Captain (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 4) (12 page)

“Carry on, Captain.  The sergeant major told me about your field day here, so we thought we’d come take a look.  You do have all your patrols out and security manned, correct?”

“Yes, sir, we do,” he assured the CO.

“And I take it you are about to play yourself?”

Ryck wasn’t sure if there was a note of displeasure in the CO’s voice or not, but he was committed, and he was standing there in his utes and boots.  Hard to deny that.

“Yes, sir, Headquarters is getting in one game.”

“Well, unless Gunnery Sergeant Samuelson is the only chef, perhaps the sergeant major and I can get a steak and watch?”

“Certainly, sir.”  Ryck looked around and spotted Chomsky’s platoon sergeant.  “Staff Sergeant Kondo, please have someone rustle up the CO and the sergeant major a plate.”

Gunny PICS was not going to let the CO’s presence keep him from his sacred duty, and he was impatiently motioning for both teams to get in position.

“Don’t let me keep you, Captain.  Gunnery Sergeant McTanish is ready to kick this off.”

Ryck ran to his team’s goal line, where Hecs asked, “Anything up with that?”

Ryck just shrugged his shoulders.  He couldn’t change anything, so he might as well enjoy the game.  Gunny PICS blew the whistle, and Ryck joined the mad rush to get to the battleball first.

It had been a number of years since Ryck had played, and in his rush to be first, he launched himself at the ball, hitting it a little high just as several Marines from First hit it on the other side.  For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction, and Ryck’s reaction was to get bounced backward up in the air to land on his ass three meters back.  He could hear the roar of the crowd as he scrambled back up—only to be taken down hard, his breath knocked out of him.

“Sorry ’bout that, sir,” a ginning Sergeant Joab Ling said, looking down at him. 

“Grubbing hell, Ling,” Ryck said to one of his long-time Marines. “
Et tu?”

“All’s fair in love and war—and
Battleball
!” Ling shouted as he rushed to join the rest of his team pushing the ball.

At least Ling wasn’t going to birddog Ryck, à la Summers and Jeff.  Ryck struggled back to his feet again, then ran to try and join the defense.  It was too late.  The big ball had momentum, and within a minute, it was First:  1, Headquarters:  0.

The next score went to Headquarters.  The ball had bounced out to the side, and Sams,
Çağlar
, and Sergeant Singh, the admin chief were in position to take advantage of it, pushing the ball on a breakaway down the sidelines.  Two Marines from First converged on them, but when Sams’ chef hat began to slip down, and he reached up to right it, the two First Platoon Marines couldn’t resist and took him down, letting the other two score.

“Still got it!” Sams shouted as he got up, hat securely in place.

Ryck was in on one score, and more importantly, he took Ling down hard, eliciting hoots from the crowd.  With the score 4 to 3 in favor of First, Singh, quickly followed by Yarby, went down to injuries.  Neither was serious, but this was not do-or-die, so both Marines left the game.  With no one else to pull, Headquarters had to go on short-handed.  Within two minutes, the score was 6 to 3.  It was going to be a blow-out.

As Gunny PICS was setting up the battleball again, the CO walked out on the field and approached him.

Is he going to call the game?
Ryck wondered.

Sure, they were getting trashed, but Marines don’t quit.  Ryck started to get angry.  This was not the message to send.

The CO walked off the field, but Gunny PICS didn’t blow the whistle.  It wasn’t until then that Ryck noticed the CO and the sergeant major were taking off their blouses.  When the two trotted out to join Headquarters, it became clear.  They were going to play.

“I hope you don’t mind us joining you.  I spoke with Gunny McTanish, and he agreed that as part of the battalion headquarters, we were eligible to join you.  If you’ll have us, that is.”

“Hell yeah!” the XO shouted.  “I mean, yes, sir, but it’s up to the skipper.”

Not really
, Ryck thought. 

But he said, “Glad to have you with us, sir.  And you, Sergeant Major.”

Then Gunny PICS blew the whistle, and matters were OBE.
[17]

The CO was immediately in motion, and the rest of the team was a half-step behind.  LtCol uKhiwa was short and broad-shouldered, and he hit the ball low a split second before a couple of Marines from First reached hit.  Hitting it low, the CO managed to launch the big, heavy ball into the air, where it hit Jeff and LCpl Hotchkins in their faces, surprising them and knocking them flat on their backs.  The CO didn’t stop, trampling Jeff in the chest as he kept the ball moving.  The entire headquarters team joined in, and with two men trying to get back up, First couldn’t gather themselves, and Headquarters got a quick goal. 

The Marines on the sidelines were going crazy.  Several ran out on the field and fell to their backs in fake swoons as Gunny PICS screamed at them to get off the field. 

“Sir, that was awesome!” Ryck shouted, pounding on the CO’s back.

“That’s how you get it done, Captain,” the CO said, a grin running ear-to-ear and a trickle of blood running from his nose. 

He wiped the blood with his hand and seemed to be surprised to see it.  He probably hadn’t known he’d been hit, Ryck thought.  When the CO looked at the Marines close to him, he smiled and made a show of licking the blood off of his hand.  Which, of course, drove the on-looking Marines wild again.

The rest of the game was more even, both teams trading goals.  Ryck got one breakaway, and he leveled Ling again, putting him one up on the sergeant.  The CO got zeroed a couple of times, but he gave more than he received.  Jeff got up limping after one nasty hit from him, and Ryck knew he would be going to Doc for some nanos that evening. 

With the score tied at nine-all, the final push broke down into a long, drawn-out exhibition of brute force.  Ryck was exhausted as he tried to hold back the inexorable force that pushed them back, step-by-step.  The CO was beside him, his lungs heaving like bellows.  Several times, the XO went low, under the ball, using his body as an obstacle to make the opposing Marines stumble.  This bought them time, but the young bodies on the other side were just too much for them.  Ryck wanted to win badly, but when Gunny PICS blew the whistle signaling a score, he was almost relieved.

Both teams lined up for the handshake. As each team filed past each other, Ryck pulled in Sgt Ling.

“Don’t think I’m going to forget that cheap shot there, Sergeant of Marines,” he said into Ling’s ear.

“Oh, shout it loud, sir, I think you more than got me back,” Ling said with a rueful laugh.

Ryck pounded Ling on the shoulder, and they filed past each other.  The crowd clapped through the handshakes, and as the exhausted warriors reached the sidelines, Marines stood there with full plates to give to them.  Ryck needed a few moments to catch his breath, but the steak did look delicious, and finally, he was going to get a bite of each. 

Ryck was appreciative of the gesture, even if he knew it wasn’t entirely altruistic.  While Ryck had to wait to be the last person to eat, no one could get seconds until he’d been served, and Marines were hanging around like vultures at the lion’s kill, waiting to descend on the serving line again.  Ryck cut off a small piece of steak, then sniffed at it, taking in the aroma.  He turned the piece around on his fork as if admiring it.  He started to take a bite, but then stopped, as a groan swept through the Marines. 

“Oh, you want me to eat this?” he asked innocently.

“Yes, sir!” came the chorus.

Ryck put the steak into his mouth, and there was a mad rush for the line.

Private
Çağlar
, I’m not sure you now qualify for seconds, seeing as you lost your first serving on the field, so go get yourself another helping,” he said.

Çağlar
reddened, probably embarrassed.  He’d lost his meal five minutes into the game.  He hurried off, though, to get some more.

“Good game, First Sergeant, don’t you think?” he asked.

“As you say, it was ‘grubbing righteous,’” Hecs replied excitedly.  “Did you see when me and the sergeant major crushed Oppenheimer?”

“No, but I’m sure he deserved it,” Ryck said with a laugh.

Hecs was glowing.  He’d really gotten into the game.  He might have been putting on a show of complaining, but a Marine was a Marine, and they wouldn’t,
couldn’t
back down from combat in any of its forms.

Ryck was relieved that his decision to play had worked out.  He’d had fun, and he’d gotten some of his own stress relieved, but more importantly, he thought they’d acquitted themselves well.  They’d earned their cred.  And he had to admit, the CO joining in had been brilliant.  To the average Marine, a battalion CO was some far off, impossibly high personage, beyond mere mortal concerns.  He was a concept, not a real person.  By getting dirty and mixing it up, he proved that he was a real Marine, one of them.  He’d gained his own cred, and one which had elevated his position among the men.

Ryck took his plate and started circulating among the Marines.  He noted the CO was doing the same.  Marines didn’t seek either of them out, but they knew where the two commanders were at any time, and they seemed genuinely pleased when either of them stopped to talk.

Ryck had to keep in mind what it meant to a Marine when his commander talked with him.  In many ways, Ryck was still Recruit Lysander in his mind, and Hecs was Drill Instructor “King Tong”
Phantawisangtong
.  Although he was now a captain, the rank had become the new norm.  Colonels and above were the unreachable ones.  But when he was a private, or even a sergeant, a company commander was someone important, and a chance comment from a captain could thrill him or send him into the depths of worry.  Ryck really had to fight to keep in mind how what he said and what he did would be perceived. 

When Second and Third fought for the championship, Ryck joined the CO and watched.  He tried not to be biased, but it was impossible not to cheer.  He just tried to cheer both sides equally.  Second Platoon won, something Ryck would not have foreseen.  The CO surprised Ryck when the sergeant major pulled out a trophy from his assault pack and gave it to the CO to present to Lieutenant Chomsky.  That was a really good touch, and it was something he should have thought of.

The CO gave a small speech, thanking the company not only for a good time, but for the great job they were doing.  The speech was short and sweet, but it received a very loud chorus of “ooh-rahs.”

Ryck felt a warm glow, despite the fact that he knew the company hadn’t done much.  Most of the action, what there was of it, had been met by the other three companies.  Weapons Company had done more than Charlie, a line company.  He’d thought the colonel had arrived perhaps to chew his ass, but the man seemed happy.  That brought him to his thoughts of a little while before.  He guessed he was no different from his Marines.  While they might want Ryck’s approval, Ryck wanted LtCol uKhiwa’s approval. 

He was surprised when the CO said, “Come walk with me, Captain,” after the trophy presentation. Was he in trouble after all?

“So, did this field day accomplish what you wanted?” he asked.

Grubbing shit,
he thought. 
Was this a bad idea in a combat situation?

“Yes, sir.  I thought the men were getting complacent.  I needed to snap them out of it.  Complacency kills,” he answered.

“Hmm,” the CO said.

“Hmm?” What the hell does that mean?

“We’ll see.  But I wanted to pass you some intel.  Nothing concrete yet, but you need to be aware of it.  There has been some chatter that you, you and Charlie Company, might be a target.”

That caught Ryck’s attention.

“Due to your position in the public eye,” he began, one of the few times Ryck had heard him refer to Ryck’s status as a so-called “hero,” “it would be a coup for the dissidents to be able to inflict some damage on the company, particularly if they could kill or capture you.  Captain Rotigue has been fully integrated into the situation, and as you can imagine, he said this will not happen.  Just so you know, there was talk of pulling you back to the ship, to get you out of harm’s way.”

Ryck’s heart dropped.  The
Inchons
’ CO was in overall command, and if he wanted Ryck relieved of command, it was his call.

“Marines don’t run from threats, though, so you still have the company for now.  But I assured the CO that we would take precautions.  I’m sending the Three over tomorrow to go over how you set up your security here, and as more detailed intel is released to us, we’ll be working on a course of action.  For now, keep your patrols running.  And I don’t want you coming in for each day’s briefing.  I want you and Captain Knickerson to attend via conference call from now on unless otherwise specified.  If you do need to come in, try and frag a bird first, but if you are taking ground transport, I want you with more than just your driver for security.  I am not sure the dissidents can mount any real action against your position here, but a snatch and grab against you is within the realm of possibilities.”