by Gary Beller
Commandant Williams brought forth a folder, handing it to the President, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs held a large object and a small box. The President opened the folder and read aloud.
“The President of the United Coalition of Independent Systems, on behalf of the Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor Posthumously to Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Francis Bielema, Critical Skills Operator, United Coalition Marine Corps, for service as set forth in the following Citation.” He took a breath, as Commandant Williams removed the medal from its case.
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, serving as an Assault Weapons Gunner, 1st Special Missions Unit. On the 19th day of May, 2159, Gunnery Sergeant Bielema and 1st Special Missions Unit engaged enemy ground troops defending a prisoner of war encampment behind enemy lines. During the ensuing battle, Gunnery Sergeant Bielema provided heavy and accurate fire support, suppressing enemy resistance in Cell Block 1, as the Phantoms moved to clear the block and liberate prisoners. Although taking small arms fire at close range, Gunnery Sergeant Bielema did not shy away, instead standing firm and fighting. During the clash with enemy soldiers, a hand grenade was thrown from an upper level, bouncing off a wall behind the Operators, and landing to the rear of the team. Although he could have taken cover and attempted to escape the grenade’s blast, Gunnery Sergeant Bielema instead chose selflessly to protect his teammates, jumping atop the device and shielding his team from the explosion with his own body. Although medical personnel from 1st Special Missions Unit and UCSS Majestic made every effort to save him, Gunnery Sergeant Bielema succumbed to his wounds less than an hour after being wounded. His actions saved the lives of eleven team members, and facilitated the liberation of dozens of prisoners of war from Cell Block One. By his undaunted courage, fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Gunnery Sergeant Bielema gallantly gave his life so others might live, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Coalition Naval and Marine Corps Services.”
Commandant Williams took the medal and placed it around Sarah’s neck, as the military personnel in attendance saluted. The Chairman presented a plaque with Kevin’s picture, the citation, and a replica of the medal to Carla.
Ben fought hard to maintain his bearing, as he watched tears stream down the faces of Carla, Sarah and Rachel. Hannah covered her face, placing it against her aunt’s chest. The Emperor of Valderis stepped forward, kneeling to shake Sarah’s hand, as did the Empress and Prince Jarul. They saluted both Carla and Rachel, and the Empress rubbed Hannah’s back, trying to sooth her.
“Good morning,” The Emperor said, his English nearly flawless, “I am Emperor Krajur XVI of Valderis, and on behalf of the Valderan Royal Family, I wished to personally thank the Bielema family for their sacrifice. My brother, Jarul, was one of the prisoners liberated from Cell Block 1 by 1st Special Missions Unit. It is with great thanks that I am here today to present our highest honor to Gunnery Sergeant Bielema.”
The Emperor turned, and faced the family. “Let it be known to all that, on this day, in the city of Chicago on the Planet Earth, I, on my authority as Emperor of the Valderan Royal Empire, do hereby posthumously award to Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Bielema, United Coalition Marine Corps, The Imperial Knight’s Grand Cross, the highest honor which I may bestow upon any member of the armed services of the Empire, or an allied nation, For his gallant and selfless actions of 19 May. Gunnery Sergeant Bielema is also hereby awarded the rank of Knight Commander, in the Honorable Order of Vishkal. Henceforth, when he is spoken of, he shall be known as the late Gunnery Sergeant Sir Kevin Bielema, and to you, Carla, Sarah, Hannah and Rachel I award the title of Dame Commander, Honorable order of Vishkal, for your sacrifices as well. You have our sincerest condolences and our deepest thanks for your service.”
Everyone on the stage again shook hands with the Bielema family, before the Commandant and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs escorted them down to their seats. President Miller stepped forward again. “Colonel Pierce, Major Dawn, Captain Grimes and First Sergeant McMillan, please step forward, and bring your unit colors.”
Ben led his senior staff up to the stage and formed them before saluting. “Sir, Colonel Pierce, Major Dawn, Captain Grimes and First Sergeant McMillan, presenting colors as ordered SIR.” He put extra emphasis on the last “sir” as a show for the media. The President recognized that and smiled before returning Ben’s salute.
“Since the outbreak of war, 1st Special Missions Unit has been at the front lines, and beyond. They have served with honor, courage, and distinction on every field. In the battle of Koliath, they were the first Coalition troops to be landed in the relief of that planet, and for months made a general nuisance of themselves behind the enemy’s lines. They provided vital information to Expeditionary Corps Lima’s Headquarters concerning troop concentrations and movements, strength and speed. During the night of September 14th, 2158, 1st Special Missions Unit set an ambush along the Great Forest Turnpike. In that ambush, the twenty four Operators of the unit engaged and defeated an enemy force estimated to be nearly five hundred strong.”
President Miller paused a moment. The picture of Bielema which had been projected behind him shrank, and joined with the faces of the other fallen 1SMU Operators. “In the course of the war, 13 Operators from 1st Special Missions Unit have given their lives in the line of duty; another 19 have been wounded. Those of you doing the math probably realize that this comes out to more than the units authorized strength of twenty four. No other unit of similar size has suffered so much, but no other unit has accomplished what the Phantoms have, either. The spring offensive this year led by Admiral Beech owes its success directly to the actions of these Marines, and their supporting cast. Their actions behind the lines enabled our ships and troops to not simply stunt the enemy’s advance, but force them into retreat.”
The President paused again. This time, the Vice President, the Chairman and the Commandant stood. President Miller opened the Citation folder. “By Executive Order 59-03187, Let it be known to all that on this day, the President of the United Coalition of Independent Systems takes great pleasure in presenting the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation to 1st Special Missions Unit, Marine Forces Special Operations Command, as set forth in the following citation.”
“For extraordinary heroism and gallantry in the face of often overwhelming enemy forces, where on numerous occasions the Marines and Navy Corpsmen displayed exceptional courage and skill in the execution of their duties, above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Special Missions Unit has been awarded 29 Battle Streamers and Five Campaign Streamers in 18 months of combat operations, more than any other unit of any size. By their determination, ferocity in combat, and their Esprit de corps, 1st Special Missions Units exemplary courage and gallantry reflects great credit upon them, and upholds the highest standards and traditions of the Coalition Marine Corps and Naval services.”
The President took the streamer from the officers who were holding it up and attached it to the unit’s colors. “Colonel, we may need to order you a larger staff for your colors, we are running out of room for streamers here.” The President said,
“Let’s make that happen, I have a feeling we’ll be adding a few more before we are done.” Ben said.
CHAPTER 12
A brief reception was held in the garden of the Presidential Mansion following the ceremony, during which President Miller made it a point to shake hands and take a picture with everyone in the unit. He also pulled Ben aside for a brief talk.
“What can I do for you, Sir?” Ben asked.
“I have a question for you, Ben.” The President said. They had served together shortly after Ben had been commissioned. Fred Miller had been a senior Platoon leader that had helped mentor him. “How come most of the officers in your graduating class from the Academy are full Colonels and Brigadier Generals, or Captains and Commodor
es, and yet you are still a Lieutenant Colonel?”
“Haven’t given it much thought, Sir.”
“Well, others have, Ben. And by all accounts being an O-5 at 19 years is respectable. And you certainly aren’t alone from your class. There are even a few Majors. But you should be wearing a star on your collar by now.”
“I’m glad you think so, Sir. But I am okay where I’m at.” Ben said, as Miller lit a cigarette, offering Ben one, which he accepted.
“Frankly, Ben it’s not about you being okay where you’re at. It’s about the big picture. If you had remained with the normal infantry, you’d probably be commanding a division by now. God knows the Commandant would give you one if you asked. Only thing holding you back is you.”
“I like my command, Sir. I believe commanding a Special Missions Unit fits my skill set perfectly.” Ben replied. He knew the President wanted him moving up the chain of command.
“No one doubts you are very good at it. What we doubt is whether or not you are living up to your full potential though. Does your team know about you turning down command of an independent Special Operations Group?”
“No, Sir.” Ben said, lighting his cigarette.
“Well, you can’t turn down the next one. Danny Hardfighter will brief you when you get back to Leatherneck.” Miller said, leaning back against a tree. “There is a major operation in the works right now, and your unit is going to be on the pointy end of things with this one. If there is anything you need before you get sent back into the fight, you let me know.”
“There is one thing, sir.”
“Replacements?”
“Yes, sir.” Ben said.
“You will have replacements waiting for you on Koliath. Also, you and your team have new equipment waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Ben said, shaking the President’s hand.
***
The trip back to Koliath began the following day. Among the team, there was a general sense of sadness over leaving Earth, but also some excitement too. Teufelhund took the team aboard in Earth orbit and made the transit through the asteroid belt in short order before arriving at a staging area near Jupiter. The light cruiser received two squadrons of starfighters for her first mission after her refit, and spent several hours awaiting the ships she was to escort.
Ben stood on the bridge with Colonel McMillan. “So who are we escorting? A troop convoy?”
“Not exactly.” McMillan said.
“Conn, Sensors. We have seven contacts coming out of the belt. Indications are at least three are big boys. Visual range in two minutes.”
“Here they are now.” McMillan said. Through the aft facing windows on the bridge, Ben thought he could see the light of the ships’ exhaust.
“We have them on visual sensors, sir.” The Sensor Operator said.
“Put it up on all boards.” McMillan ordered. Ben looked at the screen below the window. “Is that a battleship?”
“It is. We’re forming with her group for the trip out to Koliath. Brand new ship, too. UCSS New Jersey.”
“That’s a big ship.” Ben said.
“That she is. Six hundred meters long, eighteen gun main battery, sixteen inchers I think. Forty secondary five inch guns and over a hundred point defense guns, plus twice as many missiles and torpedoes as we could carry.”
“That’s one hell of a battlewagon.” Ben said, impressed. He was really impressed as the ship came alongside, and he saw how truly large she was. “She’s gotta be damned near the size of a carrier.”
“Almost. I’d hate to be on the business end of that.” McMillan said, turning around. “Helm, form up with the squadron.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Comm crackled to life. “Teufelhund, this is New Jersey, transmitting jump coordinates now. Form up in trail.”
“Acknowledged.” McMillan replied. Teufelhund formed at the rear, behind the light cruiser UCSS Juneau. Ahead of the battleship was the heavy cruiser Long Beach. Four destroyers formed on the flanks of the squadron. On the New Jersey’s signal, the squadron made the jump to warp speed.
***
The trip back to the Koliath system and Starbase Leatherneck was uneventful. Ben felt a bit of disappointment that the enemy didn’t try and attack, because he wanted to see New Jersey in action. Colonel McMillan, however, told him to be patient. He figured it wouldn’t be long before the big ship lived up to her motto: “Firepower for Freedom.”
Ben had his team report back to their barracks for the day, and scheduled a briefing for 0700 the next morning, before setting off to find Brigadier General Hardfighter. Sid caught up with him on the way and asked to tag along. “Sure,” Ben said with a shrug.
“Is it just me, or is this part of the base…busier?” She said, noticing more Marines milling about or hitting the various training facilities available on the Special Operations annex.
“Yes, actually, it does.” Ben said.
Ben and Sid arrived at Danny’s office and knocked. “Enter,” The General said, standing as the two junior officers stepped in. “Sir, 1st Special Missions Unit is present and ready for orders.”
“Good. Your replacements will report to you tomorrow morning…Sit, please, we have much to discuss.” Danny said, offering Ben and Sid seats.
“An operation I presume, Sir? What sort of heinous fuckery have you planned for our merry band of interplanetary hitmen?”
“Such language, and to a General?” Danny feigned indignation. “We have a big operation coming down from command. Actually the largest single landing our Corps has undertaken so far.” Danny put up a picture of a planet on the wall display.
“This is Chiodrick III. I believe you are familiar with it?”
“Yes, Sir. We did an intervention there….twelve years ago. Both the Coalition and the Narcanians had colonies there, and they weren’t exactly on friendly terms. We had to enforce a cease fire between rival militias.” Ben nodded.
“Yeah. That was some seriously ugly bullshit. Anyway, Intelligence reports the Banor are holding the world with a small field army: Two divisions of their crack troops, plus six divisions of conscripts, total combined arms package. They have artillery, armor, and some air support.”
“And they expect us to take that down with two divisions of Marines?” Sid asked.
“No. We’re still working out all the details of the operation, but in addition to Expeditionary Corps Lima, we know we are bringing Lieutenant General Reynolds’ Expeditionary Corps Mike, Plus a Corps each from the Valderans and Kntarians”
“How many troops does that give us?” Ben asked.
“About 200,000 troops. We’ll be going in with a fleet for support…or at least, the eight divisions will be.”
“We won’t?” Ben asked.
“No. Our Special Missions units are going in first, as pathfinders and to raise as much hell as possible.” Danny said.
“Special Missions Units?” Ben put emphasis on the plural “units”.
“Yes. We have a total of eight Special Missions Units and two Raider Battalions deploying before the main landing. In total we are landing about a thousand Marines ahead of the main force.”
“Who will be in overall command on the ground?” Ben asked.
“Actually, you.” Danny said. “I will be coordinating with the theatre JSOC Commander, and Colonel Marye will be leading the remainder of our brigade in the first wave of landings to conduct precision strikes immediately before the main force lands. So you will be in overall command of the advanced party.”
“What are my duties expected to be for that, General?” Ben asked.
“Make sure everyone gets their jobs done. Each Special Missions Unit and Raider Company is receiving its own set of sealed orders. You will have access to each of those sets of orders, but no one else will have access to anyone’s orders other than their own. This way, should anyone be captured even under the most intense interrogation methods the entire mission will not be compromised.”
Danny looked to Sid. “Major Dawn. I hate to do this…”
“But you need me to leave, sir?” Sid said, standing.
“Please. Understand this is not a slight against you, but Colonel Pierce and I have much to discuss and a lot of it is compartmentalized information that, for your benefit, it’s best you are not aware of.”
“I understand, Sir. By your leave?”
“Dismissed. And Major, not a word of this to anyone.”
“Yes General.” She said, turning on her heel and departing. After she left Danny looked at Ben. “You know, she is a perfectly wonderful woman. Beautiful, smart, seems to have it all together. And I might not want to court martial you for being involved with her.”
“I believe she is married. Or at least in a long-term committed relationship, with kids.” Ben said. “You’re not still thinking I’m giving the command scepter to my Corpsman are you?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you. Remember the Kntarian?”
“Yeah. Oh yeah, I remember. Hard to forget. No. I’m not. Now, about this mission, Sir?”
“Yes. The mission. You have my apologies, first off, that you don’t have more time to prepare…”
CHAPTER 13
1st Special Missions Unit was gathered in the briefing room in their headquarters complex, waiting for Ben. When he finally walked in from the door to his office, everyone stood at attention. “As you were.” Ben said. A few murmurs came up from the assembled Operators when they noticed he was wearing a third diamond on the collar of his utility uniform, indicating the rank of full Colonel.
“Alright. First off, I have some housekeeping to take care of. Wilkie has rejoined us after his convalescence, welcome back.” He said pointing to the Operator who was wounded assaulting the command and control facility two months previous. “Also returning, is Staff Sergeant Jenny Rickles. Jenny was critically wounded on Tyrannia, and we are glad to finally have her back with us.”
Everyone applauded Jenny, who stood and waved. “And a new recruit. Sergeant Danielle Burke is our new heavy weapons gunner.” Ben said, gesturing to the fresh-faced brunette woman sitting near the back of the room.
