Lieutenant Colonel (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 6) Read online

  He spotted his new commanding officer and made his way forward.

  “Welcome to Camp Stilicho, sir,” he told Bert Nidishchii’.

  As by tradition when in the field, neither man saluted nor shook hands.

  “He was a good Marine, Ryck. I was saddened when I heard.”

  “Well, that’s life as a Marine—or death, I guess,” Ryck said. “Anyway, there isn’t much here. It wasn’t much before, and my boys had a pretty good time making it even worse. I never figured we’d be back and use it ourselves. I’d have left more standing if I had known.”

  “Ah, it’s not the camp, it’s the training. We need to get used to each other,” Bert said.

  “And we need to do that where Ataturk can see? Is that, oh . . . we want them to see,” he said, lightly hitting the side of his head. “I trust we won’t be revealing too much, though, in case things escalate?”

  “Oh, we’ll keep some things under our vest,” Bert said with a smile.

  “OK, makes sense. Well, I’ve moved my CP to the house over there. I’ve got you in that big building you can barely see right over that way, about 200 meters. I don’t know what it was, but the Marines are calling it ‘the barn.’ It’s the only place big enough, I think.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be OK, Ryck. The sergeants major are already taking over the move-in. I’d like to have a meeting with the commanders and principle staff at 1400. If you can get there at 1330, I’d appreciate it. I need to bring you up to speed,” Bert said.

  “Aye, aye, sir. I’ll be there,” Ryck said. “Like old times, huh?”

  “Third time we’ve been together. I wonder if that’s some sort of record?”

  “As commander and subordinate? I’d guess so. I know some people have been on the same staffs or at schools together multiple times. But yeah, this is sort of unique,” Ryck offered. “You’re probably getting sick of me, though.”

  “Well, seeing as you saved my ass both times before, I think it worked out for me,” Bert said with a laugh. “But I’m not overly fond of regen, so if we can break the pattern here, that would be a big plus.”

  “OK, no saving your ass: check. No regen: check,” Ryck said.

  “Well, if it comes to it, I won’t hold you to that. Go ahead and save it.”

  “You can’t make up your mind? How do you want it? Save your ass or not? I am just here to obey as commanded,” Ryck said with mock sincerity.

  “Save it, save it!” Bert replied. “But let’s hope it never gets to that. I’m getting too old to be mixing it up with the bad guys.”

  “Too old? Hah, that’ll be the day! You can still outrun 90% of the brigade.”

  “Well, maybe. As if that means anything,” Bert said. “Look, I need to get set up. I’ll see you at 1330, OK?”

  “Roger that. I’ll be there with bells on.”

  “Don’t need the bells. Not too tactical, you know,” Bert said.

  “OK, I’ll be there sans bells.”

  Ryck watched Bert step off toward the brigade CP only to be intercepted by one of his staff. It was weird, he knew, to be commanded by a friend. It probably wasn’t a good idea, as he found out when his platoon sergeant was his brother-in-law, Joshua. That had led to the low point in his service as a Marine, and it had almost led to his resignation.

  But he knew that there was no one else he’d rather have as his commander than Colonel Bertrand Nidishchii’, UFMC.

  Chapter 23

  “As you can see, the Sylvington Second has reinforced the old fort,” Captain de Faldo said, using his pointer to circle the holo that floated above the base unit on the table. He rotated the image of the fort, saying, “The east entrance has been closed off, leaving only the west entrance open.”

  “And what is the composition of the walls?” Bert asked his S2.

  “Sir, 22 centimeters of a durosteel sandwich, the inner core being two centimeters of a palladium-ceramic. The entrance is 38 centimeters, with two inner layers.”

  Ryck looked over to Rick Ashton, his 3/7 counterpart, and raised his eyebrows. Rick nodded back. That was a pretty hellacious wall, one that could withstand the Davises’ main guns. This was old tech, but very effective. In fact, it was probably old tech only because of the cost of manufacture, which was so high as to preclude it being used anymore.

  At the volatile time when Freemantle was first settled, though, forts were in vogue, and Fort Aragung was built over a mine head leading to a monazite deposit, which was a rich source of thorium—and thorium powered the reactors. With both Australia and Han Diaspora claiming rights to the planet, sources of energy had to be protected. After the Proclyn Accords, where the Australian-backed Outies were granted rights to the planet, the fort was no longer needed, but it was a big hunk of construction, so it became the center of a walled city even after the mine had played out. Tourism and small craft companies became the city’s mainstay.

  Ryck had actually known none of that. He’d never even heard of Fort Aragung before Captain de Faldo’s brief. He had a feeling, however, that he’d get to know the place much better in the near future.

  He took a quick glance at his PA. Captain Christophe was in the brief with him, but the XO had the entire battalion out on the valley floor with 2/4 rehearsing coordinated movements. Without really studying the display, he couldn’t monitor the progress, but it didn’t look like a disaster, and that was something.

  At least 3/7 was another assault battalion. Neither 2/4 nor 1/12 had any experience with some of the new tactics, and the learning curve was pretty steep. The key to the new concept was exceptional coordination between units, and except for a few limited engagements since the War of the Far Reaches, Marines rarely fought in any unit larger than a battalion.

  The rehearsals out on the valley floor would be under surveillance, of course. One of IGA’s subsidiaries made a very good line of drones, and they’d be all over the area, only occasionally being picked up by the brigade’s counter-surveillance measures.

  Ryck glanced around the room. The barn was not the best construction around, and it would have been easy to insert some nanobots into the building, ready to relay to the Ataturk government what was being discussed. Master Guns Seito, however, had assured Bert that the shielding he erected was proof against that. Ryck wasn’t so confident about that himself, but if Bert was, that was what mattered.

  Captain de Faldo continued with his brief, laying out the known and probable Sylvington order of battle. Ryck listened with only half an ear. He was pretty much up to date with the mercenary unit. It was one of the most capable mercenary corporations around—it was probably more than a match for many planetary armies. The larger government armies and Marine Corps were powerful enough so that Sylvington was not a threat, but man-for-man, unit-for-unit, the Sylvington mercs could trade blows with about anyone.

  They paid well, and they recruited from existing military forces. One of Ryck’s NOTC classmates, Primus Heidt, had joined up with them after completing his service obligation. Ryck hadn’t kept in contact with Primus, but some of his other classmates had received recruiting pitches from him. Ryck hadn’t, and while he had no interest in becoming a merc, he didn’t know if he was disappointed or happy that he’d been ignored.

  Captain de Faldo finished up his brief, but then Bert stood up. Normally, this is when the S3, Lieutenant Colonel Deshawn Jiminez, would brief, but it didn’t look like he had anything prepared at the moment. Ryck had hoped to get an idea of what was planned, but that might have to wait.

  “Gentlemen, we’re going to stop it at this. We don’t have any concrete orders yet, so for now, I want you to keep on the promulgated training schedule. This may all be a show of force, or we may get orders into the fray, so the more time we train, the better off we’ll be. So if the commanders can stay, I’d like to dismiss the rest of you.”

  “Proctor, sorry about dragging you to this. Get out to the field and check in with the XO. I need you to be intimately familiar with our capabilities an
d weaknesses. I’ll get out there as soon as I can,” Ryck told his Three.

  If he had known this was going to be just an intel brief, he’d have left Captain Christophe behind. He’d have been more valuable out with the battalion and 2/4, and he’d have learned more of what he needed to know about their combined ops capabilities.

  The four line battalion commanders, the squadron commander, and the brigade S3, S2, and XO remained with the CO as the others filed out. Ryck checked his watch. He hoped this would not take long as he wanted to get out in the field and see for himself how the training was going.

  “I asked you to stay because I wanted Captain de Faldo to brief you on the political situation.”

  That caught Ryck’s attention, and from the sudden sitting up straighter by the other four commanders, he could see it caught their attention as well. Marines and politics didn’t mix, as was common knowledge. Sure, the Navy admirals moved on to the highest positions within the Federation, but while Marines still wore the uniform, they were supposed to ignore the political maneuverings and machinations that occurred within the highest reaches of the government. They were the ground arm of the Federation, but they had no say in policy. For Bert to openly discuss the political situation could land him in trouble. No wonder he had cleared most of the room.

  Captain de Faldo stood back up, and Ryck thought he looked a little nervous. The S2 glanced up at Bert, who nodded for him to continue.

  “I know this is a little odd,” he started, then swallowed. “But the CO thought you needed a clearer picture of what was going on.”

  “I don’t want to interrupt, but this isn’t coming from me. This is directly from the commandant,” Bert interjected. “Go on, Eric.”

  “Uh, OK sir. Um . . . well, just two months ago, Colonel Lysander and 2/3 were right here, 35 kilometers away, on the side of a corporation and against that of a Federation member state. Now, all of us are here to protect the same Federation member state we were so recently opposing. It seems, well, crazy, right? I don’t know how else to describe it.”

  Damn right it’s crazy. But what else is new? Ryck wondered.

  “There are reasons for all of this, though,” he said, hesitating and looking back at Bert again for confirmation before going on. “Now, we don’t know every detail, but we are pretty sure of some things. The First Minister . . . oh, jeez! Are you sure, sir?”

  “Go on, just what we were given to say,” Bert told him calmly

  What the grubbing hell is going on? Ryck wondered.

  This was highly, highly unusual.

  “Yes, sir,” the Two said, taking a deep breath. Then like a man diving into a cold swimming pool, he plunged right in. “Three weeks ago, three members of the First Minister’s family were arrested for corruption. This was as a result of an ongoing investigation of influence peddling and bribery.”

  So what else is new? Ryck wondered.

  “While we are not sure of all the details, enough data has been recovered to implicate the First Minister himself.”

  OK, I guess that’s new! At that level, they’re pretty much untouchable.

  “The corporate entity involved was IGA.”

  Five commanders immediately sat back in their seats, almost in unison.

  That fucking explains us coming in on the side of IGA against Cennek! That fucking bastard! Ryck fumed.

  “And I should point out that Admiral Sassoon, our former chairman, is now on the board of Killington Industries, and is a major stockholder,” the Two continued.

  It all fell into place for Ryck. IGA and Killington Industries were two giant behemoths and corporate enemies. The First Minister had moved the Federation to intervene on the side of Ataturk to aid his bread-and-butter. How that had gotten past the other ministers, Ryck didn’t know and couldn’t hazard a guess, but that was the only thing that made sense.

  It had taken Admiral Sassoon longer to marshal his support, but the chairman was one of his political cronies, and now the tide had shifted. IGA was on the outs, and the Federation was going to use the Marines to punish them.

  “However, the situation is not clear yet. The First Minister has not been formerly implicated in anything as of the moment. This pre-deployment, if you can call it that, was authorized by executive order, but a formal declaration of hostilities has not been declared. And it may not be.”

  “OK, Eric, you’ve given us the baseline. Thank you,” Bert said, standing up. “The commandant wanted each of you to know what is going on back there. Except we don’t really know. Tomorrow, we can get orders to march on Antalya, or just as easily, go back across the border and defend it. The bottom line is that we don’t know what will happen. What I want you to do it keep control of the rumor mill. We don’t have any press here, so that’s a plus, but even within the battalion, we don’t want things to get out of hand. As you can guess, things could go pretty poorly for us if the wrong things are said and then things turn out the other way.

  “We’re going to keep training and getting better integrated. The Three and I are working on some contingency plans, but we’re going to keep those close to the vest until we know which one to break out. I know you’ve probably got questions, but I don’t have answers. You now know what I know.

  “We still got training hours left, and I think Rick, you and Tizard have night training? Is that right?

  “Yes, sir,” Rick Ashton and Tizard Krasovitch, the 1/12 battalion commander said in unison.

  “OK, then, let’s get at it. Unless something comes up, I’ll see you at the zero-eight-hundreds,” the CO said. “Have at it gents.”

  A lot could happen between now and the 0800 daily brief, and Ryck’s mind was churning. As he had noted before, when Zeus and Thor fought, the thunderbolts tended to hit the peons on the ground. It had happened before, and 30 Marines and three sailors had paid the price for that. Ryck just hoped that his Marines would not be collateral damage in any of the political maneuverings made by their vaunted leaders.

  FREEMANTLE

  Chapter 24

  Alea iacta est: the die had been cast. It was Freemantle.

  (Ryck smiled as the Latin came to his mind. As a personal tribute to Liam Stilicho, he’d made it a habit to try and learn at least a few of the more famous Latin phrases.)

  The battle of the gods had been decided in favor of the Chairman, with the First Minister and his allies coming out as the losing side. The Marines were being deployed to face the Sylvington regiment that had taken control of the Freemantle industrial heartland. The fact that Freemantle was not even Federation seemed to be a minor point. Once the struggle within the Council had played out, a hurried request for assistance was delivered by the Freemantle government, and within 30 hours, the brigade had started embarkation.

  Despite Freemantle being independent, Ryck didn’t have much of a personal issue with the mission from a philosophical standpoint. Due to his own upbringing on Prophesy, he was not a big fan of the huge multistellar corporations that acted pretty much with impunity throughout most of human space. If IGA decided it wanted to seize control over another planet and its assets, Ryck felt the company had made itself a righteous target.

  He did have an issue with the specifics in this case, though. There was no way that a merc regiment, no matter how proficient, could take over a planet with almost 70 million citizens. It could take over small areas, and in the past, merc units had toppled governments merely by capturing the seat of government. In almost all cases, though, there were other players on the planet or nation who wanted the government to fall. That was not the case on Freemantle. The citizens were uniformly opposed to the IGA incursion.

  The Sylvington mercs had seized control of only one of the planet’s industrial areas, albeit one of the most valuable ones. Still, Ryck thought the Freemantle government could essentially wait the regiment out, just like siege warfare during the middle ages. IGA had the resources to pay Sylvington indefinitely, but mercenaries were not organized to simply sit and do nothi
ng. They would eventually run out of supplies, if nothing else, and while a merc unit did not have to actually win out in a conflict to prove its value, simply being starved out would not be good for their brand.

  Ryck didn’t need to be told, though, why they were being sent in. The winners in this inter-Council war wanted to be perfectly clear what happened when they were opposed. A lesson had to be given, and the Marines were the instrument to do just that. The Sylvington regiment had no real part in the core conflict, but they had accepted the devil’s contract, and now it was time to face the consequences for their actions.

  The “instrument” was not looking too military at the moment, though. 2/3 was on the Derne, but the rest of the brigade was on a leased passenger liner with a beat-up freighter hauling the heavy equipment. They had made the short, 10-hour passage to Freemantle and were in orbit above Crystal Blue, waiting for commercial shuttles to take them to the surface. Crystal Blue was the third largest city on the planet, and it had a large spaceport, but it was still over 700 klicks from Fort Aragung.

  Technically, the Marines had the capability to conduct an opposed landing on a planet. However, such landings could be very costly in terms of Marines lives, and the ad hoc brigade didn’t even have the assets to land more than one battalion at a time. Additionally, while they probably would not use it, the Sylvingtons had Davids[14] in their armory, and while not terribly effective, the weapons had been able to knock a few warships out of orbit before, and a passenger liner would be a much easier target. So the brigade was to land at the spaceport, lock on transport, and simply ride to an assembly area near the old fort before initiating offensive operations. Even the recon team was taking a rental van for insertion, although they would leave immediately after landing. The Davises and Armadillos would be trucked out to save the wear and tear on the vehicles.