Forge of War (Jack of Harts) (26 page)

Charles rubbed his chin.  He finally grunted and shook his head.  He sat down on the arm of a chair and sighed.  “I will be honest here.  The nets all over the Terran and Alpha Centauri systems are full of our battle footage right now.  At Fort Wichita, we rose out of hyperspace and blew away the Shang flank.”  Charles shook his head again.  “The talking heads are saying we
saved
the Peloran with that maneuver.”

Jay grumbled something that Jack couldn’t translate.  It was probably in Navajo, but Jack understood exactly what he meant.  He was willing to bet that if Jay’s momma was here she’d be washing his mouth out with soap right now.

“I could not agree more,” Charles answered with a wry smile.  “Then we fought
beside
the Peloran and saved the
British
.  Every red blooded American likes to remember all the times we saved
their
asses.”  Charles rubbed his forehead as the Cowboys chuckled.  “And then we destroyed a Chinese squadron without help, incidentally while taking the pressure off
another
British fleet.  And I can tell you that the net is
full
of our latest escapade, flying through the middle of what they are reporting as the Shang Grand Fleet and ripping it apart.  Once again saving the British’ collective asses.”

“Crap,” Jack muttered, not liking what he was hearing at all.

“Exactly,” Charles answered with a chuckle.  “They are turning us into Big Damn Heroes on the nets.  And the fact that we only lost four pilots doing this makes us all the more ‘Bad Ass’ according to the nets.”  He waved a hand at Jack.  “Your meeting with that kid was merely the tip of the iceberg.  We have got volunteers climbing out of the woodwork. 
Everybody
wants to be a Cowboy now.”

“Please tell me some of them are trained,” Jay rumbled.

Charles smiled.  “In fact, there is a Marine Fighter Attack Squadron, the VMFA-911, here on New Earth.  They are a training squadron.  They missed most of the fighting here and their pilots are anxious to fight.  After we destroyed the Chinese, the entire Devilcat pilot roster requested a complete transfer as a group to the Cowboys.”

The Cowboys looked uncomfortable at the idea of an entire unit coming over to them.  Charles raised a hand to stem off any words.

“Do not worry.  Leif Erikson Command did not approve the transfer.”  Charles sighed and shook his head.  “In short though, we have more volunteers to join the Cowboys than we could ever hope to use.  The problem is that most of them lack our aptitude to fly fighters.  Complicating that is that the Department of Defense realized they have lightning in a bottle with us.  They seek to copy us closer to home.  They have established an entire new
wing
based out of Pasadena flying Avenger fighters.  All new Avenger production is going to that wing.”

“They do realize that a Texas-built Avenger could never do what we did, right?” Jack asked.

Charles grimaced.  “They are aware that the Peloran upgraded us.  I am not certain they realize the
difference
between a Terran-build Avenger and an upgrade though,” he finished with a shake of his head.

“We’re going to lose a lot of people if they don’t.”

“I know.”  Charles shook his head.  “I am trying.  The problem is that we are not going to receive any support at all from home.  Without Yosemite Yards…what we have left is strained to the limit right now, and they have decided back home that if the Peloran are willing to support us logistically, they can have us.”

“That’s…troubling,” Jay rumbled.  “Are they…dropping us?”

Charles laughed.  “
Hell
no.  We are too much of a recruiting tool for that.  But reading between the lines, things are worse back home than have been reported.  I have been receiving messages from my family.  They cannot say anything because of censors, but we have a code.  We have been polling all of the American manufacturers and matters are not as well as we could wish.”

“Well, we lost Yosemite,” Jack said with a shrug.  “Of course it looks bad.”

Charles smiled.  “Yes, but it is worse than it looks.”

“That would be pretty hard,” Jack said.

Charles gave him a dark chuckle.  “You are right.  It would take some very diligent work to make it worse.”  He shook his head again.  “And we did it.”

Jack blinked in confusion.  “What?”

Charles shrugged.  “We did it.”  He grunted.  “We wrote environmental regulations that made it too expensive to build factories on planet so we built them in orbit.  Then the
orbital
regulations made it expensive to pollute the
spaceways
, so we moved them to the Yosemite Point to keep them inside the Lunar Treaty Zone.”

“And the Shang never signed the Lunar Treaty,” Jay rumbled.

“Exactly,” Charles said, arms spread wide.

Jack chewed his lip for a few seconds.  “So what you’re saying is that American industry in the Terran System is…gone?”

Charles raised a finger.  “
Heavy
industry, yes.  What we have left is devoted to keeping the ships we have alive.  We will not see new warships for a
very
long time.  Light industry, we have some backup.  We can build small arms forever and the Hellcats are easy with what we have left.  Larger ships like the Avenger we are effectively assembling by hand though.”

“Ah, Hell,” Jack muttered.

“Yes.”  Charles shrugged.  “But the factories we
do
have operating are building enough Hellcats to keep up with everybody who passes pilot training.”

“So we’re not going to get any replacement pilots from Earth?” Jay asked.

Charles frowned and shook his head.  “Not a single one.”

“So that leaves us with what’s at Alpha Centauri, right?” Jack asked.

Charles let out a long breath and smiled.  “Exactly.  While Leif Erikson Command did not approve a full transfer, they have given tentative approval for six Devilcat pilots to join us.  It is up to us to choose those pilots, not including their commander of course.”

Jack raised a finger.  “Sounds like we need to go down and do some screening.”

Charles grimaced.  “We will test them up here to see if they are good enough to fly with us.”

Jack smiled.  “Oh, definitely.  The skills are important, but so’s the temperament.  We need people who can relax with us in here just as well as fight out there,” Jack said with a wave of his hand around the room.  “We don’t want people who just want to be Big Damn Heroes.  We need to find out
who
they are, and to do that we need to go to their base and observe them in their natural environment.”

Charles frowned in thought and turned to Dorothy with an upraised eye.  His cyber cocked her head to the side before nodding.  Charles grunted.  “You may just be on to something, Jester.”

Jack blinked.  Charles had agreed too quickly.  He glanced at the other Cowboys to see the same confusion on their faces.  “Sir?” he asked.

Charles ignored him and turned to an empty wall.  “Hal.  I assume you have been monitoring?”

The
Guardian Light’s
cyber flickered into existence in front of the wall and smiled.  “Of course I have.  Am I right in assuming you have taken the argument to its logical conclusion?”

Charles smiled.  “I hope so.  We need more pilots.  We need to know them.  Best way to do that is to live with them.  We are not leaving system soon are we?”

Hal shook his head.  “Not with the damage we have sustained.  It will take some time to complete our repairs and the salvage operations.  You will have much of it to recruit.”

Charles nodded.  “Good.  I would like to formally request a temporary change in the duty station of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA-112 from the
Guardian Light
to the Leif Erikson Spacebase, there to remain until the
Guardian Light
and other associated units are ready to leave system.”

Hal smiled, cocked his head to the side, and waited a few seconds.  He finally nodded and returned his gaze to Charles.  “Aneerin approves.  Pack up and launch when ready.  Six new pilots you say?”

Charles sighed.  “Up to six.  I hope to find that many we want, but I cannot guarantee it.”

Hal nodded.  “I understand.  I will have Cowboy Country expanded to support fourteen pilots while you are away.”  Hal blinked.  “Which is of course easier than expanding while you are still here.  Funny how that works, is it not?”

Charles smiled.  “Hilarious.”

Hal returned the smile and gave Charles a half bow.  “We will keep the home fires burning.  Choose well and return with greater strength.  We will need it soon.”  With that, Hal faded back out of existence and left Cowboy Country to the Cowboys.

Charles turned back to the Cowboys and smiled.  “That settles it.  We are all going to New Earth.”

“Ooorah!” the Cowboys shouted, excited at the idea of spending time on a real planet again.

Jack found himself holding the scarf again and smiled.  He could think of some good points to being on planet.  He glanced at Betty to see her smiling at him.  He gave her a half shrug.  It would do no good to profess innocence in this case.  She’d caught him red handed, in a manner of speaking.  He patted the scarf and her smile grew.  She knew exactly what he was thinking.  As usual.

Jack watched Alpha Centauri A slip below the horizon, leaving only Cen B’s orange bulk low in the sky.  As he watched, Proxima’s red dot appeared in the sky as well for a few seconds before fading away.  It usually flared every hour or so.  It was more amazing when both suns were down, but even during the day it was impressive to watch.  He’d seen pictures of course, but the reality of New Earth’s sky was so much more amazing than any picture could tell.

Jack turned away from the sight, shaking his head in wonder, and scanned the beach next to him.  Ocean waves washed onto the beach with a dull roar.  Men, women, and children laughed and played in the surf and the sand.  Some lay on the beach, taking advantage of the remaining twilight to finish their sunbathing.  Jack scanned the bikini-clad bodies and smiled.  He really loved beaches.

A throat cleared itself next to him and he turned to look at Betty.  She was at home on the boardwalk, wearing her favorite yellow sundress and white sandals.  The dress fluttered in the salty warm breeze coming off the ocean, and he aimed an innocent smile her way.

She arched an eyebrow.  “Don’t give me that look,” she said in a stern tone.  “I know you too well.”

Jack held the smile.  “What?  No jury would convict me.”

Betty’s face twisted into a sweet smile.  “But
Samantha
might.”

Jack’s hands reached for the scarf hanging around his neck reflexively.  “We don’t even know each other yet,” he returned, trying hard not to sound guilty.

“But you’re here to meet her,” Betty rejoined with a smile that suggested she heard the guilt despite his efforts.  “Ogling other girls is not a way to make a good impression.”  Her amused smile vanished and she cleared her throat.  “Well, I suppose I should leave you now.  Good luck, Jack,” she said and faded away.

Jack swallowed, slipped a hand into his pants pocket, and pulled in a deep breath.  He held his head high and looked out over the beach, watching the sunbathers and swimmers packing up to go home.  He breathed in and out in time to the waves, didn’t stare too much at any one young lady, and waited.

A fresh set of footsteps on the boardwalk approached his position and he felt electricity in the air.  He smiled and continued to scan the oncoming waves, waiting.  The footsteps stopped behind him.  With a deep breath to puff his chest out, he turned around to see flaming red hair and twinkling emerald eyes lit by the falling sun.  Jack pulled the white cowboy hat from his head with his free hand and bowed.

“My lady.”  He stood tall again and placed the cowboy hat back on his head as he studied her.  A loose white blouse and pleated black skirt fluttered in the breeze, shrouding her lithe body.  She held a scarf that matched his hung around her neck, and peered back at him with inquisitive intelligence that told him she was going to be a seriously wild ride.

She glanced up and down his Dress Whites with an amused smile.  “I think someone’s trying to impress me.”

Jack placed his free hand on his belt and held his smile.  “Is it working?”

Samantha clicked her tongue.  “Maybe.”  She looked out at the beach and nodded slowly.  “Enjoying the scenery?”

Jack chuckled.  “As a matter of fact, I was.”  He aimed a charming smile at her.  “But it pales in comparison to the Dulcinea who called me here.”

Her eyes widened in surprise.  “And
where
would this girl be?” she demanded, a twinkle in her eyes.

Jack smiled in pure pleasure, pulled in a deep breath, and released a long sigh.  “In a castle far away, waiting for her knight in white armor,” he said and pulled his Dress Whites tight with a wry smile.

Samantha smiled and examined the scarf hanging from his neck with an appraising air.  “And what is this then?”

“Why, a favor, a boon,” Jack said and waved his free hand in the air like a magician.  “A charm of great luck bestowed on me by my Dulcinea,” he finished with a raised finger.

She arched an eyebrow.  “
Your
Dulcinea?”

Jack smiled and lowered his hand to hold the scarf.  “Well, every brave knight needs a reason to ride off to battle with the dark and horrible enemy.”  He held her gaze and felt his hand squeezing the scarf a little too tightly.  “And to return,” he added without thinking.

Samantha’s eyes opened wide and he mentally cursed himself for letting his composure slip.  Confident, confident, he must be
confident
.

“Or so the stories say,” he added with a wry smile.

She cocked her head to the side and examined him, a concerned look in her eyes.  “And here I thought you were a Cowboy,” she said and raised a hand to tap his cowboy hat’s brim.

Jack chuckled at her, spreading his arms out wide.  “I am.  Don Quixote, the errant Cowboy, at your service.”

Samantha erupted into a laugh of pure amusement and shook her head.  She looked back at him with serious eyes.  “And what if your Dulcinea turns out to be an Aldonza?”

“Reality always trumps fantasy,” Jack answered with a serene smile.  He whipped the scarf from around his neck with a smooth motion and held it out to her.  “You ordered me to return this boon tonight, my lady, and I
have
…returned.”

She turned away to look at the beach, but he sensed the corner of her eyes on him so held his stance.  Something was reserved about her.  She was thinking about something that wasn’t here.  He didn’t know what it was, but warning bells clanged in his mind.  Their meeting was entering new territory, and he didn’t know what the rules were.

Of course that part was usual with girls.

She finally broke the silence with a single word.  “Why?”

Jack raised an eyebrow.  “Hmm?”

Samantha turned to face him again and he saw determination in her eyes.  “Why did you kiss me last night?”

Jack frowned, flicked the scarf back to drape over one shoulder, and tried a stalling tactic to give him time to think.  “Why did you kiss me
first
?”

She raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a long look before shrugging.  “OK.  Fine.”

Jack shivered.  He knew girls, and he knew that those two words uttered together were
never
either OK or fine.

“I’ll bite,” she said in a sweet tone that sent more shivers down his spine.  “I was partying, I was
enjoying
the New Years celebration, I was dancing, and I was having fun.  And the ball came down and people started kissing and I decided I wanted to do that too.  So I found some random handsome guy who wasn’t kissing anyone and I glomped onto him.”  Her mouth pulled down in something near a frown.

“You think I’m handsome?” Jack said with a smile, trying to shift the conversation to his advantage.

Her eyes narrowed and she brought one finger up to touch her lips.  She let out a long breath and extended the finger to push against his chest.  “And then he kissed me back,” she said, jabbing him with each syllable.  “
Why
did he kiss me back?”

Jack blinked for a moment.  He really
didn’t
like being just a random kiss, but it hadn’t been one in the end.  He quickly dove back into a charming smile aimed at her.  “Well,
you
are an
amazing
young lady who should be kissed well and often.”

Samantha smiled.  “That may be true.”  Her expression turned more serious.  “But is that
really
why you kissed me?”

Jack spread his arms out wide and the scarf fluttered in the wind.  “Why does
anybody
kiss?  Sparks.  Electricity.  You’re a good kisser.  There’s a lot of reasons we kiss each other.  To me it all comes down to whether or not we enjoyed it.  I enjoyed it.  I
really
enjoyed it.”  He looked at the scarf in his hand for a second before meeting her gaze.  “You did too.  Has that changed?”

Samantha shook her head.  “I don’t know.  I
did
…at the time.”  She shifted her hand over to brush the scarf and smiled before shaking her head.

Jack realized she was of two minds on last night.  She liked it, and was troubled by it.  The question was why.  He could try to charm her into using just the parts of her that liked it, but that wouldn’t fix the issue really, just delay it.  He needed to understand the other mind before he could figure out what to do.  Assuming he ever
could
understand of course.

He aimed an understanding smile at her and let out a long breath.  “What troubles you, my lady?” he asked and waved his hand in a chivalrous manner.

She shook her head but he detected the barest smile in it.  “You make it hard to be angry with you.”

Jack wrapped the scarf around his neck with a flick of the wrist and smiled at her.  This really was dangerous territory if she was trying to be angry with him.  He had to know
how
dangerous.  “Why do you wanna be?”

“I don’t!” Samantha spat out, and shook her head.  “But, I’ve been thinking.”  She raised her eyes to meet his again and he saw turmoil in them.  “I wanted a short, fun, no commitment kiss.  Happy New Year and goodbye honey all in one.  Then you grab me, knock me off balance with your flashy little dance moves, and kiss me like…wow…”  Her eyes went slack in memory and she paused for a couple seconds.  She shook her head to clear it and her expression turned hard again.  “But I made it clear I didn’t want it.  I protested.  I struggled.”  She poked him in the chest, hard.  “You kept kissing me anyways.  And no matter how much I liked the kiss, I don’t like
that
,” she finished with a grim look.

Jack licked his lips and looked down, a chill going down his spine as he really understood.  He could see her point of view.

She pulled his chin back up and looked him in the eyes.  He saw the determination to do whatever needed doing in them.  “Jack, part of me’s screaming at me right now for saying this, but I will walk and you will never see me again if I can’t trust you.  If you keep playing this ridiculous little game of yours, I’m gone.  Or you can talk. 
Your
call.”

Jack smiled and sucked in a deep breath.  She had a truly amazing mind, and the stubbornness to stick to her guns no matter what.  She was amazing.  He felt something in him shift and knew, whether she walked or stayed in the next moments, he would be proud of her for doing it.  And she was worth going all the way to make her stay.

“It’s not really a game,” he said in a calm, clear voice.  “Oh, I’ve kissed a lot of girls in my time.  High school.  College.”  He chuckled.  “More than one father chased me off at gunpoint.”  He shook his head but held her gaze so she could know he was telling the truth.  “I knew every one of them.  I enjoyed spending time with them.”  He chuckled again and rubbed his jaw.  “I think the only time I ever did
homework
was with…someone that made me want to do it with them.  More than once, a father barged into bedrooms to find
books
scattered over the bed, thank God.”  Jack gave a low whistle.  “Saved my bacon let me tell you.”  He chuckled for a moment, then chewed his lip for another, and brought one finger up to hold it between them.  “They were friends, people I trusted and liked.  I’ve never kissed a
stranger
before.”

Samantha stepped back and her eyes shifted from side to side as she considered his words.  He waited for her to look back at him before continuing.  She needed to know he was truthful.

“I liked the kiss but couldn’t
stand
being the stranger.  So I decided to make certain we weren’t strangers by the time the kiss ended,” he finished with a calm look.  He spread both arms out wide.  “Wrong or right, that was it.  That was why.  And after that I stepped back and waited for your next move.”  He took a very small step back, just enough to show his intentions, grabbed the scarf and whipped it off his shoulder to hold it between them once more.  “I don’t want you to walk right now.  I
really
don’t.”  He swallowed, but now was not the time for half measures.  “But I will
never
stop you from walking if that is your choice.  Not today, not tomorrow, not ten years from now.  Never.”  He gave her a calm smile and waited for her next move.  Again.

Samantha remained still, studying him, for what seemed like an eternity.  Finally she bit her lip, nodded, and sighed.  She stepped close, grabbed the scarf, and very firmly placed it back on his shoulders.  He swallowed as an electric shiver ran through his body.

“I believe you,” she whispered and patted the scarf, sending another jolt through him.  She turned away from him and gave a slight nod.

Motion caught Jack’s attention and he focused on a man by a car in the distance.  The man nodded back, opened the car door, and slipped into it.  A few moments later, it lifted off the ground and flew away.  A chill went down his spine as the fact that she’d expected to walk settled in.

She turned back to him and smiled.  “I’m afraid I didn’t plan very well.  Do
you
have any plans?”

Jack sucked in a deep breath, gave her his best charming smile, and crooked his arm out next to him.  He looked down the boardwalk, at the vendors shutting their shops, at the sunbathers going home, and sighed.  “Would my lady like to walk down the boardwalk?”