Jethro: First to Fight (56 page)

The Major snorted at idea and it's
source. The good Sergeant was turning into a very good Marine. Worth his weight
in any metal anyone had. He did have a habit of thinking outside the box, and
think outside his Marine prevue. "It's a good idea, great even. We don't
have the manufacturing support, I know Hephaestus...” He rubbed his  chin.
“I wish they'd came up with idea a few days sooner,” he sighed. “I suppose we
might get something done, if you put your engineering teams to it. We've got
the plans, and I've got some Spacebees on the ground...  But we'd have to
either ship most of the pieces in from Pyrax or up from the planet anyway. And
last I checked we don't have the industry on the planet. This system is
well..."

"Lacking in orbital industry."
The Agnosta colony had opted for a low key approach when it had first been
settled. Their descendents had kept with that idea. They firmly believed in
paying for things when they could afford them, not going into debt. The factory
ship had completed it's early navy projects and switched to building equipment
and systems for the dirt siders but had quickly run out of projects and
material. Reluctantly they had said good bye to the ship two days ago. It was
now on its way back to Pyrax.

"Correct. The main belt is from the
broken up planets closer to the stars. The stars have a high radiation level
and the intense flux from the radiation and unstable belt makes it extremely
hazardous to navigate," Firefly responded. “The probes we sent out found
that the area is rich in basic resources but lacks more exotic materials. In other
words it is rich in silicon, iron and basic metals but has little titanium and
other materials we would need for this project or other building projects.
Shielding... trust me on this Major, mining the main belt isn't cost effective.
We would barely break even despite how dense it is. The radiation is just too
intense.”

"I'm surprised the planet hasn't
been kissed by a rogue," the Major mused, rubbing his chin.

Firefly shrugged. "Oh it has, we
found that out. And we've got a few we're tracking now. They come in every
couple of years or decades. Plus the annual meteor showers in winter."

"Interesting. Can we catch some of
these rocks?"

"Why?"

"Well, you said we can't mine the
main belt due to its location. But if we catch a rogue Atens going in the right
direction..."

"It won't be in the main belt. I
see where you're going with this. I believe the admiral did that here as well.
Or at least tried to. I'll have the check the log."

“Good idea. Trust the admiral to be one
step ahead of us,” the Major said with a twist of his lips.

"It'll have to be the right
rock," Firefly said. "Something that hasn't been irradiated too much.
But we can test for that. It will give the sensor crews something to do other
then play spades."

"True," the Major said with a
smirk.

"So we're..."

"Oh we'll do it. He was right. It's
simple, it's expandable, and it's something we should have thought of. We can
build the core and use transhab modules for living quarters easily enough. The
training modules can be built in sections and shipped here." He seriously
regretted letting the factory ship leave now. Commander Logan was going to flip
his wig when he asked for it back.

"I... that is an interesting
thought. We don't have the budget for it however."

"We'll have to look into that then.
I know we're focusing on getting the infrastructure in the system set up, but
you're about done with the comm sats correct?"

"We still have a ways to go with
the docking station. We also need more than one refinery for redundancy."

"True, but I bet we can make do
with one while we work on the core and transhabs. I wonder if we could farm the
habs out ground side? Have them built to spec?"

"You're considering using outside
sources?" the Major asked, clearly surprised by the suggestion.

"Ground side sources. If we offer a
contract to one of the new industries..." Firefly mussed. “Or even sub
assemblies. Milspec of course...”

“Is it possible?”

"They may be capable of it. Several
textile and plastics industries have started within the past month. We'll have
to vet them thoroughly though."

The Major nodded sagely. "And we
can help them along by giving them a juicy government contract. Something they
can use to prove their worth while getting income."

"And we can focus on more important
issues. They will in turn learn to use the materials for commercial space
projects as well. Perhaps even trade. I like it. I gather you wish to use this
method for furnishing and other materials?"

"Why not?" he asked amused.
"Share and share alike."

"How do you propose to pay for all
this? As I said a moment ago, we don't have a budget item for this."

"No..." he said slowly
checking his budget files. "But I think I can shift some priorities around
on the Marine side. We're doing fine with Parris island. We can hold off on the
arctic and desert training and proving grounds for now."

"You're seriously considering
this?"

"Why not?" he demanded.
"Think about it, it's easier then shipping the soldiers back and forth to
do the training right? Five or six week transit time? One way?"

"True."

"Also, this way we can train in
larger groups if necessary,” the Major said. He liked using sims but sims
didn't quite get the job done. Sometimes the best way to train was to use and
abuse equipment. To use it until it broke and then document what went wrong and
where so they could fix the problem.

"We can also put the freighter we
were using for training exercises in Pyrax into service. It has a functional
reactor," Firefly suggested.

The Major rubbed his chin for a moment
and then shrugged. It wasn't his problem. "True, we can do that. I bet the
sublight drives can be repaired easily, but something tells me her
hyperdrive..."

"Is an issue. But as you and
Sergeant Jethro have pointed out, where there's a will there's a way. The drive
isn't destroyed. I have accessed the damage reports. It is repairable."

"Good," the Major nodded.
"Just as long as the damn Pyrax politicians don't try to steal it from us.
Worse than pirates I swear."

"True, you can fight the pirates.
With the politicians you have to grin and bear it. Usually while bending over
with your pants around your ankles," Firefly replied. He had his own
experience with politicians during the Xeno war and in the present time. “And
of course they expect you to thank them when they're done,” he said dryly.

"Ain't that the truth!"

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

Firefly thought about the asteroid fort
idea. He did a scan, there were several rocks within easy towing distance of
the jump point to the empty Beta 452c system. A new thought was added to the
AI's cognizance. “Damn jarheads,” the AI grumbled to the tactical officer.

“What did they do now?” the elf asked,
looking up.

“Thinking.”

“Not something they're known for,” the
elf joked. “What about?” she asked.

“Shoot houses in space mainly. But they
did mention orbital forts. I'm now wondering about that... and why there aren't
any left in the sector. No one has mentioned any.”

“Yes, that is odd,” the elf replied,
nodding. “I'd suggest passing that on to history or intel. See what they can
come up with.”

“Yes. I've made a note. But I do wonder,
did Agnosta have a fort? And if it did, can we find it?”

The elf blinked. “That is an interesting
question. We'd have to check with ground side historians.”

“Do you have a midshipman available for
extra homework?” the AI asked slyly.

“I like the way you are thinking,” the
elf chuckled, tapping her implants. “Midshipman Reardon is currently not
working on anything specific,” she said after checking with the JTO.

“Do you want Ensign Tr'j'ck to pass the
order on?”

“Oh, I think he'll be a bit put out if
he didn't. Since he is the JTO and all.”

“I see.”

“But that does bring up an interesting
point, there is nothing stopping us from making a couple fortresses of our
own,” Purple Thorn said thoughtfully.

“An interesting idea,” the AI replied.
“We don't have the resources, and Vulcan isn't scheduled to remain long enough
to handle such a project.”

“Perhaps not, but we could oh, tow a
couple of asteroids, small ones about oh, a kilometer in diameter, tow them to
orbit here and then use our grasers to bore them out. We could use them as that
shoot house the jarheads want, maybe a supply depot, place for our people to
transship cargo and personnel down to the planet. And oh, I dunno, maybe in
time upgrade it with weapons.”

“That is an interesting thought. And I
suppose we could tow a couple to the B452C jump point too while we're at it.”

“True.”

“Only one problem, power,” the AI
replied thoughtfully.

Purple Thorn blinked her goat eyes and
then sighed softly. “You would crash a gal's dreams by bringing logistics and
reality into it,” she said mournfully.

“Oh, don't be too down,” the AI replied
thoughtfully. “After all, the good Sergeant did suggest a work around for that
as well. He and Sergeant Riley. We just need to make some solar farms...”

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

Jethro focused on his DI role of
training weapons safety, proficiency, and marksmanship. He singled out
individuals in each class that showed great weapons proficiency and
marksmanship, as well as an interest in sniping.

Jethro explained a simple concept to the
classes. "You want to engage the targets closest to you first. If you're
sighted on someone else, take the shot fast then move in to your minimum range
and then back out. Push them back," Jethro explained, surveying his
students. He wondered if he had looked this earnest yet ignorant.

He watched the students. None were
nodding which meant they didn't get the concept. "You're creating a safety
zone, a zone of death. This works if you're a shooter, sniper, anti armor, or
anti air. It's common practice for all fields of discipline. Take out the
target that's the biggest threat to you first then move on."

"Once you've cleared your zone you
can target at your max range. Some snipers like to deliberately bring that
engagement line in a bit so they can occasionally catch people off guard,"
he flicked his ears to his fellow sniper DI.

"Being a sniper isn't just about
covering an area. In covering that area you're creating a zone of freedom for
our own people while denying it to the enemy. By engaging them at max range
from cover you are harming them psychologically. Someone is killing them from
so far away and they can't see them," he hissed, ears flat, eyes narrowed.

A few students near him reared back in
surprise. "And if you do it right they'll shit a brick at the accuracy.
But accuracy takes time and practice, which is what we're here today to do.
We're on the range for a reason. Pop ups are the targets of the day. They will
be moving toward you. Some will cluster, some will move faster or slower, or
take cover.”

“Your job as a spotter is to identify
and let your partner know where each is accurately. The job of the sniper is to
take them out. Feed the beast. Push them back and create your area of denial.
Let's get cracking."

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

Jethro trained the fledgling snipers
with the crack thump rule. “The rounds are supersonic. By timing the space
between the crack of the round's impact and the thump of its sonic shock wave
you can get a rough estimate of the distance a shooter is from them so you can
counter,” he said, pacing up and down the row of recruits. Most had learned to
pay attention to his lectures before they entered and exercise, they were
usually extremely relevant.

Each of the Marine recruits had come a
long way in the short nine weeks since classes had begun. They had a bit to go
before they were ready for the crucible, but they were getting there. “In the
20
^th
and 21
^st
centuries they used chemical propellants
and the rule of thumb was for every one second of time it equals roughly three
hundred yards. That translates to about two hundred and ninety meters. Modern
snipers use rail guns so the math is different.”

That got a bit of a chuckle and shuffle
from the trainees.

“Let your implants do the math for you,
give them a general source or let  them figure it out for itself. The
computers in your body can even give a general location of the target using
your audio receptors. So keep your fingers out of your ears. If possible cup
your hands to each ear or audio receptor and turn to try to orient on the
shooter or speaker. That is, if you survived the first round or two by taking
cover. If you didn't, well, everything I just said is probably moot,” Jethro
said.

There was a wry chuckle at that. Jethro
nodded. They were well past the 'knock em down' phase of training and into the
'build em up' phase, using approval, encouragement, and talking to them as
people. The transition threw a few off, but they got it, they could hang so
their DI's were showing them respect. That wasn't the true reason why, Jethro
knew it had many reasons behind the change in training methods, but like a lot
of DI's before him, he let it slide. Let them think what they wanted for now.