They turned to see a trio of shuttles take off a half minute after theirs did. “Still first,” Kovu said proudly. “Recon rules!”
“Zip it. Get to work,” Jethro said over the link.
...*...*...*...*...
The Marines followed the recon squads down in a full mock hot LZ landing to Parris island. It was a full Marine assault drop, the first performed in centuries. It was the first time the drop shuttles and assault craft had been used in atmosphere. A new test for both pilots and craft. They had simulated it for over two years, now they had the chance to experience the real thing. The Aurelie craft did the best in flight, coming down with only a minor wobble.
LAV's and armored transports were dropped by Prejudice shuttles, they roared about the beaches and inland drop zones, moving out to secure the perimeter. A few fishtailed in the loose sand and dirt before their drivers corrected.
Marines were waved off the boarding ramps by screaming noncoms and cargo masters. The aerospace craft lingered just long enough to drop their loads before they buttoned back up and then rose out of the drop zone and then accelerated before climbing to orbit and the impatiently waiting troops and ships in space.
Four Prejudice class shuttles moved along the coastline, one hundred meters off shore, one shuttle per coast, North, South, East, West. They moved slow, about ten kilometers an hour as their boarding ramps dropped and Marine divers like Deja jumped from their rear ramp three meters above the surf below. Each popped up as their life vests kicked on, then they paddled to the surface. Then they made their way ashore.
Noncoms on the shore waved the dripping Marines forward. Each checked their kit and weapon, then went to their assigned position. Deja shook like a terrier and then took a look around. They had been lucky, it was a clear crisp day, no storm chop in the water to make it hazardous. The water was clear, the shore only slightly rocky. Not bad for a first drop. He checked his people, only two had swallowed sea water. The rest were good.
Navy and Marine Warhawk shuttles dropped Marines in different ways. Some rappelled from their craft into the forests in the interior of the island. Others rappelled down onto mountain cliffs. Three squads did a parachute drop into a glade with a shallow slope. The slope and dew wet grass had been overlooked, several Marines botched their landings and tumbled down the slope before they caught themselves. Most were razzed for not sticking the landing. One Marine twisted his ankle.
Some of the first Prejudice craft dropped construction equipment that had been slung under their fuselage and held by their clamps. They touched down just long enough for the equipment to be removed, then roared off.
Motors roared to life and giant green machinery began to move, tearing at the earth and knocking down trees in a pre-planned ballet of destruction. The Spacebees used the dozers to create a landing strip then moved on to clear areas for roads and the firebase. They joked about doing it under fire, or at least under deadline.
Recon had a ring side seat to the landings. They would have cheered or at least sat back with a beer and enjoyed it had they not been busy securing the area as well as doing other tasks.
Trees were stripped and used as poles. Wireless speakers, security cameras, and lighting were rigged to them. Each was powered by a small solar panel. Batteries and controls were clustered in utility boxes at ground level. It was all temporary, eventually it would be formalized, but for now it worked.
Major Forth looked at the results and the schedule in approval. Despite his misgivings they'd made the drop, even did it on time with minimal slippage. Oh there were a few minor hiccups, vehicles that wouldn't start, a couple minor injuries, but overall a good start for a new beginning. He looked out at the sea of tents and bonfires and nodded. His men weren't tired, they were elated, relating stories of how they landed. Good, that experience would be passed on to future generations. He'd made certain it had all been recorded too. He cleared his throat. Men around him stiffened to attention. He sent a signal through his implants to the intercom system. After a moment there was a squelch of static and then his voice echoed from above.
“Good work everyone, I couldn't be more proud. As of now the initial phase has terminated. Welcome to Parris island ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to your new home.” the Major informed them when the exercise terminated near midnight. Every combat Marine was on the ground. Those around him cheered.
...*...*...*...*...
The aerospace craft were stood down for half a shift to catch up on maintenance before they were put back into service ferrying down the millions of tons of equipment, cargo, and other gear. Bets were exchanged on the crews that could haul the most down in a flight cycle, as well as bets on who could save the most fuel.
...*...*...*...*...
The Spacebees set up the initial Main Operational Base, bringing down gear from the ship. The MOB would have the spaceport within it, and would have Firebases all around it. Some of the Firebases would be FOB, or FSB, Forward Operating Bases or Fire Support Bases. Two each would be a temporary affair, designed to be stripped, bulldozed into the ground, then rebuilt as a training exercise for engineers.
There were some teething issues with the base layout but fortunately the canned plans were designed to be adaptable. Marines learned to use construction equipment, many had simmed the equipment in virtual reality, but there was of course a big difference from playing a glorified video game and doing the real thing. Ox had a ball driving a multipurpose dozer.
Robots were deployed, they moved cargo from the LZ's to the designated storage centers. Some moved prefabricated structures to designated locations on the plans were Marines set them up.
There was a learning curve for workmen, robots, architects, and logistical managers alike. It was an exponential one however, once they learned what worked and what didn't the work crews picked up tricks to make things go faster or easier. The robot's programming could be adjusted with software patches during their maintenance downtime.
Other machinery took the raw earth in, mixed it with sand from the beaches, gravel, steel rebar, and water, then ran the entire slurry through a chemistry plant and then outputted prefab concrete structures. On board kilns dried the concrete in less than an hour.
There were three different concrete forming machines, one for the roads, one for the defensive structures, and a final one for concrete buildings. Each required rebar as a skeletal element to the construction.
The barracks walls were built somewhat differently. Plastic forms were set up. Each form was about a meter long with interlocking edges. In between the two pieces of Styrofoam were plastic struts to keep them apart. Rebar snapped into these struts. The interlocking edges also locked together. Layer by layer they were built up like Lego bricks. The joints were staggered to prevent structural weaknesses. Once the forms were completed the nearest concrete machine was tapped to fill the forms.
Workmen and robots moved about, using vibrators to keep air pockets from forming in the forms. When the forms were filled the machinery moved on. The Styrofoam served as layer of insulation for the structure. Trusses tied the walls together and formed the structure to lay the floor on top of. Once the forms cured the process began again, building the walls up to the desired height.
Assembly crews fed the robots that made the trusses for various projects. Some would 'feed the beast' with pallets of parts, others would take the completed truss out of the robotic assembler and transport it to the job site it was designated for.
It was all a carefully coordinated ballet of men and machine, one following a master plan.
Parris Island would have multiple bases scattered all over it when the base was finished with its phase 1 construction. A full fledged space port, water harbor, firebases, training bases, garrisons, an academy, hospital, armory, supply depot, proving grounds, training fields, planetary defense center, aerospace depot, vehicle depot and training center, civilian centers of living, and other structures were all in the plans. The island chain was destined to become a
military city.
...*...*...*...*...
There was over twelve million tons of cargo on the shuttles, it took weeks to get it all down to the surface in one piece.
One of the largest things to land was the class one military special industrial replicator and fabricator. It was massive and had to come down in their largest boat, the barge. The barge was an ungainly craft, a saucer designed not for comfort but to move massive loads to and from a gravity well. She was so massive she hadn't fit in any of the ships, she had been strapped with her load to the outside of Destiny for the ride through hyper.
Normal shuttles were about moving their loads quickly up and down. The barge was all grunt. She was so large she required her own shields and a massive power plant to run everything. In Pyrax she had been used as a tug to move ships and equipment around in the yard. This was her first taste of atmosphere in seven centuries so more than one person was nervous about her ride down.
Her cargo was incredibly precious, a thousand ton device designed to make virtually any piece of military hardware needed. That was, if you had the keys and the blueprints.
Commander Logan had been reluctant to let the replicator go, but admiral Irons had specifically designed it for this purpose, to be used on Parris Island.
The barge made it's hair raising drop without incident, then drifted like a petal down to a water landing off shore of the island. Prejudice shuttles flew out and dropped lines to the barge. When they were attached the three shuttles towed the barge to the improvised port on the shore. A pair of cranes and a multiwheel carry vehicle were waiting there to offload her precious cargo.
Once the replicator was moved to her new home building she was plugged into the net and then the Spacebees began stuffing her maw with raw material. They threw in packing material from the various drops, along with other bits. The replicator spat out pallets of goods, furniture, fittings, small jeeps, and everything a growing base needed.
...*...*...*...*...
Valenko's squad scouted the island chain with the other Recon squads. They kept one step ahead of the infantry and engineering scout teams. When they met up with another squad, they stopped to exchange maps and hand signs, talked softly, keeping in practice as if it was a combat environment. Sometimes they had to meet a dropship to resupply. Sometimes they had to wade across a river or between islands at low tide. Sergei had a close call with a shark.
They had a couple of other close calls with animals and mother nature but came through relatively unscathed. Harley used the liger's tail to fish, dangling it over the water until he snatched it back. They were surprised by the changes to the base when they returned six days later.
Chapter 22
A week after arrival the shuttles were stood down for a thorough maintenance tear down and overhaul. Many of the airframes were close or past their required thousand hour tear downs.
The mechanics found some micro fractures in the wings which required replacement. Apparently a few of the craft had been overloaded or over abused by their crews. This unseen and unplanned for problem required new parts to be created which caused a headache with logistics for the base. Not only did the need for replacement parts cause headaches with manufacturing and the logistical pipeline, it also caused a headache with transporting material to and from orbit.
The headache rippled through the plan, throwing the carefully thought out schedules out of whack, irritating the officers and enlisted. The Major however took it all in stride, pointing out to those who griped that it was a learning experience. “You have to leave a little slack in for something like this. Murphy. If the plan is too rigid it will fail.”
“No plan survives contact with the enemy,” Captain Pendeckle replied with a grudging nod.
The Major eyed him for a moment and then returned the nod. “In this case we set ourselves up to be the enemy. Let this be a lesson people. Fix the problem. Check over the plan. Paper over any other cracks and plan for downtime on the equipment.”
“Yes sir,” Captain Pendeckle said. Valenko nodded.
...*...*...*...*...
Valenko's squad was tapped to do more recon of the island chain and then handle security as work parties made up out of Marines and boots set up the perimeter.
Valenko handed the job off to Jethro and headed in to the base to handle the growing mountain of paperwork the base seemed to generate daily. Jethro didn't mind, it wasn't like they needed a lot of oversight. He looked around the perimeter once more and sighed. There was a bit of heat haze in the air and the net flies were swarming in clouds. Another day in not quite paradise.
Four meter deep trenches were dug along the perimeter, roads were plowed but there was no gravel plant or other infrastructure so they were left bare. The occasional rock had been used to line the trenches but there weren't enough of them. He wasn't looking forward to the first summer rains, the entire base was probably going to turn into a quagmire of mud and muck. Trees were cut down and removed to provide clear firing lanes along the perimeter. They had stacks of trees all over the place. It seemed like they didn't know what to do with them all.
Jethro spent a week watching over a team setting up the fence. The chain link fence was about four meters high topped with razor wire. When it was completed it would be electrified. If it was ever finished he thought wryly. So far the boots and grunts on the job spent more time sucking down water and bitching about their sunburns than they did digging the post holes and stretching the wire. You'd think someone somewhere would have thought of an easier way to do something this labor intensive.
He wasn't sure why they were bothering with the perimeter right now. Oh in theory he understood it, but technically the entire island chain was a military reservation. Anyone setting foot on the beach was up for being probed by drones and long range sensors. He looked to the left as an armed drone floated by. Speaking of the devil...
“They ever going to get this done?” Sergei asked again tiredly. Jethro and the others looked over to him. He was basking in the shade. The tip of Kovu and Sergei's tails were flicking. All of the Marines were flicking off the net flies that tended to buzz in their ears and eyes. Guard work was necessary but boring. So far they had only had to chase one predator away all week. Maybe having the fence up wasn't so bad he thought. Though the deer they'd bagged yesterday had been a welcome change from the MRE's they were used to eating.
They had a long ways to go. Not only did the team get stuck digging and putting up the fence, they also just found a section of trees that had somehow missed the boffins who designed this whole plan. Which meant they had to do something about them soon.
He was looking forward to the mid afternoon breeze. Not only would it bring some relief to the work crews but it would also get rid of the damn flies.
A heavy set Marine looked up and glared at the cat. The guy had to be part heavyworlder, he had a short bull neck and a massive chest. Slitted golden eyes looked back at him lazily. The human took a swig of water and then took his tank top off. He had one hell of a sunburn from the tip of his shaved head to his waist line. He had something of a farmers tan on his arms. Like a lot of spacers he had little body hair so his skin was ripe for the sun. “Why don't you come over here and try it kitty?” he growled. He wiped at his sweaty face with the shirt and then tossed it over a shoulder. “Otherwise shut your yap,” he growled, flicking the flies away with an angry hand. They buzzed away for a second and then came back.
“I...” Sergei started to get up but Jethro waved to him. “You know, He was right. I tell you what,” he said looking at the squad. “You,” he pointed to Sergei and then to Kovu and Fonz. “You and you trade with him and him and her.” He pointed to Sergeant Zerric and two of his privates who were swooning and not getting anything done. “You three take five and watch the perimeter. Work one hour then we'll swap in others.”
“Shit you serious?” Fonz asked.
“He was serious,” Sergei sighed getting up. He dusted his hand paws off as he handed
over his C-42 to the eager grunt ready to take his place. “Me and my big mouth,” he said pulling his gloves on.
“Just going to get this done faster,” Jethro replied with an ear flick. ”And getting away from the damn flies,” he said, snorting as one tried to crawl up his nose. He waved them away from his face.
“You sure about this Jethro?” Sergeant Zerric asked. Jethro waved. “I mean I don't want to... holy crap!” he said startled and wide eyed as Sergei ripped a tree out of the way and then held it in his arms.
“Where do you want it?” he asked as the Marines around him ducked and covered.
“Um, over there,” Zerric said pointing.
Sergei turned his head and then grunted. “Sure thing,” he said tossing it. The twenty meter long former tree flew about ten meters before landing on top of the pile of other trunks. It bounced a bit, causing a minor landslide before things settled down. The sharp sounds of breaking branches and crunching bark had more than one Marine ducking for cover.
Sergei dusted his gloves off. “Next?” he asked mildly.
...*...*...*...*...
Once the streets, main buildings, officer housing, galley, and barracks were up, the base layout began to take shape. The various parade grounds were leveled and seeded with grass seed. Yellow footprints were painted on the tarmac, street signs were erected. Motor pools were set up, along with the garages, washing stations, and vehicles.
Buildings like the PX, BX, barber shops, temporary billeting, credit union, library, college annex, movie theater, rec center, fitness center, visitor center, Laundromat, and the first restaurant were either under tents or still only marked out. Unfortunately the civilian structures weren't a priority so were left for last.
Solar panels were on most of the roofs, some formed shaded pavilions for parking, picnic eating, or other outdoor activities. Wind turbines were mounted in strategic locations to catch as much wind as possible. The renewable energy was sufficient to run the base's basic functions, such as computers, lighting, heating, and air conditioning. A micro fusion reactor was buried in an undisclosed location and then covered in layers of armor. It would serve as a backup, and to power some of the bases air defenses.
Jethro: First to Fight Page 43
