“I'll put some feelers out.”
“A bounty on a Tauren? Preferably female?”
“Funny.”
“The late Miles never got it on, or so I heard. Chirby however did have children.”
“The liger doc?”
“He was a special case. Ligers are problems. I'm not going to get into detail and breach doctor patient privilege. However he has several tiger females he could potentially breed with if he so choose.”
“Ah.”
“The other cat Kovu is too young. He has entered puberty but he is well... not full grown. He was only ten.”
“Ten doc?”
“Neo's age differently than humans Major. Jethro is twelve.”
“Oh.” The Major blinked. He should be able to keep that into perspective. The panther was maturing rapidly and gelling into a solid NCO.
“The medic...”
“Gusterson. I haven't heard anything. I'll check the grapevine and get back to you on that one. Don't even ask me to poke into the Gunny's love life. I like living too much.”
“It's... I hate to ask them to back off. They're hard chargers. I've never seen anyone so good,” the Major finally said. “They're the new face of the corps and I need them out there, getting experience and leading by example.”
“I know. A week off would probably kill them or drive them permanently insane,” she said with a laugh.
“There is that.”
“The cat clan has put out a request about females. I believe the matriarch is searching for mates for them. I think she is trying to widen the gene pool. Hopefully she succeeds. They've bred very close and their blood lines are rather tangled.” She didn't mention the kookoo projects the females had going.
The Major chuckled. “That's... words escape me.”
“It's going to get even more complicated if we end up moving out of the system. If that's still in the works.”
“It is doc. Unfortunately Pyrax just isn't suited for us.”
“Jarheads,” she sniffed. She slowed her stride. She didn't want to enter the infirmary just yet. No doubt she'd be swamped with paperwork the moment she entered.
“Not just Marines doc. We meaning the military. We're getting plenty of recruits but this new governor is a pain in the ass.”
“True,” she admitted. She didn't know why the governor was putting so many restrictions on them. It was like he didn't want them to be ready for when the pirates returned.
“We'll figure it out even if we have to do an end run around the problem,” the Major said with a sigh. “Thanks doc. See if you can encourage the squad to get more down time. I think I'll let April do the interview next week or so. I'd prefer to keep Jethro's abilities under wraps so I'll make sure he knows not to blab.”
The doctor nodded, totally sober. “I think he'll know. The cloak is or was a secret of his clan for generations.”
“All right. Signing off doc. Thanks.”
“Don't mention it,” the doctor said, arriving in the infirmary. She nodded to the orderly as he handed her a clipboard tablet. “I needed the distraction,” she murmured as the connection terminated. She settling her shoulders and looking down at the tablet. “Now,” she asked, voice raised. “What am I looking at?”
Chapter 18
Jethro was tapped to do an impromptu class on camouflage and moving through the bush after Valenko's debrief. What he didn't know was that it was a test of his teaching skills.
Nervous he sketched out a quick lesson plan and then gathered some teaching materials. He programmed bookmarks for some slides and movies he would use. He made sure his uniform was crisp and clean without any fluff or shed hair. He'd learned from Gunny Schultz to make an impressive positive first impression.
He bounced the plan off Letanga, making sure he knew his role in it. Letanga seemed amused and agreeable to the game. He got the time off from his Lieutenant and sent an e-mail to Jethro confirming he'd be there.
Jethro was a little put out when he peeked through his implants and spotted a lot of officers in the waiting class the next morning. Gunny paused nearby. “First class huh?” he asked.
“Yeah,” the panther said. He started when he recognized the Gunny. “Gunny! It's good to see you here!” he said.
“Want my advice?” The Doberman asked. Jethro nodded. “Stick to being honest. Blunt if you have to, don't sugarcoat things unless it's a prick asking that out ranks you.”
“Um...”
“What I'm saying is, don't kiss ass but don't piss on anyone unless you have to. Let their own stupidity shine.”
“Great.” Jethro grimaced, now aware that some of the brass in that room read and wrote his performance evaluations. They could also get him killed in combat.
“Even we screw up. Even I screw up son. Just take your best shot and go with it. That's what I taught you,” the Doberman said, patting him on the arm.
“Gunny I'm out of my element here...” Jethro said, totally at a loss on what to do.
“Nonsense,” Schultz said. “You're one of our leading experts on camo and stealth. That's your strength. It's time you imparted some of what you've learned to the rest of the corps.”
“I...”
“Open it with a warning that you're treating everyone equal. No rank in the mess.”
“Um...” Jethro winced. He didn't know how some of the brass would take that.
Schultz's ears flicked in humor at the panther's expression. For a sniper the young man wore his heart on his sleeve a little too much. “The Major will go for it. Just walk through your lesson plan. You do have one right?” Gunny asked with a no-nonsense request.
“Yes Gunny,” Jethro replied, shooting him the file. The Gunny pursed his lips as he quickly scanned it. His ears were forward, a good sign Jethro thought.
“A bit bland and bare but you've got an excuse since this is your first time. I bet you'll go off topic fast. Keep it simple and be honest. Remember that. This is for their survival.”
Jethro nodded, sober and earnest. “Thanks Gunny.”
The Gunny looked at him and then nodded. “No problem. Get on it.”
Jethro entered. He started the lecture by posing with his hands behind his back, waiting for the group to settle down. There were about thirty people in the class, half noncom and half officer. From the looks a few of the sergeants were exchanging they were a bit dubious at all the brass in the room. Normally bass didn't sully itself with the day to day stuff like noncoms did.
Jethro knew that most of the officers in the room had been in yesterday's exercise. In fact most of the noncoms as well he realized. Minachelli was sitting near first Lieutenant Myers, both were near the front of the class. It appeared that everyone had some sort of interest in what he had to say. Good.
“All right, let's get started,” he said firmly, nodding. The class settled down and stared at him expectantly. He felt like squirming, staring like that was a dominance challenge. He sat on those feelings firmly. “As the instructor I am declaring this a no rank zone. We'll keep it informal, but as the instructor I'm in charge.”
That got an amused look from some of the officers. Jethro ignored it, sticking to his script. Captain Pendeckle shot the Major a look over his shoulder. The Major shrugged and gave a miniscule nod. He made a mental note though, so far the panther was off on the right foot. Hopefully he'd stay that way.
Encouraged Jethro worked through the basics of camo from what he learned from his father and from the Gunny, then from the advanced sniper course. Most of what he had to say was old news for many of them, boring a few. A few however took notes on tablets in front of them. He used the holographic projector and props in the room to demonstrate points. Then he did a critique of their last op.
“Anyone know some of the Major mistakes you made?” he asked, standing at parade ground attention. “I'm talking about tactical stealth, not strategic,” he amended, hands behind his back as he stood at ease.
“Um...”
“Rush
ing in?” Lieutenant Myers asked.
“Correct,” Jethro wrote that on the hologram behind him. Then he turned. “Next?”
“Um... noise?”
“Correct. That's two fold.” He pointed out the animals reacted to them and went quiet, which was a warning. The Major pursed his lips and nodded. It showed how long he'd been out of the field to have forgotten that.
“Also I'm afraid you folks need some brushing up in moving through the brush,“ he picked up a prop he had brought along. It was a branch he'd snapped off while passing through the park. “Leaves,” he swished the branch so they could hear it. “And of course...” he snapped the branch in his hands. The crack made one officer wince.
“Then of course there was verbal discipline which well... sucked.” He played back the op on the holo-projector. He enhanced the audio so they could hear first the animals suddenly quiet, then the crackle and rustling... and then the soft cursing.
“A whisper can be heard further then a soft voice. If you're upwind of a target or near water sound carries.”
The Major nodded. Jethro took the look and nod as further encouragement. “Senses play a lot in survival. F platoon has a bit of an advantage in that most of us are aliens or Neos. Can anyone tell me another sense?”
“Not sight, we were using camo...” Sergeant Yelt said.
“To a degree. No stealth is perfect,” Jethro replied with a nod. “Come on folks, there are seven known senses, eight if you include implant tech. Humans can use five of them. You were smart enough to stay on passive sensors but what about the other senses? Passive ones?” he asked.
“Not taste...” someone on the right mused. “Smell?” he asked looking up.
“Correct. Like oh, the Major's aftershave. Or Captain Pendeckle's deodorant. That sort of thing we can pick up on. You can too if you turn your implants up high enough. It's a form of passive sensory perception after all.”
The Major and Captain each sniffed their own armpit. The Major ran a hand over his neck and nodded again.
“You were upwind, we could smell you about two clicks out. If you give yourself away you not only endanger yourself you endanger your team and your mission. Watch it,” Jethro stated. He pulled a chair out and then spun it to sit astride it. He rested his hands across the back. His tail flipped back and forth for a few seconds as each of them digested that.
He floundered mentally until he remembered something his father had used to train him when he was a kit. He decided to go with it.
“I want you to close your eyes. Close them, slowly tune out the sound around you and then open up with your other senses. Build a map of the room with what you can pick out and then when you are finished send it to me. Call it a mental exercise.”
Each of them practiced that exercise and then a few others. He ended the four hour session with an injunction to go to the Anvil park and try some of the techniques he had tried to pass on. “After all, it's one thing to learn it in the class room, quite something else to learn it in the field and practice it.”
“Is that how you learned it?” Sergeant Yelt asked.
“I learned first from my father, then from Gunny Schultz, then the advanced sniper course, and finally in the bush on Agnosta.”
“Oh.”
“It takes time and practice. It also requires the occasional refresher to remind yourself of the various practices. Which is why we have mandatory PT and fitness tests.”
“We're still at a disadvantage,” Yelt mused. “Us humans I mean.”
“Turn it around then. Turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Use your weaknesses as ploys if you can. Or learn new ways to compensate. Hopefully what I've passed on here will keep some of you alive.”
“I'm all for that,” Captain Pendeckle muttered.
Jethro turned and put their plotted maps up on the board. “I would like to point out one thing,” he said overlaying them. When he was finished he turned back to the class. “You all overlooked someone,” he said looking back at the map and then to them once more. “Actually two someone's.”
“Oh?” Captain Pendeckle asked.
“Yes. For one me,” Jethro tapped his chest. They all grunted. “And second,” he turned to the corner near the door. “Corporal?” he asked.
The class turned in surprise and all eyes fell on Letanga as he pulled the camo hoody up and uncrouched. “About time,” the leopard grumbled good naturedly.
“He was here the whole time?” a Lieutenant Jethro didn't recognize asked in stunned disbelief.
“Actually since before you all arrived,” Letanga said stretching and pulling the cloak off. It depolarized to a Marine flat green with hexagonal lines. “You almost stepped on me twice,” he said cheerfully. The Neo leopard stretched, clearly enjoying his role in fooling the class. His ears flicked forward and his tail danced.
“Damn,” the Major muttered. Even he had been caught out by that. The idea that anyone could get past his implant sensors shook him.
Jethro indicated the Corporal with a hand and ear flick as he turned to first Letanga and then to the class. “None of you localized the Corporal here. I could, I heard his heart beat and I could smell the void where he was. I could hear the occasional crinkle as he moved slightly to avoid getting a cramp. If you looked closely at where he was you may have seen a slight shimmer as well as an outline of his shape since the cloaking material doesn't quite work perfectly.”
“Worked well enough to get past all of us,” Pendeckle said ruefully, nodding to the Corporal. “Good job Corporal.”
“Thank you sir. If you learned something from it I did my job,” Letanga said, putting his gear away in a duffel.
“Oh I think I did. I think we all did. Sneaky,” he said turning to Jethro with narrowed eyes. Jethro shrugged.
“If you're not cheating you're not trying. By the way if you're wondering no this isn't my trick. They pulled this on me my first day in advanced sniper school. It's an important one to learn however.” Letanga nodded as he shouldered his duffel and quietly withdrew from the room.
“How much of this can we use on a station or ship?”
“You'd be surprised,” Jethro replied. “On a station you can still pick up sounds. The click of a bolt or whine of a charging capacitor?” he asked. They nodded. “The footfall of an opponent? The heartbeat and breathing of someone near? Stale breath? Alcohol? Garlic? Sometimes the simplest senses are the easiest to overlook. Nothing beats the mark one eyeball unless you are fooled into seeing what someone else wants you to see. That's why you have other senses, to build a mental picture. Use what you've got, your brain, it's your best weapon after all. Don't ignore the other senses. In a suit it's harder but it's still possible. Never forget this or you're going to end up in a body bag.”
“The pirates are long gone,” a young Ensign said.
Jethro turned to him. “For now. Only now sir. And we're going to Agnosta in a couple of weeks. We may have gotten all the pirates on the planet but I'm for one not taking that for granted. Not after my last visit. There may be others tucked away in the hills. I'd rather make sure you're able to find them, trap them and not come home in a body bag if it's all the same to you,” he growled. Slowly the class nodded, suddenly sobered.
“And that's also where the future lies. We don't know what missions we will pull and where. Which is why we train as we do and why realism is important. One of the things we learned in F platoon is to train hard. To train full combat. There are no gimmes in combat, no stress cards, no time outs to tie a shoe lace or dress a formation. It's better to train against an opponent you are most likely never to fight then to get caught fat dumb and happy and see your people come home in bodybags.”
“Very true,” Captain Pendeckle grunted. He still smarted over the losses Valenko's team had taken. He knew if he smarted about it the team did as well.
“Very good Sergeant,” the Major said getting to his feet. He clapped slowly. The class joined in. Jethro's ears flicked in embarrassment and th
en he nodded, coming to attention.
The class broke up. A few congratulated the panther as they left. Finally the Major and the Captains were the only ones remaining. “A word Sergeant.”
“Yes sir?” Jethro replied with a sinking sensation.
“An excellent first lecture young man. Excellent. Do you have any ideas on how to correct the smell issue?”
“It's not likely to be a problem with pirates,” Pendeckle muttered.
“I'd rather it wasn't a problem at all,” the Major replied crossing his arms.
“I'd suggest using some sort of nano deodorizer or some other method sir. Something to not only remove the scent but to replace it with a local scent,” Jethro mused.
The Major rubbed his jaw. “Smart.”
“It's a start sir. Masking a scent is possible but not a wise idea. I did some reading. Hunters used the scent of their prey's urine to mask their own scent.”
“I'd rather not smell like piss thank you,” Captain Pendeckle said dryly.
Jethro turned to the Captain. “I'd rather stay alive sir. No offense but I can always shower back in base sir,” Jethro replied. “Sometimes you have to get dirty. Sometimes you have to roll in the mud if that's what it takes to get the job done.”
“Noted,” Captain Pendeckle replied, jaw working. It rankled a bit to get jerked up short by a Sergeant in front of the Major, their boss. The Major grunted giving both men a look.
“Good work young man,” he said with a nod. “Write up your suggestions and forward them to me and the Captain. Also any other ideas you have to improve training. That walk through the park is a good idea.”
“Yes sir. Sir any word on San Diego?”
“No, I'd hoped we'd get the park going but the navy is still having problems getting the engineering sorted out. I think Agnosta is looking more and more likely. We'll see.”
“Yes sir,” Jethro said coming to attention.
“Dismissed son with our compliments,” the Major said with a nod. Jethro stiffly walked out.
...*...*...*...*...
In a rare surprise Private Harley Quinn, Neo hyena was assigned as a shooter replacement to Hurranna and Hurranna's replacement Mirilax. Harley was an old friend from F platoon, so she integrated with the veterans easily, much to the annoyance of Fonz and Kovu. She picked up on the hand signs and the squared away get it done attitude right off. But in their off time she was as much of a joker as Kovu, frequently playing practical jokes on the boys.
Jethro: First to Fight Page 37
