Jethro Goes to War (Wandering Engineer Jethro's tale) (66 page)

He knew they weren't
going to win, but it was going to be an uphill battle. He was getting
seriously annoyed by the politics. He was too old for this bullshit.

“
Ouch. Are we
cutting back?”

“
No. Not if I
can help it,” Logan said firmly, adjusting his uniform. “We're
building hulls and parts as fast as we can turn them out. We will
build as much as we can, stockpiling the parts and then mothball the
ship when we can't get it any further. But if they keep giving me
grief I'm seriously considering pulling out to another system and
setting up shop there.”

“
Oh won't that
go over well,” Major Forth laughed shaking his head. “Do
they know about the Agnosta base yet?”

“
That just hit
the fan,” Logan grinned. The bases were now getting into the
news cycle of the major media outlets now that the Destiny news and
the funerals had run their courses.

“
Which is why
they rather grudgingly released some of the tax money. Not the
interest on it that they have been accumulating of course, that
disappeared down a hole somewhere.” He shook his head in
disgust.

“
Well,
whatever works. Carrot or stick.”

“
There going
to get both soon. One up the ass, one over their heads if they keep
this up,” Logan growled. “I wish we could finish Damocles
or one of the other ships. Bismark would set them straight. Or San
Diego,” he shook his head.

“
I still want
camp Pendelton inside San Diego. If we ever get anywhere with it. But
the planet side base... Well, that's the way to go I guess.”

“
True. But
it's not quite what we had in mind. We're far behind where we'd like
to be.”

“
One thing at
a time Commander. Once we set up shop in Agnosta we'll have another
source of revenue.”

“
And more
headaches to defend,” Logan sighed. “But you're right.”
He shrugged, shaking the blue thoughts off. “And now that those
kids have earned their spurs they can go right back there and help
set up shop. That will get them back on the horse and keep them
honest.”

“
Playing in my
department?” the Major said dryly. Logan blinked and then
shrugged. “As it happens I had that in mind as well,”
Forth smiled.

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

“
Lance
Corporal, you've got a ceremony in a half hour,” his computer
said on his HUD. Jethro grimaced. He finished polishing his mess
dress boots and then stepped into them. “Coming mother,”
he grumbled. At least they had waited to do the ceremony after their
friends were gone. Waited a day. He would of preferred that they
didn't bother.

 ...*...*...*...*...

Jethro, Sergei,
Hurranna, and Valenko were each awarded Purple hearts. All eight
surviving team members receive bronze stars and golden life saving
awards. They were all subdued. It wasn't like when they were in
training. Suddenly the crushing responsibility they had was there.
Suddenly they were forced to face their own mortality. And the
mortality of those they were sworn to defend. It was a sobering
thought.

“
Seems like
this is a habit,” was the Major's only comment as he pinned a
fifth laurel to the life saving medal. “One you shouldn't
break. Keep up the good work marine.” He nodded to Jethro and
then they exchanged crisp salutes. Jethro stepped back, about faced
and then moved off to rejoin his team.

Beside the team at
the award ceremony were two pairs of empty boots for Chirby and
Miles.

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

After the ceremony
Jethro looked at the little medals and thought about it. His claw
tips traced each one. He stared out blindly into the dark passage.
The party behind him was in full swing but he wasn't in the mood to
get drunk, to have a party after losing friends. It felt wrong. “It's
not really worth it is it?” the gunny said softly from behind
him.

“
No. It's
not,” Jethro sighed turning to see him. The gunny was also in
mess dress, with his cover tucked under one arm like the panther.

He'd thought he'd
love being a marine. The adventure, the fame, Being a hero. It felt
like he had been a kid, dreaming of something and now he was facing
the reality. For a long time the words Duty, Honor, and Commitment
hadn't meant much. He'd been in awe over these, this pretty bits of
ribbon and metal. He'd never thought about the sacrifice. Not until
now. Death had been something he'd faced dozens of times in the
gangs, and in some of the missions they had done. Each time he'd
gotten through it. Fear had never been a factor. Was it worth it?
What was he going to leave behind when he fell?

“
The pain, the
suffering. The lost friends. All for a bit of metal and ribbon,”
the gunny said softly, shaking his head echoing the panther's dark
thoughts. “I thought I knew. I've been through it before. Going
through this... this ceremony, it feels good to acknowledge bravery,
but it also feels wrong. Cheap.”

“
Yeah,”
Jethro breathed. “It does.” He shook his head.

“
Then again,
it makes us remember the friends we lost. And while you have that
they will always be remembered,” the gunny said quietly. “We'll
be around to make sure others don't forget either. Every time they
look at us and ask how and why we got them. We can remind them of it.
It will hurt though, still does.”

“
That it
does,” Jethro said softly. “That we will,” he said
with iron resolution. He had chosen his path. He was going to stick
to it. He remembered the girl, remembered her family. They couldn't
do anything for them but in stopping the pirates they prevented them
from butchering any more innocent people.

 
He remembered
the sheriff, and his joyous reunion with his niece. Somethings had to
be protected. Someone had to stand in the darkness to fight the
demons that came in the night. He smiled a little. Who better than a
panther?

“
So what's
next?” he asked, getting his depression under control. It felt
like the sun was coming out from behind the clouds as he shook the
dark gray off.

“
We get to
play tour guide for Major Forth. We're going back to Agnosta to help
recover that shuttle and build the new training base. After that, I
was thinking you'd do well in training.”

“
More sir?”

“
There is
always something new to learn. Never forget that son,” the
doberman said quietly. His normal rigid ears flicked in a amusement.
“But in this case, I had an assistant DI's slot in mind.”

“
Oh,”
Jethro blinked confused. Him a DI? Well, come to think of it, maybe a
recon DI slot wouldn't be so bad. It would allow him to practice some
of what he knew and work on developing new skills. He could see what
the gunny meant now, how shepherding the next generation helped
assure the present one. He was glad he was still here to see it.

“
Come on
Marine, we've got a future to rebuild,” the gunny said. “Let's
hoist a few for our friends and then get back to work.”

“
Aye aye sir,”
Jethro said with an ear flick of amusement. He pulled cover his out
from under his arm set it on and followed the gunny out. Somehow the
future felt a lot brighter already.

The End.

My blog for those of
you interested:

http://cyberforge3d.blogspot.com/

http://www.famous-quotes.net/Quote.aspx?The_perfect_is_the_enemy_of_the_good

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awards_and_decorations_of_the_United_States_military

http://www.military-quotes.com/ranks/marine-rank-insignia.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_panther

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeohzt4/Seaflags/customs/trads.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_funeral

http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/simcenter/staff_organization.htm

http://www.military-info.com/freebies/murphy.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps_Recruit_Training

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_uplift

http://www.cat-dog-names.com/eskimo-dog-names.html

If you want to see
some of what I had imagined for the Neo's check this out:

http://koutanagamori.deviantart.com/gallery/

It's the closest
I've found. I'll be putting my own spin on the idea soon enough. :)

Rank structure in the armed forces of the Federation

Training:

Enlisted:

Warrant: