Jethro: First to Fight (49 page)

“I'll join you,” Ox rumbled getting to
his feet. The assistant looked him over and then shrugged.

“Come on then, time's a wasting.”

“Hope he doesn't plan on tearing into
anything after having a couple of belts,” Jethro said.

The Chief finished chugging his beer and
then set it down on the tray as well. He patted his belly and then burped. He
wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Nah, he'll be fine. They'll log it for later.
Speaking of later, I've got to drain the little man and then toddle off to bed.
Long day in the morning. Night,” he said stumbling to his feet. He tottered out
stiffly.

“Wow, three drinks and they are
plastered. Civilians,” Sergei rumbled with a laugh.

“Not all of us are built like you,”
Jethro muttered taking a swig from his stein.

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

Captain Mayweather sipped at her coffee
mug, trying hard to not show her impatience. “You know, if the pirates get in,
I can see where running convoy escort could be important. So yeah, training for
it is important for the future I guess. I just can't really think of a way to
really appreciate the... extra time involved to do so,” she said wryly.

“True,” her XO replied, sipping at her
own coffee. She couldn't blame the skipper for being unhappy about the slow
speed in hyper, it was a pain. Their transit speed was reduced to the max the
bumbling freighters could handle despite their overhauls. That meant they were
going in the low octaves of Beta band.

Fortunately they could do the crossing
in six weeks, but it was still a lot longer than Firefly and Hecate could have
done alone. Even Destiny could handle the upper beta bands and could pull the
run off in less than four weeks if she'd been on her own or with the warships.

“Think of all that splendid time to
shake down and train indeed,” the Captain muttered, taking a deeper sip of her
coffee. “Your father has your sense of humor. I see where you got it from now,”
she said.

Shelby smiled. “Actually, I got my sense
of humor from my mom. Dad's is... close.”

“Really,” the Captain said, cradling her
drink.

“Tell me Captain, any trepidation on
your part when we entered hyper for the first time?” Shelby asked with a
teasing smile not quite hidden by her cup.

The Captain snorted, setting her cup
down. “No, Janice's good at her job.”

“I meant the hardware,” Shelby teased,
not letting it go. “Though some of our people were rusty,” she said.

“Despite all the sims, yes I know,” the
Captain replied. Crossing the alpha wall meant a bit of a hiccup in the
inertial dampeners. Some could ride out the transition, some couldn't. Two
unfortunate ratings had tossed their cookies all over her nice clean bridge.
She had rammed the AC up to full and just put up with the stench. No matter how
much you warned them, how many times they simulated something, experience
really was the best teacher.

“Captain, learning to deal with this was
a part of the training as well,” Firefly pointed out sweetly.

“You stay out of this,” Mayweather growled,
looking up at the ceiling. “It's too early in my morning to deal with snarky
AI,” she growled.

There was a ghost of a chuckle but
Firefly didn't respond further. After a moment the Captain returned her
attention to her XO. Her mild eyes looked at the XO as she continued to refuel
on caffeine. From her look the ribbing hadn't gone over well, but the Captain
was doing her best to take the ribbing in grudging stride.

“Two more weeks to go, then the real fun
begins,” Shelby murmured.

Mayweather rolled her eyes. “Don't
remind me. All hell is liable to break loose. They've got it planned with
contingency plans and everything, but I still think chaos will have its way.”

“Did you put your credits where your
missives are?”

“Are you kidding me? And be accused of
deliberately messing things up in order to win some hundred credit wager?” the
Captain demanded, mock affronted.

“A hundred credits?” the XO asked,
smiling.

“None of your business XO,” Mayweather
replied primly.

“Right,” the XO chuckled. “Well, in that
case, I don't suppose you'd like to go over today's schedule before we review
the debark plan again?” She held up a tablet.

Mayweather shook her head mournfully and
then snapped her fingers. Shelby handed the tablet over. “Oh hell, why not.
Let's see if we can make things interesting for someone somewhere. If I'm
bored, they're bored, and we can't have that can we?”

“Oh boy,” Shelby sighed, seeing the
mischief in her Captain's eyes.

Five weeks, six days, and nineteen hours
after they left Pyrax, the convoy passed the final way points to the Agnosta
jump point and break out. The occasion was marked the night before with
whispers of a Neptune party. The Neptune party, or Crossing the line ceremony,
was a way of relieving pent up tension in a ship's crew by slightly hazing
those people, spacers or passengers in a somewhat fun and sometimes
embarrassing way. It was a lot of tom foolery for some. It was considered a
rite of passage for many, one Jethro and most of his team were glad they wouldn't
have to be a part of. The squids did most of it, the Marines tried to keep to
themselves. Cheers rung in all the ships as they crossed the alpha wall back
into real space.

Major Forth was relieved, minor
discipline issues due to the crowding and short tempers had started to crop up
two weeks before. They had started getting progressively worse, despite his and
the other officer's landing on them hard with a mast. They needed to get to
ground and get busy, his people were thoroughly tired of being cooped up. They
were at the point where further training was counterproductive.

The squids of course had their own take
on break out. After they had scanned the system and declared it free of Pirates
Captain Mayweather had kept them on the jump point over night for a crossing
the line ceremony.

Those who had weathered a hyper jump
initiated those who hadn't with what was called a 'Neptune Party.' Firefly took
on the role of Davy Jones and was piped on board. Then a lot of tom foolery
went on as the crew was put through various tasks or pranks.

Major Forth had tried to keep his people
out of it, but they had been drawn into the light hearted games. It was stress
relief, a time to celebrate their survival and to celebrate their successful
arrival in the system. The cap of the day was the actual party in full mess
dress. The captain had appointed Commander Logan as president of the mess. The
major had found the evening a bit stuffy, but he'd long since learned to grin
and bear the Navy's idea of pomp and circumstance. He just wanted them to get
over with it, get it out of their systems so they could get down to work.

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

In the Agnosta system they crossed the
system over three days and set up fast. The factory ship dispatched satellites
on disposable Payload Assist Boosters to the other jump points. When they were
underway the factory ship sent out an automated tug to set up the gas giant
refinery and to survey the gas giant. Firefly spat out recon probes to the
thick asteroid belt in the inner system. The inner system was charged with a
great deal of radiation and energy from the local star though, so they knew
they would lose quite a few of the probes.

A signal went out to the colony,
announcing their arrival. It would be at least two days before they received a
return signal.

Hecate stayed on station at the Pyrax
jump point with the dispatch boat. When the other ship's made planetary orbit
the small corvette transferred across the system to the B452c jump point.
Hopefully anything coming into the system would be friendly... but if it wasn't
Hecate would tear them apart while they were vulnerable from jump shock. The
little warship would remain on station for a month before she returned to the
planet to refuel and re-provision.

When the convoy reached orbit they made
a call to the planetary authorities. George Custard answered the call.
“Welcome! Been expecting you folks!” he said, smiling warmly.

“Sorry we're late, we had to pack and
all that,” Captain Mayweather replied, smiling politely in return. “My name is
Captain Rene Mayweather, I'm Captain of the light cruiser Firefly.” She
indicated Major Forth standing next to her, and Captain Pendeckle behind him.
“I believe you have met Captain Pendeckle, his superior is Major Jersey Forth.”

“Pleased to meet you gents,” George
replied, nodding to each. “Or I will be when you land,” he said.

“Well, one of the things we wanted to
talk to you about was the landing,” Major Forth replied, looking at the
Captain. “We're going to send our people down direct to Parris Island. There
are quite a few people and quite a few shuttles you see. And well, I want my
people to train.”

“I see.”

“It's nothing personnel, it's training.”

“Understood,” George replied. “I'll let
the folks here know not to put on any barbeques.

“Thank you sir. We'd appreciate it, but
to be honest, there are quite a few of us. We don't want to put you out or
anything,” Major Forth replied.

“Oh?”

“Twenty thousand sir. Well, thereabouts
at any rate.”

They watched with some amusement as
surprise, and alarm registered in the bearded farmer. He finally sat back,
stroking his chin before he pulled out a pipe. “I dare say that is a bit of a
long guest list,” he said.

“We thought as much,” Captain Pendeckle
said. He nodded. “Nice to see you again Mr. Custard.”

“You too young man,” George replied.

“I've missed your apple pie,” the
Captain said. George snorted.

“We don't have enough food and other
things to support so many people,” George said, looking thoughtful. He shook
his head.

“We brought along processed food and
will be buying food and other materials during harvests of course,” the Major
said.

“Ah. Well, then, that's good to know.
I'll let Jim and Chumly know you are coming down. When did you say again?”

“Within twenty four hours sir, weather
permitting. We want to land on a clear day.”

“Understood.”

“There are going to be a lot of shuttles
sir, we don't want your people to be alarmed,” the Major cautioned. “I wasn't
kidding about training.

“Understood.”

“We'll do a burn with the weapons to
make digging easier, then a hot drop.”

There was puzzlement over that. George's
brows knit as he packed his pipe and lit it.

“A hot drop is a full combat drop under
combat conditions,” Mayweather explained. “The Marines and our crews need the
practice for when we go on to planets that are held by the Horathian Pirates,”
she said.

“Ah. I see,” George nodded wisely.

“We can set it up so your media
broadcast folks can pick up our media feed. We'll be recording from every angle
to not only spot errors for future discussion, but also to show people.”

“I see.”

“It is quite a show. We'd appreciate it
though if your media people let people know it's an exercise and we're not
pirates.”

“Will do. But mind you, not everyone has
a box. Nor do they have a radio either. It'll take time for word of mouth to
get to them.”

“We understand. Just as long as we try
our best. We'll give you some time to get the word out.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

“No, thank you sir. We have the payment
by the way. We can send it down once our people are on the ground.”

“Understood. We'll be waiting,” George
said. He reached forward and cut the link.

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

Even though the Recon team had brought
back detailed maps of the islands, and those maps had been gone over on almost
a daily basis since the base had been planned, Captain Mayweather and the Major
both agreed a more thorough study was needed. Firefly used her lidar and other
sensors to map the island chain to the best of its ability, then merged the new
file with the old one. New details emerged.

Carefully, the architects and officers
studied the new map of Parris Island. The island was actually a chain of
islands, with varied terrain. Valleys, wooded areas, mountains, swamps,
beaches, and plains. The main island was over one hundred kilometers in
diameter. The chain was on the east coast of the mainland near the equator,
away from the much colder poles. It had a temperate climate, but in winter
would be covered by the occasional dusting of snow. The mountains and hills
sheltered it slightly from the tropical storms that swept up from the equator,
but it would still have trouble with them from time to time.

Those that had access to a view port or
camera feed, admired the view of the planet and the island from space.
Eventually it made its way to the Marines who shared the feed of the island
from space. Some picked out details. Major Forth set up a website and overlaid
a map of what they would build.

When they were ready, Firefly used its
energy weapons to dig trenches and foundation holes on the islands. Terawatt
energy weapons tore through the air and then tore up the ground, glassing it
from the intense heat, but then making the water super vaporize into steam and
explode, shattering the rock in a roiling torrent. Each beam was less than a
meter wide, powerful enough to dig about thirty meters into the dirt if the
beam held still long enough.

The beams played out, cutting through
dirt, sand, and rock alike along the blueprint they had planned on. Purple
Thorn oversaw the weapons firing and made certain all her crews were given a
chance to fire.

There was some panic with the Vesuvian
settlement in the swamp near the spaceport before they were informed about the
nature of the visitors. Many people who had no access to a radio or television
had to be informed through the word of mouth grapevine or by posters set up at
trade posts. Agnosta had begun to heal and return to their normal way of life.
The newcomers however, might change that.

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

Cheetara turned the knob on her radio,
shutting off the news broadcast. She reached down and touched her swollen belly
and then went out of her cabin to look up at the stars. She could just make out
the winking running lights of the ships entering orbit. “Well,” she said
softly, smiling. “Things will be different,” she murmured, stroking her belly.
“Things will definitely be different,” she said again.

Life in the savannah had been tough at
first, she'd been thankful to the admiral and Bryan for giving her such a
helping hand, without it she and her little medical clinic would have been
barely scraping by. As it was she was finally doing much better, having
weathered her first year on the planet. Still, it had been quite an adjustment,
with no friends around. Perhaps some of her cousins would be in the Marines?
She knew a few were. She was curious who would show up. She made a note to call
them sometime, or drop a letter. She turned, smiling indulgently to the
children and their parents around her. She liked children, they were so full of
life. All were human though, she was the only Neocat in the area. As far as she
knew, she was the only Neocheetah on the planet. Or at least, until the Marines
landed, and her own brood came into the world. She churred again, stroking her
belly once more. Mary, the mother of the brat pack smiled at her softly.

“There goes the neighborhood huh?” she
joked with a chur and flick of her ears. She adjusted her red sarong. “I've got
family in the Marines, good people. I know a few, they will do all right here,”
she said. Some of the parents looked a little concerned, but they nodded.

“Are you going to go see them?” Jake
asked.

She looked at the young boy and then
shook her head. He was filthy, covered in dirt. His arm was in a crude sling,
bandaged from where the stick had gouged him. “No, I'll send a letter though.
Let them know I'm here in case someone wants to come by for a visit. I've got
too much to do here, and besides,” she stroked her belly again. “Once your new
playmates arrive I'll be far too busy to go anywhere anytime soon,” she said
wryly. Mary caught her look and rolled her eyes and nodded emphatically.

“But...”

“I'm sure they have a lot on their minds
right now, getting set to land. A lot to be done, setting things up, getting
all the stuff down,” Cheetara said. “If you think I had a bunch of stuff, you
should see what they've got!” she said, flicking her ears in humor.

Mary cocked her head eagerly. She loved
to read, she frequently borrowed one of Cheetara's tablets and memory chips
loaded with reading material. She had taught each of her brood to read, and one
of their favorite pastimes was to sit and read by the fire while their pa was
out with the ranch hands tending to the herd. Sometimes Cheetara would go out
to the farm for a visit. It was incredibly lonely for Mary sometimes, with Bill
off on one end of the spread or the other, sometimes gone for a week or more.
He'd come back for a meal, quick change of clothes, more supplies then he'd be
off again.

Cheetara's little clinic was a hot spot,
a place where the far flung sodbusters came to congregate to receive news, get
medicine, exchange books and goods, or just to socialize. It, the tavern, and
the tiny general store across the dirt road were turning into the center of a
small town.

“Well, I believe we were finishing up
here. Jake, you keep that cut clean and don't roll in the dirt tussling. I
think your ma can teach you how to patch the hole in your shirt. Just watch
where you boys tussle, hitting sharp sticks can be rough on things.”

The boys nodded. She turned to the girl.
“And you, young lady, no more sweet crest! I told you before it's bad for your
tummy, too much and you get a bellyache.”