by Jan Stryvant
"And I know logistics. You all know logistics. So focus on the job: how do we improve their supply chain, their support, and what do they need to be a more effective fighting force. This is the kind of opportunity careers are made from ladies and gentlemen. So I expect to see you give it your utmost attention."
Roxy blinked and looked at Jolene, who looked impressed. So did Oak and Maitland.
"Remember, amateurs talk about tactics, professionals study logistics!"
Roxy noticed that both of the majors sat down in a corner after that and started talking quietly about what they'd seen, what they needed to investigate further, and what they were going to do about it.
At seven hours into the gateway, another force came through it; this one was about twice the size of the previous one, and they took four hours getting themselves organized. They had several carts, pulled by what looked to be gnashers. When there was an hour left to go, they struck off to the east.
"What the hell?" Oak said.
"Either they're trying for Winnemucca, or they're just trying to head in a direction they think they won't run into any resistance," Maitland said.
"But the map here shows mountains," General Baker pointed out.
"There's a few small roads going through the area. If they pick one of those up and follow it, it will take them through the pass here." Maitland pointed to a spot on the map. "Then it's only a couple of hours to the town or the interstate."
Roxy listened as Sean, Chad, and Maitland discussed options. Chad wanted an ambush in the pass that the road followed and won out when he suggested they could always lure the enemy into going that way if worse came to worst.
It was almost a full hour after the gate had closed that the trap was sprung, Chad having moved up the reserves that were now in Winnemucca to help with the battle. They'd taken the time to set up a couple of cameras on the pass and link them back to the base so they had a nice, clear view of the entire battle.
Roxy squirmed in her seat as she watched Sean fight, wishing she was out there with him. He was definitely improving, and had become a serious force to be reckoned with.
Then again, all the fighters were getting better. When they'd finally killed the last demon, they'd only lost three of their own.
"Roxy," General Baker said, coming over to her. She noticed that he was the only one of his team still awake. It was now after four in the morning.
"Yes?"
"Do you think you could show me what happens when the men return?"
"Of course, General."
"Excellent. Let me wake my team up and we'll go."
It was two hours before Sean returned to the base. He was tired, he was bloody, dirty, and really wanted to just eat and sleep, hopefully at the same time. He'd ridden back on the last helicopter, and when it landed, they shut it down as the mechanics came out to start servicing it and prepping for the next attack.
Slipping out the back, he shook Daelyn awake and, after giving Cali a hug, he walked slowly towards Roxy and Roberta, who were both standing by a man in a green uniform.
"Girls," Sean said and gave them each a hug. "Where's Peg and Jolene?"
"Putting together your breakfast," Roxy said, and then gave Cali and Daelyn hugs as well.
"Sean, this is General Baker," Roberta said.
Sean nodded slowly as General Baker took his hand and shook it.
"Sean, my boy, I can definitely help you. I've already got some ideas after talking with your great uncle and your wife Roxy. Hell, after I get done with this place, you're gonna wonder how you got as far as you did without me!"
Sean dropped his head, looked down at General Baker, and was about to retort when Roxy put her finger on his lips.
"Maitland likes him and thinks his ideas are good."
"What about you?" Sean grumbled.
"He's still here, isn't he?" Roxy said with a grin.
Sean took a deep breath and sighed. "Welcome, General Baker. Thank you very much for coming out, and I know we'll all appreciate anything you can do for us. Now if you'll excuse me?"
"Go on and get some rack time, my boy. You've earned it. I'll try to keep my people out of your way while we work on this."
"Sounds great," Sean said and let Roberta steer him towards the house, as Roxy dragged a sleepy Daelyn and a weary Cali along behind him.
"So, Roxy tells me you like the general?" Sean asked Maitland as he sat down at the table in his armor to eat.
"Sean doesn't seem to like him much," Roberta warned.
"I just hate that 'my boy' thing he keeps using on me," Sean said and then gave a massive yawn.
"I don't think he means any harm by it," Roxy said, helping Daelyn out of her armor. "He just thinks logistics is the be all and end all of the world."
"And that he's the alpha and omega when it comes to logistics," Jolene added.
"What do you think?" Sean asked, turning towards Maitland.
"I think we have found our man," Maitland said with a smile. "Logistics is our weakest link. And if a man like that can rise as high as he has with such an abrasive personality?"
"He has to walk on water." Sean sighed. "Okay, I'll play nice with him and keep my temper on a short leash. Now, Peg or Jolene, could you help me get out of this?"
"Why not just shift and let it fall off?" Peg asked.
"Ah, now I remember why I married you!" Sean said, standing up and shifting, and sliding out of his armor rather easily.
"Because I'm smart?" Peg asked, grinning.
"No, because you're always trying to get me naked!"
Space Maker
Stretching and yawning, Sean scratched his chest as he padded into the command center and dropped down into a chair at the head of the table. It was almost noon; he'd wanted to sleep in, as he hadn't gotten to bed until sometime after six, but Roxy had said it was important, so after a quick shower he'd stumbled on out here. At least the room was now attached to the house by a covered walkway.
"Aren't you going to put some clothes on?" Captain Mueller said as Dania set a large plate of food down in front of him.
"Be happy I put the shorts on," Sean muttered and started in on the food with a will.
He noticed that two female officers were both giving him appreciative looks, which didn't surprise him. Between being a lion and the constant training and fighting, Sean was ripped. He also suspected Jolene, with her mind and body magic, may have had a little something to do with that as well. But if it made her happy, then he was happy.
"Coming to a meeting with the general in your shorts is hardly appropriate!"
Sean snorted and then smiled at Dania as she came in with a second plate of food.
"You let the general worry about it," Sean said and hurriedly cleaned off the first plate of food so he could hand it to Dania, who was waiting there.
"That's one hell of an appetite," Captain Hart said, looking surprised.
"Master Sean is both a werelion and a magic user," Dania said in that musical voice of hers. "He expends a lot of energy when fighting."
Sean finished the plate and handed it to Dania.
"Thanks, Dania. Thank your twin sister for me, too."
"Yes, Milord," Dania said, smiling at him and bending over just enough to give him a good view down her shirt.
"How old is she?" Captain Mueller blurted out as Sean turned back to Captain Hart and smiled at her.
"What Dania said." Sean started to eat more slowly and ignored Mueller's outburst. "Lycans tend to burn more calories than humans, so we need to eat more. If we've been shifting a lot or having to regenerate, we eat even more. Casting magic on top of all of that adds to it."
"I see," she said, though Sean could tell she clearly didn't.
"Don't worry," Sean said between bites, "you'll figure it out soon enough. I know it's a lot to take in."
"What's the story with that young woman anyway? I've never seen skin so dark before."
"She's not human; she's a dark elf. I rescued her and her
twin sister from a very bad situation. Their older sister," Sean took another bite of food and chewed on it a moment before swallowing, "is one of my wives."
"Then why does she call you master?"
Sean smiled. "Dark elf society is more feudally based than human society is."
"And lycan society?" Major Vanderberg asked.
Sean shrugged. "It's not all that different from human society. Oh, the need to remain hidden meant you never told your friends or coworkers about it, but mostly we just blend right in."
"But you have so many wives, surely that would make any lycan stand out."
Sean shook his head, taking a moment to eat some more food.
"That's a lion thing. It's not common for the rest; we're different."
"What makes you different?"
"We're gods," Sean said with a smile and stuck another forkful of food into his mouth.
"Well, you sure don't look like a god to me!" Captain Musalino retorted.
Sean shrugged, then swallowed. "That's because you're not a lycan. We're their gods, not humanity's. But piss one of us off enough…" Sean smiled slowly.
"Room! Ten-hut!" Lieutenant Kennedy said just as Musalino opened his mouth to say something. All of the officers quickly jumped to their feet as General Baker came in with Maitland, Chad, Oak, and Roxy in tow.
"Lieutenant, I thought I told you not to bother with that here?" General Baker waved to the room. "As you were."
"Sorry, Sir. Old habits," the lieutenant said and winked at Sean.
"Sean, my boy!" the general said, turning to him. "Glad to see you're awake. I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of interviewing some of your people this morning. I gotta say, I'm impressed by the kind of people you've got working for you. My team's gonna have to bring out our A game if don't want to look bad!"
"Why thank you, General," Sean said. "Do you think you'll be able to get us some more lift to move our troops?"
"I've already sent a preliminary request, my boy. The problem is, as always, politics. You'll get it eventually, I'm sure about that. But I thought we'd start with the things you can do with what you've got right here and now. Then we'll move on to your existing supply chain and see if we can't make that work better for you as well."
"Sounds great, General."
Roxy dropped into the seat next to him on his right, Chad took the one on his left, Maitland taking the next one down after that, as General Baker sat at the other end of the table.
"Bill, if you could load that Power Point presentation we put together on the monitor, we can get started."
Captain Mueller nodded and got to work.
'If you can help me keep from falling asleep in what I'm sure is going to be a long and boring meeting, I'd sure appreciate it!' Sean sent to the First.
The only response he got was the distinct impression that the First was snoring.
'Coward,' Sean sent with a mental sigh. Course, if he could sleep through this and let the First deal with it, he undoubtedly would have.
Sean was surprised that he got through the next two hours without nodding off. General Baker's ideas dealing with moving troops and supplies to and from the battlefield were actually quite simple, but Sean hadn't even thought about them until after the general had pointed them out. His solutions were interesting, and his approach to a number of problems were all well thought out and shouldn't be that hard to implement. Then there was a lot of thought put forth about the future and the upcoming problems they'd no doubt be facing as the war continued.
They then discussed supply issues, such as the swords and armor delivery schedules, moving on quickly to things like food, clothing, fuel, lodging, and they'd even gone over small shops selling different odds and ends to help perk up the life of the average soldier in between missions.
And through the entire meeting, for all that Sean may have found aspects of his demeanor to be abrasive, General Baker had only praise for Sean's people and the job they'd done to date. They traded the occasional barb back and forth across the table; Sean had remembered the First's comment about 'tanking him back' and did so. But he could see that Maitland and Chad were hanging on his every word, and when they asked questions, they got clear and detailed answers from either the general or one of his staff.
When they finally took a break, Sean stood and stretched, shifting into his hybrid form as he did so. There were several sharp intakes of breath from around the table. Sean tried to remember which ones had seen him when he'd gotten back last night.
"If you'll all excuse me," Sean rumbled. "I have prior commitments I have to attend to, and I need to spend some time with my troops. Chad and Maitland here have the power to make decisions in my name, but to be completely honest, General, I'm impressed beyond words at what you've shown me so far. I can't even begin to imagine what you'll be doing for us a month from now."
"Happy to hear it, my boy. I told you I'd be useful. Why don't you take the lieutenant there with you? If we're going to send him out to observe when the next battle comes, it'd be best if he got familiar with your people first."
Sean nodded. "Sounds fine. Come on, Kennedy."
"So which of your staff members appreciated that little show there?" Sean asked the lieutenant once they were outside.
"Joyce and Linda definitely did," Lieutenant Kennedy said with a chuckle. "I think Mueller may have pissed himself just a little."
Sean snorted. "What's his problem?"
"I think he joined the military so people would respect him. Problem is, they only respect the uniform, they don't respect him at all. He's been bounced around a lot from what I gather. He's good with numbers, which is why he's here right now, but that's about it. He has a tendency to stick his nose where no one wants it, boss around the lower ranks and enlisted, and try to push his weird sense of morality on anyone he's got power over."
"And his friend?"
"Musalino? Yeah, I don't quite get that one either. Apparently they went to school together or something. But at least Musalino has a life; he's married. You'd think he'd know enough to steer clear of Mueller's little pissing matches. It's already bit him on the ass once."
"I'm surprised you know so much about him."
Lieutenant Kennedy shrugged. "We keep a file on him in the security office. It's unofficial, but he's been trouble to the lower ranks enough times that we all get warned about him. I'm actually not in his chain of command, and he doesn't have any authority over me, but you watch, the first chance he gets, he'll try to order me around."
"Huh, I'm surprised he made captain then."
"Getting to captain is easy. It's getting to major that's hard. If I'd known he was going to be coming with us, I would never have volunteered."
"Why did you volunteer?"
"Because everyone else in my unit is human and wouldn't have survived." Lieutenant Kennedy shook his head. "There's more than a few of us in the service; like you told them back inside, we're pretty much everywhere."
"You don't have a necklace or a tag, do you?"
Lieutenant Kennedy snorted. "On a first lieutenant's salary? Hardly."
"Well, let's go get you a set, and then you can come with me while I make the rounds."
"Thank you, Sir."
"It's Sean. Just call me Sean. If anyone complains, you can tell them I'm not in the military."
"But you're a god!" he replied with a grin.
Now it was Sean's turn to snort. "Honestly? All the other lions used up the fun part. Now I'm just stuck with the hard work."
"Yeah, six wives. Sounds awfully hard to me!"
"How'd you know about that?"
"It was in the briefing notes. Unlike the others, I read it. All of it. You're the second lion I've met."
"Oh? Who'd you meet?"
The lieutenant shrugged. "I didn't get his name. He said he was the warden of some pit full of insanity, and he yanked our chains pretty hard when we tried to go take a look. None of the humans in my group remembered it, but the two wolf
NCOs, they remembered it as well."
'Devon,' the First supplied. 'He guards the entrance to a relic of one of the first wars. It does nasty things to any humans who stumble upon it.'
"That was Devon," Sean said.
"Damn, you guys really do talk!"
"Yup," Sean agreed and, walking into the armory, got Lieutenant Kennedy a lycan necklace, a silver tag, and one of the spare swords they kept on hand.
"What do you expect me to do with this?" the lieutenant asked when Sean handed him the sword as they walked out to the central courtyard, where a large group of lycans were gathered.
"Learn how to use it, obviously."
Sean stopped by Demon, who was leading today's class.
"What's up, Sean?"
"This is Lieutenant Kennedy. He's on loan for a few days; teach him enough that he doesn't embarrass himself when we go out next. Also make sure everyone knows not to out him to his friends, got it?"
"Out him?" Demon looked at Sean, a little confused.
"They don't know he's a lycan."
"Oh!" Demon said and looked a little embarrassed. "Got it!"
Shaking his head, Sean headed for the infirmary to check on their own wounded.
#
"Damn, I hate when these things open at night," Sean growled as they sped towards the gateway. It was two AM; the last gateway had opened four days ago on the seventh, and the break had been a nice change. Thankfully it hadn't been long enough for him to start getting nervous.
"Want us to drop flares?" Trey asked.
"Not until we're ready to attack. Has anybody spotted anyone coming out?"
"Not yet. But on a dark night like tonight, there's no guarantees."
Sean nodded and grumbled. It was overcast, and the new moon had set hours ago. It was about as dark as it got out here, and even with his enhanced night vision, the pilot was still relying on night vision goggles to fly them.
"Well, here we are," Trey said and brought them in. Flaring over the ground, he touched down long enough for them all to quickly clear out of the helicopter, then took off and raced back to the ranch for the next wave.
