Casserine (54 page)

This time you could hear a pin drop as the spotlight played over to Corey’s face. Tears were starting at the corners of her eyes, and her friends sat in silence, waiting for her to speak. She stood up slowly, her smile erasing the stunned open mouth look from a moment ago.

“In a heartbeat, General,” Corey called out loudly, as she started for the stage.

General Peters left the stage to meet her, in the midst of the still milling crowd, which had erupted in whistles, cheers, and wild applause, all led by another General on the stage. Peters took a small case out of his jacket pocket as he walked, shoving his general’s stars and confirmation inside his tunic. He was already taking the ring out of its holder as he closed the distance amidst the parting crowd. Peters took Corey’s hand, and slipped the ring on her finger. Corey wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I’ve had that ring for the last month, baby,” Peters stated directly in her ear, only loud enough for Corey to hear, with all the noise around them. “I was waiting for the right time to give it too you. I hope this wasn’t too far overboard. I love you.”

Corey pulled back to face him. “It was perfect, you big goof.”

She kissed him tenderly, as Peters held her to him. Jake signaled the band on stage, and they began a slow haunting melody, which soon had everyone around the couple, slow dancing with them. Dougherty immediately pulled Spiros up to dance amongst the sea of Marine, and Space Corps uniforms. Jake arrived back at the table, where Mercer sat alone, only moments later. Instead of handing him a glass of champagne, Mercer gave Jake a double shot glass full of amber liquid, holding his own up in a toast.

“Semper Fi, my brother,” Mercer said, clinking Jake’s glass.

Jake nodded, downed the drink, and sat down next to Mercer, holding his shot glass out for another refill. “That went well.”

“It seems your new General upstaged you a bit, Jake,” Mercer pointed out.

‘Tea, and the smart ass even had the ring on him,” Jake agreed, sipping his refill. “He surprised me, anyway.”

“Hey, you saw Sara’s face. I thought she was going to pass out. So, where do we go from here?”

“Well, I have to lead a speedy military tribunal for our prisoners, and then depending on what I hear, some will be going to hell, and others to Tannengate.”

“Old Chirar thought he was in hell already, when it came time for him to get a taste,” Mercer laughed.

Jake held up his glass. “Here’s to Mr. Snappy, the scourge of the galaxy.”

“Mr. Snappy,” Mercer happily joined in, raising his glass again to clink against Jake’s.

“Hey, the Tennyson’s in port,” Dougherty exclaimed with enthusiasm, as he, Jake, and Mercer stood in the forward observation deck of the Intrepid. Filling the viewing portal lay the huge complex space station, and seat of the Military Governorship, Genoa. The transport Tennyson, docked to one of the many Genoa transport docks, was a welcome sight to Dougherty and Jake.

“I guess it would be a good time to have a dinner with Governor Risling and some of the folks from the Tennyson,” Jake mused.

“I’ll bring Christy with me, so Colonel Stedman can meet her,” Dougherty replied.

“After liberty on Rigel, Genoa doesn’t interest me much,” Mercer commented. “I even had a good time at the tribunal for those pirates. You were pretty lenient on the pirates, Jake.”

“Ten years on Tannengate Penal Colony ain’t my idea of lenient, Charlie,” Jake pointed out. “Besides, Soddie and Chirar are orbiting Rigel without a ship. You can’t get any more final than that.”

Dougherty looked back at Jake. “Were you surprised those two were equal partners in the hostage deal?”

“Yea,” Jake admitted. “I figured Chirar would have been just another Earth Command puke taking payoffs. I was going to give him ten years with the other bunch until we found out otherwise. I’m going to get

Risling to make Whitehall’s command on Rigel permanent. He’s a good man.”

As the huge battleship Intrepid inched into the final docking holds, the three men stood silently. General Peters voice announced the Intrepid was docked over the ship’s voice channel.

“Ready, gentlemen,” Jake asked, tugging on his dress uniform tunic. “The Governor awaits.”

“I’ve spent more time dressed up in the last few weeks than I have in my whole career,” Mercer joked.

“Get used to it, pal,” Jake replied. “We’ve already killed everyone and everything we needed to. Now, we’ll have to settle for parades and dinners, instead of armor and weapons. Even you must be ready for a little downtime, Charlie.”

‘Tea, I think I’ll settle in on Omaha, if you’ll give me a duty station there,” Mercer agreed.

“Consider it done,” Jake replied. “You really going to hook up with Alice and her little girl, huh?”

“Yep, I’m going to get a nice place next to Nick’s spot there, and wait for the next time someone needs an attitude adjustment. Maybe Yuri will let me keep the troops in shape, and I can get Nick to help me refine that little Mr. Snappy pistol you used on Casserine.”

“I wish Adrian would get it out of her head about going back to Casserine,” Jake added. “It drives me crazy just watching her get back used to the place.”

“Could you imagine her getting through a pregnancy there?” Dougherty asked, shaking his head. “That would be brutal.”

“How about you, Tim?” Mercer asked. “Want to stop flitting around all over the universe?”

“Not if I can stay on the same ship with Christy,” Dougherty replied with a smile. “I’ll be sure to come visit you guys though, even if you do end up back on the Rock, Jake.”

“We’ll just come on board and see you, Tim, but Charlie will want to come down on the surface and have dinner with us, right Charlie?”

“I ain’t ever going back down on Casserine again, but I’ll hitch a ride out to see you once in a while. I just wish you’d try and be a man, and get Adrian to stay on Omaha.”

“Okay, okay,” Jake nodded, as Mercer and Dougherty laughed. “I admit I don’t have as much input as I’d like with my wife.”

“Input, General?” Mercer exclaimed in mock astonishment. “You have no input. I’m surprised your wife doesn’t just reach up and grab your ear, and lead you around like a recalcitrant puppy.”

“You better hope Alice don’t ever get the leash on you,” Jake warned, as his two friends continued laughing. “I’ll come all the way from Casserine to see that play out.”

“It’s Luke Skywalker here you’ll be making fun of,” Mercer said, pointing a finger at Dougherty. “The Doc already has the choke collar on, and is fitting the boy up for the chain.”

Dougherty looked up in the air with a dreamy, faraway look on his face. “Christy can use me till she use me up, boys.”

“Told you,” Mercer added, acting disgusted. “How pathetic.”

“Let’s go. The faster we get done with this pit stop on Genoa, the faster we can take off again for Omaha,” Jake said, heading for the observation deck exit.

“How long are we staying, Jake?” Dougherty asked, falling in behind him. “You said you’d decide when we got here; but c’mon, give us a hint.”

“I have to find out face to face with the Governor about how things are going on Earth,” Jake answered. “Because of all the Earth Command influence out here, he didn’t want to even discuss anything about our new allegiance.”

“Is there any reason to expect trouble back there you think he hasn’t mentioned?” Mercer asked.

“No, he’d have taken the chance if there had been any real problems. I think he’s just worried about stuff like we just handled. Hell, if Rigel could have a Marine General in league with fuel pirates, and Earth Command has beens, think of the problems Earth probably deals with still.”

“They just need more military tribunals, like we just convened on Rigel,” Mercer replied.

As the three men exited the lift from the observation deck to the main hanger bay of the Intrepid, the call went out for attention on deck to the thousands of Marines on docking parade. Jake looked around with a big smile towards where his two friends trailed slightly behind him.

“God, they look good.”

Mercer nodded, just as choked up as Jake at the sight of all the men they had been campaigning with the last year. “And we brought most of them back too. It don’t get no better than that.”

“Not with all we accomplished,” Dougherty added, still looking around in awe at the United States Flags flying from all over the hanger bay. “The Governor will like this display.”

General Peters and newly promoted Colonel Corey were waiting for them at the main docking hatch, where they would welcome the new military Governor of the colonies on board the Intrepid for an inspection. They both came to attention and saluted, and Jake returned it formally. Mercer and Dougherty took up their places in the welcoming line, having been assigned there by Jake, who had just laughed at an old Earth Command directive for battle ships entering dock for any type of inspection by the high command on the port of call.

Corey looked at Jake as he took his place between the Commander of the Intrepid and his Executive officer. “When Risling notices you don’t have the troops formed by our old directive, don’t blame me when he gets on you about it.”

Jake sighed, clasped his hands behind his back, and sighed audibly before whispering out of the corner of his mouth to Peters. “I see the engagement hasn’t toned the Harpy down any.”

The resulting outburst of laughter brought the Commander of the Intrepid a scathing look from his soon to be bride.

“I heard that, General,” Corey complained, still staring at Peters, who was now standing at attention with his eyes straight ahead. “I was just trying to make you aware of protocol.”

“And I appreciate it, Sara, but once was quite enough,” Jake replied. “Risling won’t notice anyway, and if he does, he can.”

“Attention on deck, the Military Governor of the Colonies boarding,” The audio call went out loudly in the hanger bay.

Risling came through the entry hatch with Colonel Janice Stedman from the Tennyson, and a small contingent of officers from Genoa. He paused inside the entrance, and saluted the large United States Flag at the hatch, as did the rest of his party. Risling then turned to the Intrepid’s Officer of the Day and saluted again, with the obligatory request for permission to come aboard. Governor Jackson Risling then turned to survey the Marines and ship’s crew under the many United States Flags, as silence reigned within the huge core of the Intrepid. After many moments, Risling walked quickly towards Jake’s contingent, returning their salutes, before embracing a grinning Jake. Risling stepped back, and glanced around with a huge smile.

“I see all the usual suspects in attendance, if not in place,” Risling commented, as Corey elbowed Jake with a whispered ‘I told you so’.

“It’s good to see you in person, Sir,” Jake said, ignoring Corey, as Risling went down the welcoming line, shaking hands with everyone, with a special wink at Mercer and Dougherty.

Jake hugged Colonel Janet Stedman, who had followed Risling. She returned his hug with enthusiasm. “It’s good to see you, Jan. I didn’t expect the Tennyson to be in port.”

“We brought in another shipment of fuel cells from Omaha,” Stedman replied, as Jake released her. “We’ll be heading to Earth with the rest of the shipment, and bringing back a whole lot of goods. You wouldn’t believe the want lists.”

“I think I can imagine. You didn’t happen to bring along a certain Doctor with my same last name, did you?”

“I asked her if she wanted to go,” Stedman answered with a shake of her head negatively. “She said she won’t be going anywhere until you take her back to Casserine.”

“That figures,” Jake acknowledged with a grin. “I will get a call in to her. It will be a lot easier from Genoa. Thanks for asking her. If you hadn’t, she’d have probably accused me of co-opting you into a plan aimed at keeping her away from me.”

Stedman laughed in appreciation, patting Jake on the shoulder as she moved on to an equally emotional re-acquaintance with her old crewmembers, Corey and Dougherty. Risling came back to join Jake in a troop walk by to close out the inspection ceremony. Jake had Mercer dismiss the troops, and send the liberty parties on their way. Risling joined

Jake in his stateroom aboard the Intrepid for a drink while they talked. Jake poured them each a double shot of rum, as Risling made himself comfortable at Jake’s small dining table. Jake raised his shot glass to clink it against Risling’s.

“To the Corps.”

“To the Corps,” Risling agreed, sipping his rum. “I can’t tell you how good it is to have you here safe, Jake. God only knows how you could have accomplished all this so splendidly.”

“We had the power, and the people, Governor,” Jake replied casually. “The only thing that could have beaten us was holding back. Because we went at these missions full bore, without worrying about how the enemy felt about it, we saved a lot of enemy lives as well as our own.”

“You certainly didn’t pull any punches,” Risling laughed. “There were some who didn’t like the heavy hand at the Rigel Tribunal.”

“Gee, that’s too bad,” Jake smiled, sipping his drink. “We needed an example to the rest of the people in authority positions out here and on Earth. Chirar fit perfectly. I didn’t hide anything. I could have just vacuumed him into orbit without sending out a vid transmission of the trial.”