by Sam Schall
“Not really, especially not where the Warlords are concerned.” She motioned for Ash to drink her whiskey. “I know Helen dropped this on you without warning. Hell, child, she did the same to me. But I want you to think about this for a minute. First, Pawlak and then Lucinda worked hard to bring the Warlords up to Devil Dog standards. Second, as badly decimated at the Warlords were on this last mission, you have the chance to rebuild them exactly the way you want which, unless I miss my guess, is into the equivalent of the Devil Dogs. Do that and then worry about how to deal with the Panzers.”
“Except I have a real problem with the Devil Dogs right now and, by being regimental CO, I will have even less time with them than I did before Okafor dropped this on me.” She stared into her glass, wondering how in the world she was supposed to deal with everything now on her plate.
Elizabeth turned her chair to look more closely at her daughter. “Ash, what’s going on?” Concern roughened her voice.
Ashlyn blew out a breath and placed her glass on the table between them. “Mom, you know the reservations I’ve had about Laboe.” She waited until Elizabeth nodded. “Don’t get me wrong. He really is a good officer and I think he will make a good member of the battalion – sorry, the regiment – given time. But, from what Okafor told us today, we don’t have time to wait for that to happen. I need someone as my XO I can count on to handle the day-to-day command of the Devil Dogs until I find someone to actually take command of them.” And she still didn’t want to think about that. “Now I have to worry about that and integrating the Warlords and Panzers, not to mention bringing all three battalions up to strength. Then there’s the HQ Company. How the hell am I supposed to do all that?”
For a moment, Elizabeth stared out over the yard. “Ash, tell me this. Would Laboe be a good fit for the Warlords or the Panzers?”
“Are you asking as my mother or as division CO?”
“Maybe as both?”
Ash reached for her glass and considered. “He was excellent as Miranda’s Marine CO. I think the only reason she didn’t fight me when I asked for him as my XO was she recognized the situation we were about to go into and knew he could fulfill both roles at the time. She has also said she would kill to have him back.”
“And?”
“I’m not going to let him go back.” She smiled slightly. “He was excellent as a shipboard Marine CO because he understands not only how to get our people working seamlessly with their Naval counterparts but also the LACs. The Warlords lost their LAC CO as well as a number of their pilots. I don’t think he’s ready to take command of a SpecOps battalion, but he could do a lot of good with the Warlords as XO. But we need to find him the right CO.” And that would leave her, again, without an XO.
“How about Major Andrea Raptis as CO?”
Ashlyn thought for a moment. She knew Raptis by reputation but had never served with her. A little older than Ash, instead of aiming for the Devil Dogs, she had set her sights on one of the other SpecOps units. If Ash remembered correctly, her specialties had been recon and explosives. She also had a reputation for being innovative and not afraid to think outside the box in order to accomplish a mission. Everything, as far as Ash was concerned, a good SpecOps CO needed to be.
“What’s her current assignment?”
“She’s been on restricted duty after being injured four months ago on a mission. She just cleared medical waivers and is waiting for orders. Her last assignment was as Marine CO for Fourth Fleet, but she’s been in line to return to SpecOps for more than a year.”
“Is she on-planet?”
“She is.”
“Then let me meet with her.” She chewed her lower lip as she considered her options. “If she agrees, and if I think she’ll be a good fit, she will need a promotion. I will not knock Laboe down in rank.”
“Agreed. I’ll make it happen.”
Ashlyn smiled and finished her whiskey. “And that leaves me without an XO again, not to mention the other areas where I’m light on officers.”
They sat silently for a few minutes, both lost in their thoughts.
“Ash, have you considered going a bit unconventional to fill those slots?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have some excellent senior non-coms you could recommend to be mustangs. Do that and you can move some of your senior officers around.”
Ash shook her head. No way did she want to lose Talbot as Master Guns. She needed him exactly where he was. Her officers, as well as the enlisted members of the Devil Dogs, all trusted him. She needed someone the new officers could lean on and who the others knew would keep their asses safe in case a butterbar decided to do something exceedingly stupid on the battlefield.
Then she smiled. “I know just the person – but you have to promise not to poach her from me.”
Elizabeth looked at her in question and then laughed gaily. “MJ?”
“MJ.” Ashlyn nodded in confirmation. “She can start learning her new role while she’s on limited duty. I can live without an XO while she does.” At least she hoped she could. She would certainly rely on Talbot and even Connery to help fill the gap.
“Write up the request. I’ll approve it and send it to Okafor. I’ll do everything I can do to make sure it goes through.”
“Thanks.” For the first time since getting Lucinda’s message, she felt good. “But I mean it, Mom. No poaching.”
“Now, would I do something like that?”
“In a heartbeat.” Ashlyn grinned and then laughed as her mother acted as if she’d been hurt by the comment. “And I had better get inside and get back to work. I want – no, I need – to do everything I can to make sure Hale never has the chance to cost another Marine her life.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back. “I wish to God there was some way for him to pay for what happened to Lucinda and the others. I’m not naïve enough to expect it to happen. But I trust Okafor to make sure he never again commands combat troops. For her to do that, I need to give her everything I have and everything I discovered after receiving Lucinda’s message.”
“I need to do the same.” Elizabeth finished her drink and climbed to her feet. Then she held out her hand, smiling as Ashlyn took it and let her help her stand. “You need to mourn Lucinda, Ash, but you also need to honor her and all she meant to you and to the Devil Dogs. You do that by being the Marine she knew you could be, the Marine we all know you can be. You do that also by taking this fight to the enemy, exactly as Okafor plans.”
And then, to the Midlothians. They would pay for their betrayal as well. Even if it was the last thing she did.
Contingency Plans
14
Rico Santiago stood before the non-descript apartment building and glanced around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Security feeds showed no unauthorized entry attempts in the week since he had last visited. Even so, he wasn’t going to risk becoming careless now. So far, they had managed to keep the Midlothians in the dark about their “guest” and he preferred it that way. The problems that would arise, political and otherwise, if their so-called allies learned one of their Naval officers had been captured were something he didn’t want to consider.
Not that he didn’t have even bigger concerns just then. Ashlyn Shaw worried him. Lucinda Ortega’s death would have been hard on her under the best of circumstances. Knowing her friend and former XO died because her battalion had basically been betrayed by their division CO, Shaw had to be remembering how she and her people had been betrayed. She’d lost good men and women on that mission and the survivors, Shaw included, had been court martialed. They spent two years in a brutal military prison before being released and then pardoned. He knew her well enough to know she would do whatever she could to make sure Hale never again betrayed another member of their beloved Corps. He worried she didn’t give in to the desire to try for vengeance. So he needed to give her something else to focus on.
And that was why he’d returned to the apartment building.
/> He continued down the block to the next building. At the door, he entered the security code assigned to the apartment rented by Michael Shepherd, one of his many aliases. Once inside, he crossed the lobby to the lift. A few minutes later, he walked through the utility corridor connecting the two buildings. At the other end, he entered another security code. Then it was a quick ride in the service lift and he would be at his destination.
“Anything I should know?” he asked the Marine guard on duty as he stepped off the lift. The entire floor had been turned into housing for special “guests” of FleetCom. Usually, those guests were there to help FleetCom. This one was supposed to but, so far, he had done nothing to earn the relative freedom they had given him and Santiago was tired of playing games.
“No, sir. It’s been routine as usual.”
“All right, Corporal. I shouldn’t be long.”
He crossed to the door to Bradford Hughes’ quarters and knocked once. Without waiting for a response, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. As he did, Hughes appeared from the bedroom. The Midlothian wore a pair of dark trousers and a loose overshirt. Irritation flashed across his face followed quickly by resignation as he recognized Santiago. Without a word, he crossed to sit in one of the chairs in front of the viewscreen, the closest thing to a window he had seen since his capture.
“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you so soon.” Hughes leaned back and crossed his legs. He might be a prisoner, but he still possessed the confidence that had made him a formidable naval officer.
Santiago had done nothing before now to shake that confidence. That was about to end. He would do so gladly and without hesitation if it meant keeping Shaw from doing something foolish. Even more importantly, it was past time to find out just how deep the betrayal ran in Midlothian and find out if any of Fuercon’s other allies were involved.
“We’ve played the game long enough, Hughes.” Santiago leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and waited as his words sank in. “Fuercon has done everything it promised when you were taken prisoner. But there was a price, one you haven’t begun to pay. It is time to answer our questions or I promise your presence on the planet will be revealed to the Midlothian ambassador.”
For the first time, Hughes’ calm façade broke. It wasn’t much but it was enough. He inhaled sharply and one hand fisted on the arm of his chair. Then, as if realizing he might have betrayed himself, Hughes relaxed. He returned Santiago’s stare with a cold one of his own.
“No.”
That was all. A simple “no”. One corner of Santiago’s mouth lifted into a sneer. Hughes obviously thought he held all the cards. He was about to learn just how wrong he was.
“I think you are under the mistaken belief that I’m bluffing.” Santiago shook his head, a smile touching his lips. “I’ll make this very simple, Hughes. A very good friend of mine, as well as a number of other good men and women, died not long ago. The Callusians used weaponry and tactics they did not use during the previous war. Tactics we have traced back to your homeworld. The same is true of the weaponry. Because of that, I’m not in the mood to play games with you any longer and neither are those higher up the chain of command.” He pushed away from the wall to stand a few feet in front of Hughes.
“You have a simple decision to make. You either fulfill your part of the bargain you made with Colonel Shaw or I’m hauling you out of here and making sure the media soon learns not only that you are in the capital but how you managed to get here.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I most certainly would.” Santiago closed the distance between them. “Colonel Lucinda Ortega wasn’t just my friend, Hughes, she was Colonel Shaw’s best friend, her former XO and her roommate at the Academy. They were as close as sisters and considered themselves as such. Shaw gave you a free pass when she agreed to bring you here under terms where your own government would not know you’d been captured. You violated the trust she put in you. You know her reputation. How do you think she will react if she learns you haven’t done as promised?”
This time, Hughes paled a little.
“Your choice. Start talking or choose to either face Shaw or your own people.” Another smile. “I’d say you are in a no-win situation unless you talk to me.”
“You’re as much of a cold-hearted bastard as Watchman,” Hughes snarled.
“You have no idea.” He stepped back, thinking quickly. “I’ll give you until tomorrow to make up your mind.” He turned and started toward the door. “Just so you don’t decide to do anything foolish, you’ll be having company until I return.”
With that, he left the room. He quickly informed the guard two Marines were to remain with Hughes until he returned. At no time was the man to be left alone. The corporal assured him he understood. With a nod, Santiago made his way to the life. He had a lot to take care of before he returned to speak with Hughes. Hopefully, he hadn’t just overplayed his hand.
“Master Guns.”
Faith Connery stood in the doorway to her quarters, her expression neutral but her heart pounding in concern. Never before had Talbot been there. That he’d come without warning was enough to tell her something was wrong. His serious expression only confirmed it. Something had happened, but what? Colonel Shaw was all right. She would have been notified right away otherwise. Not that the knowledge eased her concern much just then.
“Corporal, may I come in?”
She nodded and stepped aside. As she did, she glanced around the small living area. A frown touched her lips as she saw the empty coffee mug and the beer she’d been drinking just before he arrived. Her datapad lay open on the sofa. It might not be enough to fail an inspection, but it wasn’t how she wanted a senior NCO to see her living quarters.
Talbot stood in the center of the room and glanced around. As he did, Connery realized he felt as uncomfortable as she did. Instead of reassuring her, it only increased her worry. Pushing that down, she motioned him to sit and then moved to the small cold box and grabbed a beer.
“Here you go.” She handed it to him and then took a seat opposite him.
“Thanks.” He took a drink and sat back. They sat in silence for a few moments. Then he blew out a breath. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I had just finished making some adjustments to Angel’s schedule tomorrow.”
Talbot placed his beer on the floor next to his right foot. Then he leaned forward, elbows on knees. “Faith, what the hell happened today?” The moment he said it, he seemed to relax.
She looked at him, surprised. That was the last thing she expected him to ask. Thinking about it, though, she understood. She’d probably be asking the same thing if their positions were reversed. The only thing she needed to figure out was how much she could tell him without getting into trouble.
“About?” Stupid question, she knew, but it gave her a few more moments to decide what she should say.
Talbot closed his eyes for a moment and she waited. When he looked at her again, he smiled slightly, almost apologetically. A moment later, he reached for his beer and took a long pull on it.
“Faith, I’m not asking you to betray confidences or orders.”
She nodded. She knew him well enough to understand that, but it helped hearing him say it.
“And I’ll admit I’m more than a little overprotective where Angel’s concerned. You weren’t with the Devil Dogs when those bastards Sorkowski and O’Brien set her and our other people up. You can’t know how angry we were, how close some of us came to mutiny, when they were brought up on charges and then convicted. But you know what happened then. You know how some left the Corps or the Navy to work to find out what happened to free Angel and the others. Others of us remained in the Service, doing what we could from there. The way they were betrayed was something we all felt and we all wanted to right.”
She gave another nod. She remembered those days. Very few in the Corps hadn’t want to know the truth about what happened. Mo
re than that, they wanted justice for Colonel Shaw and her people, living and dead. The fact it had taken more than two years was still something the Corps was dealing with. Fortunately, the colonel had returned to the Devil Dogs and had helped bring down those behind what happened to her and her people.
“I’ve been with her almost every day since her pardon. I know how hard it was for her those first few weeks and months to believe she wasn’t being set up again. I have always respected her as a Marine and as an officer.” A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth and he chuckled softly. “Do you know the first time I saw the colonel?”
Connery shook her head.
“I was a corporal back then. On my way back to my ship after leave, I came across a wet behind the ears butterbar who had just been shoved to the side by a couple of enlisted personnel who, unfortunately, were assigned to the same ship as I was.”
Imagining the scene, Connery groaned softly. It was bad enough for enlisted personnel to lay hands on an officer, even by accident. You never knew how the officer would take it. But for a butterbar to get shoved, that could be the recipe for disaster.
“Yeah.” Talbot chuckled. “But, to my surprise, instead of ripping them a new one, the butterbar asked me to stand them off to the side, out of the way of everyone else. Then she introduced herself to all of us. After making sure the two were simply idiots and not under orders to report back to the ship ASAP, she suggested they exercise better judgment in the future. As far as she was concerned, that was the end of the matter. Then she left them to me to deal with them.”
“Damn.” Connery shook her head. She knew seasoned officers who would have ripped the two Marines a new one for being so foolish. To hear a butterbar, a second lieutenant fresh out of the Academy, not only reacted with restraint but had been wise enough to leave any discipline to a non-com, amazed her.
“That young butterbar was one Second Lieutenant Ashlyn Shaw on her way to her first assignment after graduating.”
