now slack line. “Sorry, had to get it out of my system,” he said grinning to the now nervous looking Alpha platoon. His eyes twinkled as he looked at his teammates. “Are we ready?” he asked, turning back to Alpha and giving them a full grin.
“Shit,” one Alpha said.
“That was me, I think I just did.”
“I think I just pissed myself.”
“Yup. You did. Diaper change!”
“Mommy?”
Schultz snorted. He glanced at Thomspkins who suddenly wasn't so happy. “On three... one, two, three... HEAVE like you mean it MAGGOTS!”
...*...*...*...*...
“I think Alpha's getting a little sore at us,” Valenko said laughing as they made their way back from football. The platoon had split into two teams and had played iron man football. The gunny had refereed. It had been interesting, Valenko had taken one side as quarterback but decided to become a lineman instead after their lineman had taken a drubbing. Sergei had also tried his hand at quarterbacking but had given it up to Betty so he could match the bear. Besides, the chimp had a much better arm.
“You think?” Jethro asked laughing as he tossed the ball in the air. “They lost at tug of war, track, and football yesterday.”
“Yeah. And we were at a disadvantage in each,” Hurranna growled. She had been selected to run the race. She hadn't been happy, nor had most of the platoon. They had planned on the cheetah Senjix to run it. Instead they had thought Hurranna with her small legs would be quickly outdistanced by her opponent. Hurranna had shocked them all by staying on all fours from the sprinting position, quickly outdistancing her opponent.
“Yeah... Wait what the... What happened here?” Sergei said, standing in the hatch to their troop bay.
“Crap,” Hurranna said, squeezing past the Liger. He moved in and off to one side. The others piled in behind him. They looked around the torn up bay and snarled.
“I think someone's a sore loser,” the bear commented. He grimaced and then got a sick thought. “Inspection could be at any moment. Get to work people.”
“Oh this is lovely. They tied the bed sheets in knots!” Jethro snarled, fingering one as he passed. His nose wrinkled at the ammonia smell. “And pissed... ah hell,” he said, eyes watering.
“Yeah.”
...*...*...*...*...
The gunny didn't say anything as he walked up and down the bay an hour later. He eyed the wrinkled sheets and his nose wrinkled at the smell they hadn't quite gotten out. His eye lingered on the dents and scratches on some of the lockers.
“Seems like someone wet the bed. I'd think you all are too old for that,” the gunny growled. He shook his head and left. The two corporals followed him out without a word.
“Um...” The troopers looked from one to the other in confusion. They had known, not thought, known they were dead meat.
“What just happened?”
“We got a free pass. Let's not let it go to waste. Run that bedding, hell all the bedding and clothes through the laundry again. Who's our best shoe shiners?” the bear asked as he turned around. A few reluctant hands were raised. “Get on it. Shine them. Someone else will take care of your rack and gear.”
He turned to Jethro. “Bathrooms, on it,” the panther said grabbing a mop, toothbrush, rag and bucket. He trotted to the back. Deja shucked his artificial legs to help. Without the prosthetic legs he was a lot shorter than the cat, so he could do a better job on the low spots and floor.
“Right,” the bear turned. “I'm not sure if we only get one free pass people. Get this sorted.”
...*...*...*...*...
“Interesting,” Corporal Jefferson said shaking his head. The gunny eyed him.
“Thought I was going to throw the book at them?” Schultz asked, making sure they were out of earshot of any of the recruits.
“In a word, yes.”
“They've been doing their best. This wasn't their fault. I thought they deserved a little slack.”
“A little?” Corporal Brenet said with a raised eyebrow. The gunny's lip curled. “Okay, a little. But turning a blind eye...”
“Did you notice they didn't make any excuses? Didn't try to cover it up?” the gunny said.
“Yeah,” the Corporal said thinking.
“They knew they were in hack but couldn't do anything about it. I'm not going to do Alpha the honor of playing their hatchet man. I'll just see if we can keep them from going at each other's throats.”
“Ouch,” Jefferson said, thinking about some of the Neo's in their platoon. Some would take that idea literally.
“Didn't think of that did you?”
“No,” Brenet sighed. “F has a lot more teeth and aggression to tear throats out too.”
“Alpha's playing with fire. We've got some scary people in our platoon,” Jefferson said rubbing his chin. “Most have had some sort of combat in their past.”
“Which is scary for us. I'd prefer no injuries,” the gunny scowled. “So, you two get to keep close eye on them. I'll put a bug in Thompskin's ear.”
“Ah gunny, wouldn't that be... well tattling?”
“Hmmm...”
...*...*...*...*...
“What gives?” Jethro asked, looking at Hurranna. She was standing against a bunk, head down. She sighed. A few of those around her were also looking a little put out. It was their personal time, and he wasn't sure why they all had long faces. They'd gotten Alpha back last night and the celebration had been a hoot. Since today was Sunday they all had a half day to kick back and get personal chores done.
>
“Um...” She looked uncertainly around to make sure no one was in ear shot.
“I don't know how to put this, but well, the Fleet Admiral's in deep pucky.”
“He...” Zebo looked up. Most of the squad came over.
“Tell,” Valenko said, arms crossed.
“I got a friend of a friend who passed me a tidbit of gossip. It seems while we've been cut off from the real world something big and nasty went down.”
“Crap. Pirates?”
“No. Nastier shit. Politics.”
“Oh,” Jethro shot a look at Valenko. “We're supposed to stay out of it. That's why the Admiral had those elections run and then stepped aside,” he turned back to the lynx.
“Yeah well, apparently it didn't play out as well as he'd hoped,” Zebo growled. “He got caught with his hands in some kids shorts.”
“HE WHAT?” Sergei growled, shouldering others aside as he moved through the crowd. “Not Irons. Not in a million years.”
“How do you know? He's an officer.”
“Because it's not true,” a clear distinct and artificial voice said from a nearby speaker. They looked up at the voice.
“Um, Who...”
“Commander Firefly,” the voice replied. “All hands meet in the park deck. Now.”
...*...*...*...*...
They filed out and met the crush of people moving to the park deck. The groups weren't moving in any uniformed way, there was a mix of navy and marine recruits. A few of the noncoms looked nonplussed about it, but couldn't get order from chaos in time before they got to the park deck.
“File in and post,” Firefly's voice boomed over the net. “Next to your instructors. Move!”
The recruits fell into a jog trot, running to their posts. They filed in and waited.
“Attention,” Firefly called. The recruits snapped to attention, boots stomping. “At ease.”
They fell into a parade rest stance, feet apart, hand appendages behind their torsos.
“What I'm about to tell you happened several weeks ago. It is still news to some and it affects all branches of the Federation Military. We were waiting for graduation before announcing it but it seems matters were taken out of our hands,” Commander Logan's voice boomed over the intercom. The lights dimmed and he appeared in holo form.
“I am on Fuentes now so I am a light hour out so this will have to be short and sweet.” His holo image flickered. “Approximately twenty eight days ago Admiral Irons encountered a situation on the colony of Vesta. The full download will be made available to you after this discussion. The low points are as follows...”
...*...*...*...*...
The group wandered out looking stunned an hour later. The gunny let them walk out on their own, waving off other noncoms. They needed to absorb this data on their own. For some it would be a life changing experience.
“What the hell? He just cut and ran?” Sergei growled.
“Seems like it,” Zebo said.
“Tactical retreat. Sometimes you have to fall back. Give ground in order to preserve what you can. Fight on a different day.”
“Cowardice by any name is still..”
“It's not,” Hurranna said quietly.
He looked down at her. “How would you know?”
“You think he's a coward?” she asked, arms crossed. “You and I both know he could have taken them all out. Hell everyone in here knows. You were in the line when the Admiral took down Leo. I was there too. So was Jethro. I know he could have taken that room apart. And so what if he had? Everyone else there would have been dead.”
Sergei blinked at her. He had started to swell but then deflated. “That's right. Dead. He gave up his honor in order to save lives. His reputation is tarnished. But he made damn sure the truth got out. His side. He's on the side of angels, we all can see that,” she grimaced. “When Commander Logan mentioned the download I peaked while he was talking. I had it play back on mute. He didn't do any of the crap he was accused of. He knows, it, they know it, and now so do we.”
“Accused of a crime he didn't commit. A few of us have been there,” Letanga said, nodding. He rubbed his whiskers. “But something has to be done.”
“Probably. But not by us. Higher minds than us will deal with it in their own fashion. We've got enough to worry about,” Corporal Jefferson said, turning around. They paused, some trying to brace but he turned back, leading the way back to their bay. “For now, just concentrate on your education. The time will come for things to be set right.”
“And if it never comes?” Zebo asked as they entered their bay. Jethro made his way to his rack. He laid down and then pulled up the bookmarked file. He watched as a window in his vision appeared and the file began to play.
“It's an imperfect universe. We all know that,” Valenko growled. “But somehow, someway, I'd love to get in a room with a couple of those bastards.”
“Me too. Me too,” Jethro growled softly. A few of the others did as well.
...*...*...*...*...
When each of them got to the final message from the Admiral they paused, eyes closed, absorbing it. “Shit,” Valenko breathed.
“Yeah,” Zebo breathed.
“Yeah,” others in the bay echoed.
“Gotta hit them where it hurts. We've got to show them we can be the best. Kick ass and don't even bother taking names,” Sergei growled pounding one fist into the opposite hand. “He'd want it that way.”
“Gone but not forgotten,” Jethro silently vowed to do something if he ever got the chance. Some things just had to be avenged. He just needed the right opportunity.
Chapter 7
“All right you lot settle down. I'm going to give you some much needed rules of survival in combat,” Schultz growled, nodding to them. They'd moved into a split schedule, morning PT and field work, and afternoon classes. His troop had settled down faster than the others after the news of the Admiral's exile had spread. A single day and they were back in the routine.
The troop immediately settled as the gunny looked around. “Consider these traditions passed on from generation to generation. Sometimes we forget and have to relearn them. Here's a few of my favorites. The rest are in your toots under Murphy's laws of war.”
Jethro grimaced at that. He was still getting the hang of accessing information. If it wasn't top of the index he had a hell of a time using the scroll to find what he wanted. Fortunately he'd read this once before.
“All right, rule one. If the enemy is in range so are you. Simple right?” he asked and then nodded.
“Rule two, No plan survives contact with the enemy. That's why they call them the enemy.” He nodded as a few looked confused. “Figure it out on your own time,” he growled. “Three, Sensors work both ways. Four, Anything and everything can fail in combat. When all else fails rely on your own eyes and ears.”
Valenko and Jethro nodded at that one. “Five, there is no such thing as surprise. You just weren't paying attention hard enough.”
“Six, No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection. No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.”
“Seven, Professionals are predictable, but the universe is filled with amateurs. Predictable gets you killed.”
“Eight.” He waited for some of the confusion to die down. “Eight, The important things are simple, the simplest things are hard.”
“Nine, if it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid.”
“Ten, if things are going too well it's an ambush.”
“Eleven, KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. Twelve, The easiest way is mined. Thirteen, incoming fire has the right of way. Fourteen, perfect plans aren't.”
Valenko snorted at that one. He remembered it from his studies. The gunny gave him a look and a nod. “Fifteen, Friendly fire isn't. Sixteen, armored vehicles are bullet magnets,” he paused watching them absorb some of that. It was one thing to hear something like that, it was another to experience it. Hopefully they would survive and remember it to pass it on.
“Words to live by, words to die by if you screw up. So don't screw up,” He grimaced as an incoming page came in and then nodded. “You're platoon,” he turned to Jefferson and then stalked out.
“Okay people, shit shower and shave, inspection in thirty. Move!”
...*...*...*...*...
“I remember a few of those, but I was sure he'd have put in never volunteer and if you can't take a joke you should never have joined.”
“From the gunny?” the bear rumbled a laugh as the line moved. “The gunny? Joke?” he snorted at the idea.
“Oh yeah, right.”
“They are in there. And more. I scanned it a while back. Bookmarked it for easier access,” the bear said as the cook dumped a mess of charred protein on his plate. “Hmm, yummy,” he said sarcastically heading for his table.
“Yeah,” Jethro snorted, following with his own tray. The cooks were still screwed up. Carnivore Neo's preferred their meat raw, or close to it. Warm worked, rare, medium rare, but not well done. That was shoe leather. “I just remembered another, never give an order you know won’t be obeyed.”
“Clever, think that one up yourself?” Hurranna said looking up.
“No, it's from... never mind.” Jethro shook his head, sat down and started in with a will. You learned fast to eat what you have, don't complain about it, and eat it all. Today was no exception. Despite the shoe leather. Choke it down and move on.
...*...*...*...*...
“Recruit Jethro do you know why you're here?” the Major asked less than twenty minutes later that evening. Jethro stood at attention and shook his head.
“Sir, no sir,” Jethro responded, wondering what he'd stepped into to get the full treatment. He noted the Veraxin standing near the holographic images of the AI. Hell even the Sheriff was here. Not a good sign. They had pulled him straight from chow. Not good.