Casserine

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Adrian peaked out from her fingers. “Really?”

  “I was the envy of every man on the ship,” Jake confirmed, continuing his ministrations. “Let’s see if I can attain a level worthy of another recording for the Tennyson.”

  “Oh…my…God.” Adrian gasped. “They record their com systems. Oh thank you for that added humiliation, you boob.”

  “Anything to please my little sidekick,” Jake replied, as Adrian pulled him closer.

  Chapter 7

  Revelations

  Adrian exited the shower, just as Jake came back into their room. He held his gear knife loosely by the handle as he waited for her to come out of the bathroom. She toweled her hair dry, walking provocatively towards Jake. With only his shorts on, Adrian could see the effect she had on him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “You planning to cut me up, Romeo?”

  “Not on your life,” Jake said, pulling her close with his free hand. He kissed her gently, engulfed and captivated by her scent to the point he pitched the gear knife to the floor. Adrian cried out as he embraced her feverishly, kissing her with abandon.

  “God, I love you,” Jake whispered in her ear.

  “Is that a club…in your pocket, big boy,” Adrian replied in a contrived husky voice, she had heard on a tape of an old time starlet, named Mae West, “.or are you just glad to see me?”

  “Let’s skip the dinner,” Jake said, lifting her up in his arms and burying his face in her neck.

  “Hey, easy there my love,” Adrian said, gripping Jake’s face in her hands. “Put me down. I don’t want to take another shower. We’ll be late for dinner, and I’m starving. C’mon now. Use a little of that Jarhead will power.”

  Jake relented, returning Adrian to her feet, but retaining his hold on her. “Did you see we were to be in full dress uniform?”

  “So?”

  “What do you think that’s all about?”

  “The new commander probably believes a more formal tone adds to the discipline and morale of the crew. Tim told me this was her first command,” Adrian explained.

  Jake nodded thoughtfully. ‘Tea, okay, I can buy that.”

  “You should be proud to wear what you’ve earned,” Adrian pointed out, as she moved from his embrace to their closet.

  “I am proud,” Jake agreed, retrieving his knife from the floor. “I just don’t like to.”

  “Show off,” Adrian finished.

  “Maybe,” Jake admitted.

  “I love to see you in your uniform. Maybe we could play horny Marine, and ravished nurse later when we get back,” Adrian offered, as she swayed a little, looking at Jake over her shoulder.

  “Oh baby, are you going to regret that offer,” Jake said admiringly.

  ‘What did you plan to do with the knife?” Adrian asked, as she put on her uniform.

  “I was going to show you what I had promised Risling I would not show you.”

  Adrian walked over, pulling her uniform blouse into place. “So show me. I didn’t think it would have anything to do with knife tricks.”

  Jake laughed. With the knife in his right hand, he slashed it across his left forearm. Adrian gasped, lunging forward to stop him, but it was too late.

  “Jake, what. “ Adrian grabbed his left arm, but the only indication of the knife slash was a faint red line, disappearing while she watched. She took the knife from Jake, and tested the edge with a sock she took out of Jake’s drawer. Adrian split the sock in two with one swipe.

  “Hey, use your own sock,” Jake protested.

  Adrian turned back towards Jake, amazement plainly etched on her face. “How can this be?”

  “The Med Officer, Risling has keeping track of me, thinks it has to do with the Queen’s poison, and weird radiation you have been tracking from Casserine’s core. Add to the mix, years in this heavy gravity, plus Casserine’s mixed up atmosphere, and there you have it.”

  “Have what, some kind of mutating DNA soup inside of you? Are you all right? Maybe we should get the hell off of Casserine, Jake.”

  Jake put his arms around Adrian, pulling her to him. “I’m fine, and your reaction explains why Risling didn’t want me to tell you about it. He knew you’d be worried, and so did I.”

  “I don’t want to lose you,” Adrian whispered, with her face next to Jake’s chest.

  “You won’t lose me. I’m just assimilating into Casserine, or she’s assimilating me. So far, nothing but good has come of it. Remember when I took a header off of the stanchion in the fuel cell bay?”

  “Yea,” Adrian acknowledged, looking up at him. “I thought you would have had a broken back the way you landed, but all you suffered was the wind knocked out of you.”

  “My bone density has increased ten fold. You haven’t seen me on a scale for a long time, although I’ve seen you obsessing with it a lot lately.”

  “Don’t turn this on me,” Adrian retorted, pushing him away. “What about your weight?”

  “I weigh over twice my normal weight, but I am no larger than I was when I came to Casserine.”

  “I guess we’ll have to patch the floor the next time you fall,” Adrian joked. “So you’re telling me you’re becoming invulnerable?”

  “No, I can still be pierced, or blasted, or probably blown up,” Jake laughed, “but I don’t plan on experimenting with any of those. I’m just a little harder to damage, and I don’t lose any of my added strength when I leave Casserine, even if I’m gone for an extended period.”

  “You understand why this seems a little scary to me, don’t you?”

  “Believe me, I understand,” Jake replied. “My weight didn’t increase the last time we were checked out at the base, so I think whatever’s happening to me has stabilized. Doc Lee at the Base told me not to have anything happen he needed to operate on, because they’d have to cut me open with a laser cutter on max.”

  “That’s not funny, Jake,” Adrian said, moving back into his arms. “I’m glad you told me. We better finish getting ready, or we’ll be late. I need to process what you’ve told me.”

  “I didn’t get to spend much time with Tim. I missed him in the hanger bay.”

  “He handed me the packet. I think he’s looking forward to seeing you at dinner. He’s so young. You two sure get along well. I think he idolizes you.”

  “Tim was on Omaha,” Jake explained.

  “No way!” Adrian exclaimed. “How old was he, three?”

  “He was only sixteen. Tim was a gunner on one of the Drop Ships. He hosed the Bugs down so we could get on. Most of the ship’s crew personnel we lost at the mining colony were killed trying to pick up Marines. They wouldn’t leave us to be eaten, and until they were ordered not to do it, they would plunk down right in the middle of hell. The Drop Ship crews saved a lot of us grunts, but they couldn’t afford the losses.”

  “So what did they do?” Adrian asked, cringing at the thought of what it must have been like.

  “If we were overrun, they hovered and blew everything away.”

  “Good Lord!”

  “There was no other way, Adrian,” Jake continued. “Dropping in to try and save an overrun position was suicide. Tim was transferred on the Drop Ship our platoon went out on missions with. He worked the deck gun on one of the last times a Drop ship attempted a rescue. Second division was on the verge of being overrun, and called for help. The Drop Ship Tim was on answered the call. We heard the transmission over.”

  “Why didn’t you just blast them from the air?” Adrian interrupted. “Why land anyone?”

  “We were bait. The things would only come out from underground when they could get at a bunch of us. We needed intel on the things. They wiped out an entire colony, except for a few people who made it to the tankers. By the time a Cruiser made it to the orbiting tanker ships, the Bugs were gone.”

  “Anyway,” Jake went on, “I belonged to Third Division, and we were out playing hide and seek with Second Division. When they called for help, we wen
t in to cover their flank. By the time we arrived, the Bugs were almost to the Drop Ship, and had cut off half of Second Division. It was a massacre. We hit them with everything we had, and managed to keep them from overrunning the ship. We didn’t have particle beam weapons at the time, and our Pulse blasters were overheating.”

  “Tim’s laser canon overheated on the ship, and he came out to cover the rescue with his pulse blaster. The kid didn’t even have any armor on,” Jake said, shaking his head at the recollection. “He may be young looking, but he’s been to hell.”

  “Where was your air support?”

  “On the other side of the planet with First Division. They joined the party a little late. We underestimated them, and they made us pay the price for a long time.”

  “How could one Queen birth so many?” Adrian asked. “You did say there was only one Queen, right?”

  “The scientists on the command ship studied the corpses we dragged out of there for their labs. They told us eventually how these things could keep coming in the thousands. The Queen created more eggs in times of threat to the Bugs. Somehow, the Queen could sense if its colony’s existence was in danger of extinction. She would then go into a super procreation mode. The maturation time accelerated too. That was the way they finally located her nest.”

  “So, that’s when you met Tim?”

  “Yep,” Jake answered. “Russell, Stassinas, and Corey were all on Omaha too. They crew on the Tennyson, and they all did time on one of the Drop Ships we had flying back and forth from Omaha’s surface. Thousands of our casualties happened during the time we were learning the way they attacked. The Bugs could come up right underneath our troops, and disappear before the cruisers could vaporize them.”

  “You were telling me about Tim. He came out after his gun went bad on the ship without armor, to cover the men coming aboard.”

  Jake nodded. “Yea, the cruiser finally made it to the action, and began wiping out the Bugs. They disappeared underground, as usual, but one came up underneath Tim, knocking him twenty feet in the air. He lost consciousness when he hit the ground. I made it to the Bug before it made it to Tim. I pulled him up on my back, and headed full tilt back to the Drop Ship, with my squad covering us. Tim came to while I was boarding. We had already met, but he and I were pretty close after that. We’ve kept in touch. He came to visit me on the Med ship a couple of times before I was shipped out. Imagine my surprise when I saw him aboard the Tennyson about six months before I met you. He introduced me to the other vets from Omaha.”

  “Jake, did they make any vid discs of the war on Omaha? I’d like to see them, if I can get a hold of any.”

  Jake smiled, and shook his head with a look of resignation. “Funny you should mention that. When rumor began circulating, a board of inquiry would be convened at base over the way the war was handled, somehow all record of the battles disappeared.”

  “So much for research, but still a great story, Jake. I better get you the package the General gave to Tim. You’re supposed to see it first.” Adrian went to retrieve the package while Jake began dressing. She returned with the packet, and handed it to Jake.

  “I’ll be right back,” Jake said, going into the other room. There were three discs in the packet, and one said see first, eyes only, Major Matthews. One was marked Lieutenant Byers, while the third disc label read Starship Troopers. Jake sat down at his desk, putting on the audio headset attached to the viewer. He put in the first disc. General Risling’s face appeared, and Jake heard his familiar voice.

  “Well Major, I have a surprise for you,” Risling began with a smile, Jake did not think had anything to do with happiness. “Here’s what I want you to do. Take this old movie, Starship Troopers, on board the Tennyson, and play it for the ship’s crew. Make sure everyone gets to see it. I want you to comment on it to the ship’s crew after everyone has had a chance to see it together. I think you’ll understand why after you see it.”

  Risling paused, and ran a slightly trembling hand through his short-cropped gray hair. He looked away from the screen for a moment before continuing. “Jake, there’s been another Bug attack on the new mining colony at Bougainville. We lost five hundred men, women, and children there. About two thousand escaped on the ship we have ready to go at every colony since Omaha. Bougainville lies in the same approximate sector as Omaha, and boasts the same rich deposits of Zirillium Crystals.”

  “We have a Marine force there now doing recon on the location of the nest. Tell no one about the attack until after the movie. The Tennyson will be heading to Bougainville next with the cargo of fuel cells from Casserine. When you get back from the Tennyson, call me. The disc I earmarked for Lieutenant Byers explains about your condition, and lets her in on my reasoning for keeping her out of the loop. I hope it smoothes things out for you. Risling out.”

  Adrian came into the room a few minutes later to find Jake staring at a blank viewer. He sat so still, she thought at first he must have dozed off, until she noticed his breathing. It sounded almost as if he were gasping for breath, only much quieter. She hurried over, and put an arm around him.

  “Jake, are.”

  He launched up out of his chair, throwing Adrian back a few feet, and nearly overturning the desk. As Jake spun to face her, she saw the wild rage etched into his face. His fists were clenched so tightly, they were the epitome of white knuckled tension. His head swiveled back and forth, as he searched for some unseen enemy. When he realized where he was, and his eyes focused on a very frightened Adrian, Jake’s countenance of fury changed instantly to one of concern.

  “I’m sorry, Adrian,” Jake rasped out haltingly. “Are you all right?”

  “What the hell was on that disc, Jake?” Adrian asked, hurrying over to Jake, and wrapping her arms around his waist. It felt as if she were hugging the rock surface of Casserine. “What did Risling have to say?”

  “He ordered me to take this movie disc over to the Tennyson, and to give a speech after it ends,” Jake replied, enfolding Adrian in his arms. “I will relay what he has told me then. He sent a disc for you to see.”

  Jake disengaged from Adrian gently, guiding her into the chair, and extracted the first tape. He put the one meant for Adrian in. With the other discs in hand, Jake turned towards the door to their bedroom.

  “I’ll finish getting dressed while you view what Risling has to say toyou.”

  Adrian caught his hand, stopping him. She drew it back to her face with both of her hands, caressing her cheek against it. “I love you, Jake.”

  Jake knelt down next to her. He kissed her gently on the mouth, as he cradled her face in his hands. He pulled back after a time, smiling at her. “I love you too, Honey.”

  “You’re scaring me, you know?”

  “Tea, I know,” Jake answered wearily. “See what he has to say, while I get ready to go.”

  “Okay, but don’t go anywhere,” Adrian ordered.

  “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Adrian started the viewer with a shaky hand. Risling’s face appeared as she slipped on the audio headset.

  “Hello Lieutenant,” Risling greeted her brightly. “I will get right to it. You may have noticed Jake’s assimilation time from gravity to gravity appears nonexistent.”

  “I noticed, you pompous.”

  “He was ordered by me to say nothing of it to you.” Risling went into a detailed explanation of what information they had gathered on Jake’s physical changes since beginning their audit of his condition. Risling explained the differences from Jake’s profile as a new recruit to the readings taken on their last visit to base.

  “You have adapted to Casserine as well as any human being could, Lieutenant, but you have experienced none of Jake’s changes in physiology. Something has come up, which will require Jake’s expertise. He will explain that part of it after he talks with me. Remind him to call me right after the movie I sent for all of you to watch on the Tennyson. Jake’s physical condition will remain top-secret, Lieutenant. You
are to tell no one. Risling out.”

  Adrian switched off the viewer and went into the bedroom. Jake had finished putting on his dress uniform. She watched him fumble the top snap closed. Putting her arms around him from behind, Adrian rested her face against his back. Jake put his hands over hers where they lie on his chest. They stood without moving for a few moments before Jake spoke.

  “Anything bad?”

  “Risling decided to let me in on your secret, so it was mostly a rehash of what you had already told me. He said to remind you to call him after the movie we have to show on the Tennyson. You will talk to me later, won’t you? I mean after you talk to him.”

  “You betcha,” Jake replied quietly. “Are you ready?”

  “As I will ever be, my love.”

  Chapter 8

  Bugs Again

  Adrian led Jake through the space lock into the normal gravity of the Tennyson. The lighter than air feeling buoyed her spirits as she saluted the colors smartly, and requested permission to come aboard from the Duty Officer. Jake followed suit, and shook hands with Tim, who had come to escort them to the chow hall.

  “It’s good seeing you, Sir,” Tim said.

  “What’s with the Sir. oh yeah, I heard about the new directives, Tim, sorry.”

  “No problem, Jake,” Tim said quietly. “I just don’t want to forget in front of Stedman.”

  “I understand.”

  “She’s really confused about this movie deal, Jake. Your call in request for an all ship’s company screening of some lamo old movie raised her blood pressure a little. When you tagged on the reference from General Risling, it really got her going.”

  “Why would she be so upset about it, Tim?” Adrian asked, as they walked along the corridors, pausing as Jake returned salutes from ship’s crew, who saw his Medal of Honor.

  “Ah…well…you see.” Tim stammered uncomfortably.

  “Spit it out, Tim,” Adrian demanded.

  Tim shrugged. “She knows a little about the on going legend concerning Casserine’s guardians.”