Duty from Ashes

by Sam Schal

  And that didn’t even begin to take into account her anger with whoever had the audacity to write her son into the sim. Someone had better have a damned good explanation for it or she wouldn’t be responsible for what happened next.

  “Major, did you know about this?” Sergeant Major MJ Adamson asked softly as she moved to Ashlyn’s side.

  “I did not.” She forced herself not to turn and hit the wall – or the nearest person. “I have just one question for the rest of you. Did any of you know about this change in the mission parameters?” She waited, watching as they processed what she’d asked and knowing the answer before it came.

  “Ma’am, no, ma’am!” each member of her team answered in unison.

  She nodded, trying to rein in her anger. “Go hit the showers and then get some chow. Forget about the debriefing as well as the morning’s mission until you hear from either Captain Ortega or myself.” She held up a hand to ward of any argument. “And don’t discuss what happened here with anyone, not even the other Devil Dogs. Not until you get the go ahead from me.”

  With that, she turned on her heel and moved toward the only entrance to the room. Her boot heels hitting the floor sounded loudly, a sure indication of just how angry she was. She didn’t care. She wanted answers and they’d sure as hell better be good ones. Otherwise, she might just find herself back in the Tarsus military prison. At least if she did, she’d have earned the trip this time.

  As she reached the door, she paused. A frown touched the corners of her mouth. For a moment, she looked at the three who had followed her and considered telling them to do as she’d ordered. Instead, she simply punched in the code to end the lockdown and stepped through the door as soon as it slid open. If the three meant to follow, they’d have to keep up.

  Without a word, she moved through the corridor leading between the different simulation rooms toward the control room at the far end of the building. The few people they passed quickly made room for them. Whether they read the anger on her expression or it was just the sight of four members of the Fuerconese Marine Corps’ best SpecOps battalion moving with undeniable purpose, she didn’t know nor did she care.

  The door to the control room slid open and she stepped inside. A split second later, silence filled the room as the junior officers and ratings manning the monitoring stations turned in her direction. Without a word, she glanced around, her anger rising. As if sensing it and knowing they didn’t want her focus on them, everyone turned back to their stations and tried to look busier than they had been just a moment before. She knew what they were doing and didn’t care. They weren’t important, at least not just yet. Their only part in the sims was to monitor and record how the different groups reacted to the scenarios thrown at them. They had nothing to do with setting up the sims. That person was in the office beyond the control room, hiding, too much of a coward to come out to greet her.

  “Major Shaw.” A lieutenant with more guts than common sense hurried around his desk to intercept her before she could barge through the next door.

  She stopped, the toes of her boots almost touching his, her hands fisting at her sides. “Lieutenant Young.” She made a point of glancing down at his name tape since he hadn’t identified himself, much less called the others to attention as senior officers entered the room. “Step aside.”

  “Ma’am, you know I can’t do that.”

  She simply stared at him, her expression closed.

  “What I know is that I outrank you, as well as everyone else in this room, by some magnitude, Lieutenant.” A hand gently touched her arm and she turned, ready to tear into whoever had been foolish enough to interrupt her. Then, seeing her XO standing there, she nodded slightly. Something in Ortega’s expression told her to let the other woman handle things, for the moment at least.

  “Lieutenant Young, you happen to be the senior officer on duty, isn’t that correct?” Ortega’s voice was deceptively gentle but her eyes flashed dangerously. Recognizing it, Ashlyn closed her mouth and waited, wondering what her XO was up to.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “As an officer, I assume you actually went to the Academy and passed your course work. Would that be a correct assumption?”

  “Y-yes, ma’am.” Sweat now beaded on his forehead and upper lip.

  “And part of your time at the Academy was spent learning proper protocol when senior officers enter a room. Isn’t that correct?”

  A slight smile touched Ash’s lips. Her XO – and one of her closest friends – was about to teach the poor lieutenant a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.

  Young nodded.

  “I’m sorry, Lieutenant, I didn’t hear you.” Ortega’s voice turned cold.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And were you taught proper uniform appearance for both officers and enlisted personnel?”

  “Y-yes, ma’am.”

  “Master Sergeant Adamson, please inform the good lieutenant of the number of uniform violations you spot on him with just a cursory inspection.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The blonde stepped forward and glanced almost casually at the young lieutenant who was starting to look more than a little green. “Without doing a proper inspection, Captain Ortega, I see at least eight violations of the uniform regulations.”

  “I see.” She shook her head, her expression grim. “And the rest of the personnel in this room?”

  “Ma’am, there are far too many to list without actually taking notes.” Now Adamson’s voice was as cold as Ortega’s had been. “There is more than simple carelessness being shown in here, Captain.”

  “Master Guns, how many violations of protocol did you note as we entered the room?”

  “Is the captain asking about what I saw as we immediately entered or since our arrival?” Talbot asked in return.

  Ashlyn almost laughed as Young flinched and paled.

  “Let’s limit it to our immediate arrival.”

  “Then there were three actual violations of protocol and another two violations of common military courtesy,” Talbot responded.

  “And what would you do if someone assigned to the Devil Dogs failed to follow established protocol?”

  “Well, Captain, I’d have them out on the O Course until they were ready to drop and then I’d have them standing watch, greeting every officer and NCO by rank and name for the next week.”

  Ashlyn considered telling her people that they had made their point. It wouldn’t surprise her if, at any moment, the lieutenant either fainted or pissed his pants. No one enjoyed being dressed down the way he’d just been. If they were smart, they certainly didn’t want it happening by two of the most well-respected NCOs in the Corps.

  She held her tongue, however. Ortega was right to make an example out of him. He had violated protocol and his uniform, as well as most of the others in the room, did not come up to standard. If his CO wouldn’t teach him the error of his ways, she’d let her XO and senior non-coms try.

  “Master Sergeant, what would you do after seeing the sorry state of the uniforms in this room?”

  “Well, ma’am, they’d be making sure every uniform in their company was properly cleaned and ready for wear. Then they would be polishing boots and brass until not only you but the major here were satisfied,” Adamson answered, a slight smile touching her lips.

  “Now, Lieutenant, I believe Major Shaw suggested you step aside so she can speak with your CO.”

  Ortega’s voice was now deceptively calm, not that it would fool anyone with an ounce of sense in their head. Of course, Ashlyn wasn’t sure Young possessed that much just then. She had a feeling he was too shell-shocked by the way he’d been handed his head to do anything but simply stand there, trying to look very small.

  Young’s green eyes flicked right and then left, as if he were looking for help or a quick exit, but neither came. Instead, silence filled the room as everyone waited for him to make his mind up about what he was going to do. As he did, Ashlyn fought the urge to smirk. The lieutena
nt had probably received the most thorough dressing down of his short Marine Corps career. What he eventually got out of it was up to him. Hopefully, it would make him a better officer. If not, he might just wind up getting people under his command killed should he ever see actual battle.

  Before Young could decide what he was going to do, the door to the inner office slid open. A tall, grey haired man appeared. He took one look at the scene before him and shook his head, his mouth a firm line of disapproval. Then, with a curt nod to Ashlyn, he motioned for her to enter. When the others made to follow, he took a step to his right, barring their path.

  “You really don’t want to do that, sir.” Ash rasped.

  She might be skirting close to the edge of insubordination but she didn’t care. Not after what happened during the sim. For whatever reason, this man had changed the parameters and, unless she missed her guess, had done so without proper authorization. She wanted to know why. Because of that, and because her temper was so close to boiling over, Ash was glad Ortega and the others had come with her. Their presence accomplished two things: it provided witnesses for whatever was said and it would keep her from doing something foolish.

  Hopefully.

  “Major Shaw.” Lt. Colonel Kieran Brodsky’s voice was cold, his expression hard. No doubt about it, he was almost as angry as was she.

  At least he stepped out of the way and let the others enter his office. After closing the door behind them, he moved to sit behind his desk. Elbows on the desktop, fingers steepled before him, he pointedly did not invite Ashlyn to sit.

  “You are skirting very close to finding yourself brought up on a charge of insubordination, Major,” he said.

  “Respectfully, sir, you are more than welcome to level that, or any other charge for that matter, against me. To be honest, I’d like to see you try to make it stick. Before you do, I suggest you remember that the ensuing investigation will force you to explain, on the record, why the parameters of the sim were changed without warning and why the new sim was nothing more than a replay of the mission that led to the false charges being brought against me and the surviving members of my team.” The words were bitter in her mouth. “Then you’ll be asked to explain why my son – my son, damn you! – was programmed into the sim.”

  “What?” Ortega’s shock was mirrored by the stunned gasps from Talbot and Adamson.

  “The boy at the end of the sim. I didn’t realize it until it was almost over, but it was Jake.” The fury and fear she’d felt in that moment returned and she fought the urge to take a swing at Brodsky.

  “Colonel Brodsky?” Ortega turned a baleful glare on the man.

  Not wanting her XO getting into trouble on her account, Ashlyn simply shook her head before indicating the woman should take a step back.

  “Frankly, Major, I don’t have to explain anything to you,” Brodsky said. “You know as well as I do that we don’t have to inform teams of a change in mission parameters. Part of the reason why we run these sims is to see how well our people can adapt and react, no matter what the situation they might be presented with. Sorry if you didn’t like what we threw at you but you’re a Marine. You know how to adapt.” Venom dripped from his voice.

  “What I know is that these training sims, when set up by the battalion CO – which I happen to be – are not to be changed without first informing said CO. The only exception is if someone higher up the chain of command orders it.” Ashlyn ground out the words. “So, Lt. Colonel, who gave you the order to change the sim and to include my son in it?”

  Brodsky didn’t respond. Anger flaring, Ash took a step forward. Then she stopped. Something wasn’t right. It didn’t feel right. Not the way the sim had been changed on them and not the way Brodsky was dealing with her now. It felt like another test, one to see just how far they could push her before she broke. She might be wrong. There were several other possible explanations for what had been done. One thing was certain, however. She most definitely did not like the implications.

  “Very well, Lt. Colonel.” She drawled out his rank, her disgust and lack of respect obvious. “As battalion CO, I am entitled to a complete copy of the records of the sim for evaluation by my team. Master Sergeant Adamson will remain here until you have it ready.”

  As she spoke, Adamson nodded and moved to take up a position next to the door. Ashlyn felt sure none of them, Brodsky included, had any doubts about what she was doing. Adamson would remain there, and she’d make sure Brodsky did as well, until he turned the records over to her.

  “Master Guns, go let the rest of the team know that we will be discussing the sim as soon as Captain Ortega and I return. Inform them that I expect full after action reports from each of them within the next two hours.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Colonel Brodsky, you are lucky that I happen to respect your rank since I don’t particularly respect you right now,” she continued. “Never play this sort of game with me or my people again.”

  With that, she turned and left the office, Talbot and Ortega on her heels. No one said anything until they were in the elevator, safely away from prying eyes and ears.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Ortega demanded, her eyes flashing with anger.

  “I wish to hell I knew.” Ash drew a deep breath, held it for a count of five and then released it. “And I plan to find out. Loco, go make sure our team knows I want to see all of them as soon as I get back. We’ll do our own debrief on the sim as well as discuss what happened and, hopefully, why.”

  “There’d better be a damned good reason for what went down, ma’am, or you’re going to have a bunch of angry Devil Dogs on your hands and I don’t mean just our team.”

  Ashlyn nodded. Talbot was right. Marines stood together. Devil Dogs did that and more. Unless she missed her guess, she had a feeling Talbot – and Ortega – would be leading the Devil Dogs if she didn’t get answers for them all.

  “And us?” Ortega asked.

  “I’m going to see what our Division CO has to say about this. I want you to find out everything you can about Brodsky and any scuttlebutt there might be about how he is running the sims.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  FURIOUS, ASHLYN STEPPED OUT of the lift and started down the corridor in the direction of her office. Anger still burned deep inside her. Two hours later and she had yet to discover why the sim’s parameters had been changed, much less who had ordered it. That didn’t sit well with her, especially since she would have to tell her people she didn’t have the answers to their questions.

  It would be so easy to fall back into the doubts and paranoia she had lived with after the Arterus mission. Then her questions – and objections – had fallen on deaf ears. At least that wasn’t the case this time, at least not yet. Not that it made her feel any better, especially when she thought about the rest of it.

  When she had arrived at the office of FirstDiv’s commanding officer, it hadn’t taken her long to realize something was going on. For the first time since returning to active duty, she hadn’t been passed straight through to see Brigadier General Elizabeth Shaw. Before she could even ask why, the general’s aide told her he was under orders not to interrupt her conference. No, he didn’t know how long the general would be.

  The niggling concern Ash felt grew when she received the same sort of greeting upon her arrival at General Helen Okafor’s office. The Commandant of the Fuerconese Marine Corps was in a meeting and had left orders that she wasn’t to be disturbed. No, there was no explanation and none had been asked for. The none-too-subtle verbal slap had done more than sting. It had warned Ashlyn that something had happened and she would bet her next month’s pay it meant the Devil Dogs would soon be shipping out. That meant she needed to be prepared, as did the rest of the battalion. She would just have to worry about the sim later, after she found out what was going on.

  Doing her best to push down her concerns, Ash entered her office. One look around the anteroom and she stopped short. A young corporal sa
t behind the desk across the room and gave her an apologetic look. Before she could ask what was wrong, the door to her private office slid open and Ortega appeared. One look at her XO’s expression was all Ashlyn needed to know she wasn’t going to get the few minutes to collect her thoughts that she’d hoped for.

  “Nolan, send notice out to the battalion of PT at 0500 in the morning followed by a briefing of company commanders at 0630. Uniform of the day will be BDUs. Then confirm with Colonel Johnson that Captain Ortega and I are to meet with him at 1100 hours.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The young man quickly noted all she said and she nodded in approval.

  “Captain Ortega will have changes to the training schedule for the next week to you shortly. Once she does, confirm everything with the O-Course and the like. Then send it out. Make sure you get confirmation not only from our company commanders but the individual platoon commanders as well.”

  “Understood, ma’am.”

  Trusting that he did, she turned her attention to her XO. Ortega held her gaze for a moment and then moved aside so she could step through the doorway. As she did, Ash didn’t know whether to sigh or pound her head against the wall in frustration. What she did know was that she should have expected this.

  This was finding not only her XO but also Adamson and Talbot waiting for her. At least the rest of those who had been part of the sim weren’t there as well. Before she could say as much, Ortega handed her a mug of coffee and motioned for her to be seated.