Jethro: First to Fight (33 page)

Myers cleared her throat. “You better
clear out before the media gets here. We don't want them knowing about you.
Dismissed Corporal.”

He came to attention, saluted both women,
then hustled back to his post.

...*...*...*...*...

The medical staff finished with the navy
exams and turned their attention on the Marines for more in-depth follow up
exams. The Marines had yearly physical exam for all Marines, a requirement
since they were in a lot of hand to hand combat. They were therefore used to
the unwanted attention, and sometimes had a bit of fun with it and teased or
harassed the nursing staff to get back at them. A few had to be reminded that
they were bordering insubordination, taking the fun out of it.

Doctor Thornby was out of it, she had
her hands full with a side project. Something about breeding and the medical
equipment the recon squad had been guarding on Anvil. Fortunately the equipment
had finally been transferred to the Annex and the medical facilities there.
According to what Fonz had overheard, some of the equipment had even been
shipped to San Diego to be set up there for the resurrection project.

Doctor Standish and his partner who had
been brought on board for the routine exams approached Jethro. “What's up doc?
Docs?” Jethro asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. He hated being stuck in
the paper patient outfit. It was demeaning, he was a cat. He had fur. He wasn't
body shy, he didn't mind going nude.

“Um, well, we would like to look into
you more. We'd like to...”

“You'd like to see how I tick doc?”
Jethro asked.

“Um, something like that. More like, how
your cloak ticks,” Doctor Standish said. “I'm confused by what we know about it
and you. Your readings are off the baseline doctor Thornby established and I'd
like to know why.”

“I see...” Jethro said slowly. He didn't
like the idea of playing guinea pig, but he wouldn't mind knowing more about
his cloak and how to use it.  they wanted to explore his cloak.

“We've checked. There isn't much
literature on the subject, none at all quite frankly. We'd like to change that.
Doctor Thornby's notes and a few missives in the historical section are all we
have to go on,” the civilian doctor said.

“Okay, I'm game. I have some
information, I assumed you had it too,” Jethro said.

“Gentlemen, what you are looking into is
technically classified,” Firefly informed them, breaking into the conversation.
All the organics looked at the ceiling in consternation or annoyance. The civilian
looked abashed. “You need to stop poking into something that doesn't concern
you.”

“This concerns me,” Jethro said, eyes
up. “Commander, Private medical issue. Butt out.”

“I cannot allow you to access the
classified files,” the AI replied tartly.

"But there is no blockage from us
testing for ourselves right?" Doctor Standish asked.

“As long as you do not publish your
findings. Whatever you discover will be classified doctor.”

The civilian blinked, looking a bit put
off. Apparently he'd bet on the idea of breaking ground on the subject to gain
a little fame. "Uh, no..."

"What I'm saying is wouldn't it be
nice if every Marine had your ability?" doctor Standish demanded. "I
mean the ability to cloak." He waved a hand to Jethro.

"I'm not sure the galaxy is ready
for a bunch of naked Marines running around doc," Jethro joked as he
wrestled with his feelings. He liked being unique, being different. Would it
be... is it... is it wrong to change that? he thought for a moment and then
felt a bit of shame when the needs of the corps came to mind.

"And therein lies a dilemma
doctor," Firefly said.

"Why?"

"If this tech became common, then
the enemy, in this case the Horathian's could get a hold of it and copy
it."

"And they'd have an army
of..." the doctor's eyes widened comically.

"I doubt they would go so far as to
modify their epidermis but you are essentially correct. The threat
exists."

"But we can limit the application
to Neo's right?" Jethro asked.

"Yes that's true. Neo's like
Corporal Letanga and Tungulria have the chrometaphore ability. But they leave a
blurry after image. I was wondering why they don't have your cloak,” Thornby
mussed rubbing her chin in thought.

"Do a comparison doctor. I'm sure
you'll figure it out," Jethro suggested.

They called in the other Neo's who had
various cloaking abilities. Doctor Standish explained to them the project and
then ran tests. The doctors scanned them with electromagnetic and graviton
fields to map their neural transmitters and to try to figure out where the
abilities stemmed from. They made a few advances but were frustrated in their
ignorance.

The other Neo's had limited cloaking
ability and were not of much help, none knew much about how the cloak worked,
just in how to initiate it. Some had the ability to stay in cloak only when
they remained motionless and calm. Others could move, but at a very slow pace
and were limited to about five minutes.

There were fifteen Neo Marines with the
ability. All were canines or felines. Many of the Marines were posted at other
locations so they couldn't be on hand for more than a day. So they focused
their exploration on Jethro and Letanga. The medics realized the cloak was more
than just a chrometaphore ability. He could naturally manipulate a field around
him that in turn manipulated the electromagnetic spectrum around him. It was
indeed a true cloaking field.

“How the hell does he do it?” Doctor
Standish demanded, frustrated. “It doesn't make sense! The chrometophore
ability, okay, I'll buy that. We've got that in nature, I've got the files. The
chameleon, cuddle-fish, I've seen the records of them. That part I get. But
this... This damn field!”

“Doctor, the body generates an electric
field with its nervous system. Could it be tied to that?”

Doctor Standish rubbed his jaw. “I... I
don't know,” he said slowly, thoughtfully.

They reviewed the records of cloak on
the station. They talked about how the admiral had been able to see Jethro's
father during their encounter. They ran a test, even with active sensors the
others couldn't see Jethro. “So, how did Firefly see my sire?” Jethro asked.
“Commander?”

“I shouldn't be telling you this...”
Firefly sighed. “But you are going to continue poking around so I might as
well. I'm not receiving your IFF, but I can get a general location from your
waste body heat.”

“Oh?”

“You have to breathe!” a nurse said,
snapping her fingers. She looked up to the ceiling. “That's it isn't it? He has
to exhale, and you can see the temperature difference in the air.”

“That... and I can sense his mass
interacting with the grav plates under him.”

“And I still have to pass through
hatches,” Jethro said, decloaking. He was panting.

The nurse looked at her digital timer.
“Only ten minutes.”

“I wasn't going for a record,” Jethro
said.

“I'm not sure how the admiral did it,”
the doctor mused. “I wish he had left notes but he didn't bother.”

“Could he have a sensory system we lack
sir?” Jethro speculated.

“Possible. Even probable. It's not
thermal. Or at least...” the doctor frowned.

“An overlay of all the senses? Using his
AI?”

“Or it could be something as simple as
smell,” Jethro replied, thinking back to his first encounter with the Gunny. He
had been using a blending technique, a less energy intensive trick to blend
into the background but the Gunny had seen or smelled him anyway.

“Smell?” the doctor asked, looking up in
surprise.

“Something I was taught, my father
taught me. I can adjust my scent but it is still there. Gunny picked me out on
my first day of boot. I hadn't been cloaked at the time but I hadn't been
exactly advertising my presence either.”

“Interesting.”

“Gravitational anomaly... motion...
UV... or it could have been that my father didn't suppress his heat signature
well enough.”

“Oh? You can control that?”

“Yes,” Jethro admitted. “If I do not
suppress my heat signature I can triple or quadruple my time in stealth.
Sometimes I will do that, phase in the suppression as I get into a target's
field of view. It depends on the situation. Suppressing my heat signature is
exhausting.”

“I bet it is.”

“It's also dangerous. I can overheat
fast and cook my own organs in minutes if I'm not careful.”

The doctor's eyes widened. “I suggest
you do not do it then.”

“I know my limits doctor. My implants
help a bit. I would like to find a better way though. Something to let me
double my time in cloak.”

“Hmmm...”

“If it's even possible. Meditation is
supposed to help but it's rather difficult to meditate when someone's shooting
at you if you know what I mean,” Jethro said dryly.

The medic cracked a smile. “I see.”

They unfortunately didn't have the means
to test for more information though. Without proper sensing and proper
information they didn't know what else to do to unlock the technique so they
were frustratingly stymied.

They tried to do research since Firefly
couldn't or wouldn't unlock the classified files. They were amused by the idea
of it, they even delved into watching old movies when they found little
information in the database. That activity started a movie clique with a few of
their friends and teammates who dropped by to see what they were doing.
Together they watched the Predator series as well as the Invisible man, Ghost
Dad, and other ancient films in the database. They found that the movie makers
had some concepts right... and many things wrong.

The doctors were crestfallen. They had
hoped to replicate the ability into other Neo cats and dogs.

Jethro wasn't so sure it would have
worked. He had picked up on a few things while they had been poking him. They
wanted to understand it, but they hadn't really thought out how to pass it on
to others. They definitely couldn't with the adults, if it was genetic they
would have had to of altered the DNA and passed it on to children, with brought
up a huge ethical issue. But that wasn't his only problem. He was fairly
certain now that his ability might be a legacy of his ancestor's Cadre or Recon
past.

In exploring Jethro they identified
abnormal growths in various parts of his body. Some were connected to his
nervous system. They appeared to be benign tumors, but a few were growing and
tended to be painful when they swelled. Jethro had noted twinges and pain, but
had assumed it had been from his PT. The doctor was concerned, he considered
removing them.

“I'm wondering why we didn't see them
before. I'm looked at your initial scans. They weren't there.”

“So, they weren't there but they are
there now. The question is what are they?” Jethro asked. He didn't like the
idea of things growing in his body. That bothered him. It also explained the
odd pains in his back.

“I'd remove them but I don't know what
they are,” the doctor replied. He frowned, staring at the chart as he rubbed
his chin.

“I'd just as soon you leave them sir, if
they aren't doing any harm...”

“Well, we can do I biopsy I suppose,”
the doctor mused.

Firefly's avatar appeared. They turned
in surprise. “I'm afraid not doctor. I'm going to have to insist you halt your
investigations. You are treading into classified territory.”

“He's my patient,” the doctor said,
pointing to Jethro as he held up the tablet. Behind him the images of Jethro's
growths suddenly wavered and then disappeared. So did the images on the tablet.

“As I said doctor, classified,” Firefly
insisted.

“But...”

“They aren't harmful doctor. I can't
tell you more than that.”

“I'm wondering if they are part of my
cloak,” Jethro mused. The AI turned to the Marine.

“I can't tell even you Corporal, you
don't have the need to know.”

“I don't have a need to know what is in
my own body sir?” Jethro asked, flicking an ear in humor.

“No.”

That simple answer had Jethro's ears go
flat. He stared at the AI. He stared at the AI for a long moment and then
turned to the doctor. “Fine. Doctor, I want them removed.”

“You can't do that,” Firefly said. “They
are benign.”

“This is a doctor patient matter. You
are intruding on it,” Jethro growled, not looking at the AI.

“Are you in any pain?” the AI asked.

“Not. Your. Concern. Sir,” Jethro ground
out.

“Doctor, as they are benign you do not
do elective surgeries. Do not remove them, do not biopsy them. Case closed,”
the AI said to Doctor Standish.

Standish stared at the AI and then to
Jethro. “That's an order Lieutenant,” the AI said, now with the crackle of
command voice in his tone.