The Black Guard: Book II: Evolution (Black Guard Series 2) (24 page)

* * *

"Do you think the JCC will approve a special
shuttle dedicated to the Black Guard?" Hada asked as we sat in the taxi shuttle
on our way to Avivo.

"I think there is a chance. Without a marine
shuttle on Safort, we would have lost a client and eight Guards. So it's not a
question of whether we will need shuttles in the future, it's a question of
whether our evolution requires new equipment."

"Why not have the Guard crew the shuttle?"

"Because that would put us in competition with the
marines," I said wanting to keep the Guard true to its long
history—we were elite guards, not pilots or mechanics or ECM specialists.
"Let each of us do what we do best."

"Yes, family." Hada smiled. "I love the
Guard, but I do enjoy coming home and seeing my birth family. I'm not looking
forward to being a civilian, but I know someday it will happen and I need to be
ready for it. Besides, it helps to take a break from worrying about …"

"A member of your detail dying," I said, knowing
the feeling well. "And killing."

"Yes," she said quietly, her eyes misty.
"I know we are in a killing profession but it doesn't come easily."

The taxi came to a stop and the driver came around to
open the door.

"Good. Let's hope we never see the day when death
and killing don't bother us." I gave her a tight hug and climbed out.

* * *

This session—I thought of them as training sessions—appeared
to have been designed by Daiyu, Hada's mother, to find the activities that Hada
and or I enjoyed, as an introduction to things we might want to do when we
retired. It wasn't like we would need jobs. Our pensions would be enough for a
modest lifestyle, but we would need something to do to make life interesting.
So we were exposed to a wide variety of activities—to watch, not
participate. My understanding was next time we might participate in one or two
we thought we might enjoy.

I attended the church services of Hada's father, Jian, every
week along with the family. The second week we were home, he had invited a renowned
Buddhist Monk to speak. The man fascinated me. I felt like I was listening to
the Buddha himself.

Afterward, Jian introduced us.

"Choje Abhaya, I would like to introduce you to my
family, my wife Daiyu, daughters Lui, Hada, and Mei, and adopted daughter
Rivka. Both Hada and Rivka are captains in the Black Guard."

"A pleasure to meet you," Abhaya said with a
small bow. "I'm curious, is it difficult being in the Black Guard and
following the Buddhist way?"

"Although my family is Buddhist and my father a
teacher, I was too young when I went into the Jax military to understand the
concepts. And becoming a Black Guard has been all consuming," Hada said.

I couldn't help interrupting.

"I've known Hada for most of her life, and I'd say she
lives the Buddhist Eightfold path whether she considers herself a Buddhist or
not … sorry," I added quickly. I couldn't help the outburst. To me, Hada
had saved me from my own private hell and was the gentlest, kindest person I
knew.

"Are you a Buddhist, Rivka?" Abhaya asked with
a slight smile on his lips.

"No, I've just become acquainted with Buddhism
through Hada's father. I like the concept: the Noble Truths, the five Precepts,
and the Eightfold Path. It feels right to me."

"But what about the killing?"

"Must we abandon country, duty, and the lives of
innocents to be Buddhist?" I felt my face heat at my outburst toward a senior
Buddhist monk.

But he appeared to take no offense.

"A very provocative question. The Buddhist looks
for an ideal state, but realistically, we live in a chaotic world …"
Abhaya went on to tell me a little about his life.

Over the next few weeks, he and I spent many hours
discussing Buddhism and the Gathas, teachings of the Buddha, and the Three
Treasures: the Buddha (an enlightened person), the Dharma (the body of truth a
Buddha becomes enlightened to), and the Sangha, (the community that tries to
live its life based on the Buddha's teaching). I loved those talks.

* * *

"You and Abhaya spent a lot of time together,"
Hada said as we sat drinking tea in the shuttle back to Cordo City.

"Yes, he is a fascinating man, and he helped me
understand Buddhism better and resolve many of the questions I've had. He was
so easy to talk to, like I'd known him all my life."

"Father says Abhaya is as close to enlightened as any
man is likely to get in this day and age."

"How did your dates go?" I asked, curious
since I had decided to skip my introduction to dating for the opportunity to
talk with Abhaya.

"Nice in a way and strange in another. A few of the
men were enjoyable to be with, but I sensed they felt they were … superior.
That might not have felt so strange if I were a corporal in the Guard."
She laughed. "It was interesting and fun being home, but I'm glad to be
returning to Sasser Mountain.

"Me, too. Especially because my sister is returning
with me." I gave her a hug, which she returned.

* * *

I entered Wexler's office and bowed low. "You
wanted to see me, Commander?" I was surprised to see General Lerman
sitting in a chair to the right of Wexler's desk.

"Yes, Sapir, get something to drink and sit. General
Lerman has a special assignment for you."

"Your idea for restructuring our practice range on
the Deathstalker has produced good results; however, after our latest encounter
with the raiders on Heibei, I've come to the conclusion that we need a
specially trained group of marines for boarding actions—first boarders.
Not only is the Black Guard evolving, but so is the Jax as we expand our
presence in the Helix system. I, with the JCC's approval, want you to develop
the program and see to the first graduates. And ..." He smiled. "You
can oversee the design of the first Black Guard shuttle. We of the JCC agree
that we cannot evolve if we continue to do things the old way."

"I'll need help, General."

"Help?"

"Yes, sir. I'll need help to understand the
boarding procedures and the functions of a combat shuttle." I certainly
wasn't qualified in either and couldn't help until I understood them.

"That was the one problem the JCC
foresaw—having a Black Guard designing a program for marines, who tend to
feel in competition with the Black Guard. But I think you're the right person.
I've had several talks with General Isaac about you. He says you always make
him feel like you are just another branch of the military, not some elite group
come to show him how it should be done." He turned to look at Wexler.
"Commander, I'd like to get started as soon as Captain Sapir can be freed
from her other duties."

"She's available now, fresh back from
post-assignment leave."

"Thank you, Commander Wexler. Captain Sapir, Colonel
Odelia will be expecting you at Camp Eillat two days from now. He's in the
process of assembling the volunteers for the first class. We are going to call
the unit Talons. I'll send a shuttle to pick you up."

* * *

The shuttle that arrived to pick me up must have been
for senior officers, because it had a corporal to see to my comfort and well-padded
leather upholstery in addition to wider than standard shuttle seats. It
emphasized the difference between the Guard's Spartan nature and the other
services: the Guard had no awards except for the double-dragons, had only seven
ranks, and our base on Sasser Mountain was isolated from cities and had few
luxuries. The rest of the military on the other hand had over twenty ranks, at
least forty awards of various types, had bases near cities which provided
access to entertainment during off-duty hours, and special luxuries as one's
rank increased, like this shuttle. I knew many would think our lives harsh, but
I liked the simplicity of it.

When I exited the shuttle, Colonel Odelia met me with Yarden,
who was now a captain. Yarden saluted while the colonel and I exchanged bows.

"Welcome to Camp Eillat, Captain Sapir. This should
be an interesting experiment." Odelia gave a wry smile.

"Very," Yarden said quietly, almost to
himself.

"I'm looking forward to working with marines. I
suspect I'll learn a lot," I said, excited at the idea of the inter-service
experience.

Odelia nodded. "You're right, Dragon Sapir. After
all these years, even I get sucked into the inter-service … comparisons. A
Black Guard teaching marines … but who better to teach us how to be more
efficient? You have my full and unconditional support. Captain Yarden will see
to getting you whatever you need."

"Thank you, Colonel. I'd like a couple of senior marines
with boarding experience and to see a demonstration exercise. I've never been
part of a boarding party."

"Yarden, have them report to headquarters … no, the
firing range in two hours. I'll take Captain Sapir to her quarters and get her
settled." Odelia nodded toward a military limo.

The quarters were for visiting high-ranking officers,
judging by the accommodations and the personnel on duty twenty-four seven to
handle any requests. He showed me to the officer's mess and club and ensured I
was registered for unrestricted access. Then he gave me a whirlwind tour of the
base. Finally we arrived at the firing range where Yarden and three sergeants
were waiting.

They braced to attention and saluted as we neared.

"This is Captain Sapir of the Black Guard. She's
been assigned by General Lerman to create a training curriculum and qualify the
first Talon team." Odelia stepped back with a slight grin on his lips, as
if preparing to watch an interesting contest.

"Captain Sapir, I'm Gunny Alaniz. I understand
you've never participated in a boarding action …" He briefly glanced
toward the colonel before continuing. "So how are you going to teach us a
more efficient way?" His eyes locked defiantly on mine and his face was taut
with anger.

The other two sergeants silently nodded agreement.

"I'm not here to teach you your job. There are,
however, similarities between fighting in a building and fighting in a
spacecraft. If we can save one life by sharing our experiences, I would
consider it worthwhile," I said, meeting each of their stares.

"My understanding is that you are going to teach us
how to shoot. We can already hit the kill zone every time, so why do we need
you?"

"If you are content with your present casualty
rates, then you don't need to change. There are leaders who would consider their
troops expendable pawns. I met a colonel like that recently. Unlike them, I
agonize over the death of every Jax whether army, marine, or Guard."

"We are in a killing profession," Gunny Ezell
said. "People die. We can't stop that."

"No we can't, but we owe it to our troops to look
for tactics that minimize losses. That's all I'm suggesting with the Talon teams."

"By changing the targets?" Ezell nodded toward
the firing range.

"No, shooting at standing targets demonstrates
little. I want you to show me a live exercise. Once I understand your
environment, I'll let you prove I can't improve on your current tactics."

Alaniz laughed. "Deal." All three were smiling
in anticipation of making me look foolish. "Tomorrow at nine hundred
hours."

"I'm surprised you didn't give them a demonstration
at the firing range. I've seen you shoot. It's impressive." Yarden was commenting
on the time I was there evaluating my family's new Mfw.

"It would prove I'm faster and a better shot than
they are, but they already know that. It wouldn't prove it would help in boarding
actions. Besides, I couldn't teach them to shoot to the Guard's standard
without years of training. No, they need a practical demonstration."

"Captain Sapir is right, Yarden, and smart not to
use General Lerman as her authority. They would go along because they were
ordered to do so, but it would be better if they saw it as a good idea—a
better way," Odelia said.

* * *

The next day, they drove me to a field containing
several old cruisers and merchant ships. At my insistence, they first walked me
through a merchant ship configured like a raider, pointing out the various
compartments: bridge, crew quarters, weapons, shuttle bay, maintenance,
storage, and environmental. This particular model had two levels. Then, about
twenty-five troops dressed in black suits—who would pose as raiders—entered
the ship.

I couldn't help but wonder if the color black hadn't
been intentional.

Then the gunny collected some twenty-five troops that
would constitute the boarding party.

"Boarding varies by the type of ship and the damage
it's sustained. We can blow the hatch or enter through existing damage. Today,
to make it easy, we will enter through the shuttle bay as if it had been
breached," Gunny Alaniz said while pointing to an open bay. "We are
using paintball ammunition, so you will want to wear coveralls." He handed
me a blue one. "Blue is for officers and sergeants acting as observers. You
can't always count on not getting hit by a stray bullet. Things can get very
chaotic at times. It's not like being in a building," he added, trying not
to grin.

"I understand," I said with a nod of my head.
I imagined he had briefed the troops that a Black Guard would be observing, so
I expected to get hit several times. I was being tested on many levels but
didn't mind. I had nothing to prove, only hoping to help them reduce the number
of unnecessary Jax deaths.

"Usually, the observers position themselves in the
hallways. Where would you like to start?"

"I'll just go along as if I were one of the
boarding party," I said, slipping into the blue suit. "I'd like to
get a realistic experience of boarding."

"You aren't wearing protective gear, ma'am. Those
paintballs carry quite a punch when they hit."