Jethro: First to Fight (59 page)

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

Jethro and the other DI's celebrated
later that evening in their new favorite watering hole. Like the recruits, they
had two weeks off. Two weeks to wind down before some of them moved on to
advanced instructor duties, while others trained the new junior DI's coming in
to replace them. A week after that they settled into their new roles the next
class would be decanted. Then orientation and the cycle would begin all over
again.

“To the Marines, forever may they march
on,” Asazi slurred, waving a beer in the air.

“To Chesty Puller, wherever he may be,”
Fonz said, waving his beer.

“To tomorrow.”

“To the Gunny, for making us go through
PT tomorrow bright and early, like the sadistic bastard he is,” Jethro said,
waving his beer. That got a laugh.

“To the Gunny for making us go through
it,” Deja said from across the room. “So we'll survive and thrive.”

“Semper FI!”

“Oohrah!”

“It's Hoorah you ignoramus!” Fonz
snarled drunkenly to Asazi. She snorted.

“Depends on where you are from and what
species you are. Doesn't matter, we get the job done and the point across
anyway. So peace,” Jethro said, waving the two humans down. Fonz didn't really
understand what he was up against, Asazi would tie him into a pretzel.

“Hoorah to that,” Fonz said, eying Asazi
as he wobbled. He took another pull of beer.

While in low planetary orbit Captain
Mayweather turned her crew to one of their minor rolls, surveying the planet.
It was an incredibly tedious and boring job, but necessary.

They did an orange peel as they deployed
satellites, slowly scanning the surface below. The survey would serve multiple
purposes, it would give them an accurate, down to the meter map of the planet,
it would give them a look at the population centers on the planet, and it would
be a baseline for a comparison review the next time some poor crew was stuck
doing the deed. The bored tech zoomed in and was shocked by what she found.

The Captain smiled, looking over her
paperwork. Boring, but necessary, sometimes the mantra of the navy it seemed.
She noticed a bit of activity near the sensors, ratings were muttering and
clustered together. Since they had just passed the northern arctic, that was
unusual.

“Something I should be aware of
sensors?” she asked idly.

The sensor readings looked up. Petty
officer Qui'r clacked his mandibles. “Captain, a moment of your time if you're
not busy.”

“Sure,” she said, “It's not like I've
got anything better to be doing,” she said mildly. Janice winced. She frowned,
crossing her arms and coming closer as well.

“We were doing a survey when we ran into
people who shouldn't be there,” the rating said.

“Ran as in found on the surface,” the
Captain said, cocking her head. “And that impresses me how?”

“It is puzzling Captain, there are
sizable villages in the north arctic, each roughly a hundred people.”

“Ah,” Mayweather replied. “Perhaps in
the interest of saving me a lot of asking you should show me,” she said.

“They are here,”  the rating said,
using a truehand to point to a cluster of dots.  He zoomed in and then
moved to the side slightly. It didn't matter, her implants brought the screen
image to her retina anyway.

“What am I, oh, there they are. Okay,
people living along the coast, or a few kilometers inland. They do stand out
from the snow around them don't they? Nice heat signatures for some. For
others, hmmm...”

“That was my first concern, they should
be a lot brighter. But, then there's this,” the rating said, zooming in to the
feed, then switching to the camera image. She could see what looked like
someone, in fact several someone's getting into the water. They were there,
ghosts, but frustratingly strange looking. “Is this the best... oh, wait, I
think I know what we're looking at.”

“To swim in that water at those
temperatures would be suicide,” another rating said. “So, is it a mirage?”

“No, and now I know why your thermals
are wonky. Or why you think they don't match up. Blubber,” the Captain
murmured.

Janice came up behind her. “Blubber
Captain?” she asked.

“Yes indeedy, blubber. Blubber as in
insulation. On a Neo. A Neo who can stand the cold arctic temperatures in the
air or water. Which is why we can't see them well.”

“Oh,” the rating said quietly. He
clicked his mandibles.

“Oh indeed. Fascinating. I've never seen
a Neo like this from space,” the sensor officer said, coming over to look
closer.

“I'm betting a Selkie. From the looks of
it, more than one tribe,” Janice said after pulling up the feed and doing a
little looking into the Neo database. “Selkies though? Damn I wish I had the
genes,” she said shaking her head.

“Cheater,” the Captain teased, shooting
a half smile her way. “I bet this would be right up Corporal Deja's alley,” she
said.

“It would indeed Captain. Do you want to
let him in on the good news? Or should I?” Janice asked. She checked the
parasite craft board. “According to my board he's dirt side right now cap.”

“I'd say, considering the nature of the
good news we should give him a ring. And maybe shoot Major Forth an update too.
He might be interested in this as well.”

“I thought we were going to call dibs on
them Captain?” Janice asked, pursing her lips.

The Captain eyed her navigational
officer. “You really want the competition Janice? Selkie's are good.”

“I know. I'm the one wishing for Selkie
or dolphin genes remember? Or at least their ears,” Janice said, shaking her
head. “In the interest of the service, yes,” she said with a shrug.

“Wow, magnanimous of you,” the Captain
murmured.

“Well, I would have them by date of rank
Skipper,” Janice teased.

The Captain snorted.“Right, she drawled.

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

Deja was sitting in his shuttle running
the thirty day maintenance with the rest of his crew. Or most of his crew, he
thought sourly, noting the absence of their Chief pilot. This was the second
time the pilot had dumped the duty on his crew and then taken off to shack up
with his lover. Deja didn't mind doing work, but he did mind doing someone
else's work when they were supposed to be doing it themselves. Covering for a
buddy once and a while was one thing, getting saddled with a major headache
like this was a pain in the ass he didn't need.

When Captain Mayweather finished
explaining to him the situation she sent him the sensor logs. He frowned,
scanning them. He'd thought he was alone, his parents had died, his only
sibling had gone missing when her ship had disappeared... he stroked his bald
head. “I'm thinking you are right Captain, anything is possible. But we won't
know for certain until someone actually goes there and gets a mark one eyeball
on the situation to know for sure.”

“That's the spirit Corporal. I'm glad
you're willing to satisfy a lady's curiosity,” the Captain quipped.

“I might, but I'm not certain of the
Major. I'll have to clear it with my chain of command of course,” he replied
cautiously.

“I just sent the Major a copy of the
file as well. If he's not asleep or buried in something he should be looking at
it sometime soon.”

“Thank you ma'am. I'll give my Lieutenant
and then the Major a call,” Deja replied.

“Good luck Corporal, let me know how it
turns out. I really am keenly interested in how it goes.”

“Bored out of your mind ma'am?” Deja
asked, noting her tone.

The Captain chuckled. “Don't you know
it,” she said with a sigh.

“I'll try to find some entertainment for
you ma'am. Just as long as it's not too entertaining,” he said.

“Point. Firefly out.”

“Roger, Shuttle four niner out here.”

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

Deja kicked the request up channels to
his commanding officer. He received permission to take a team of Neo wolves and
Eskimo dogs and headed over to check it out. The wolves would be on a side
mission to show the flag. PFC Tikaani, an arctic wolf Eskimo dog cross breed
was nominally in charge of her party of five. Two of the wolves were green,
rookies on their first duty assignment. They seemed eager but cautious.

The Prejudice shuttle did an orbital
hop, popping up to orbit and then dropping down over the suspected village
site. Deja was enthralled by the view, he fed the view from the bow camera to
the team in the back. He didn't envy them, stuck without a view.

They landed a kilometer away from the
largest settlement. It was next to a bay, with a nice rocky cove sheltering it
from the worst of the elements. A pier was there, with a couple fishing
vessels. Other boats and a few large animal carcasses were on the shore. Sea
gulls hovered in the area, or dotted the rocky shore. “Damn rats with wings,” a
wolf growled. Deja nodded. He'd learned to hate the things too, and not just
because of the potential of a bird strike on his aircraft. Their shit was a
pain in the ass to get off, and it could eat paint.

The wolves jumped out of the bird,
securing the area warily.

“We're going to do this easy, I'm headed
into town,” Deja said pulling out his winter jacket and shrugging it on. He
plugged his implants into a radio and did a radio check. “Five by five?” he
asked.

Tikaani gave him a thumbs up. He looked
into the cockpit. “Five by five?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and get this over
with,” Young grumbled, waving a dismissive hand. “And don't expect me to go
running to your rescue if you get into trouble. Too damn cold out,” the human
grumbled, shaking his head.

“Gee, you're all heart Ensign,” the
Selkie said, shaking his head. The cargo master came over, face already red.
His hands were firmly in his armpits. “Get inside Karl, I'll be around.”

“What about them?” Karl asked, nodding a
chin to the Neocanines.

“Them?” the Selkie glanced at them. One
wagged his tail briefly, scenting the air. The wind ruffled their exposed fur.
“They're in their element. As am I,” the Selkie replied. “Or at least, I soon
will be. Hold down the fort, I'll check in hourly,” he said as he picked up his
rifle and checked it. He grabbed a ruck with trade and gift items and then set
out at a trot.

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

He explored the area and met the local
mayor and local tribal peace officer.  Both were human, big men covered in
roughly sewn furs. Both had long black hair and native American blood. Their
faces were craggy with wrinkles, a clear sign of sun expose and age. Both had
crude leather boots and mittens on. Both were also agitated, looking around.
The tribal peace officer had a necklace of teeth around his neck. A tight collar
of bone and precious stones was wrapped around his neck.

“I don't mean to cut this visit short
son, but we've got a bit of a crisis on our hands,” the peace officer said,
making his way past Deja and off to the outskirts of town. He was carrying an
old but serviceable hunting rifle in one hand. “I told that boy not to go out
alone!” he snarled, moving fast.

“Oh?” Deja asked. He'd noted the
buildings were yurts, cylinder tents on top of wooden platforms to stay above
the snow. Some buildings were rough outhouses, others were a mix of brick and
wood. The central meeting house had an extremely sloped roof with  rafters
that stuck out the sides and front. Animal heads had been carved into the tips.
A totem pole leaned nearby. It had an eagle on top but was splattered by
birdshit.

“I've got some stuff here,” Deja said,
shifting the bag off his shoulder. He pulled out the gifts that the Major had
asked him to bring. He gave them a case of MRE's, a radio, water filters, a
medical kit, a solar blanket, a small hand generator, a pair of tablets, a
small computer, more medical supplies, and printed maps of the area on rolled
plastic sheets.

“The Major also had us locate herds
nearby. I can give you directions to caribou. We also saw some polar bears,”
the Selkie said.

The mayor was interested and amused by
the caribou sightings, as well as the polar bears. They were a bit distracted,
they were missing a village member. They were looking for a teenager, a boy
hunter out to feed his family. The village was mostly deserted, everyone was
out looking, hunters were precious. Their gear even more so. The boy was
somewhere south, that was where he had said he was headed hunting when he had
set out. “Hopefully he didn't get eaten by a bear.”

“Lost you think?”

“Or any number of things. Could have
twisted his angle, gotten caught in a fur trap, got run up a tree by a bear, it
goes on and on. Living here is hard son, real hard.”

“I see.”

“But every minute we're looking for him
we're not out hunting or fishing. And people spread out, which makes them
liable to get hurt or lost as well. Which is a problem. I've got to look after
the good of the community.”

“I know. The good of the whole or the
individual.”

“It sucks.”

“You said south?” Deja asked.

“Yes but you're not from around here.
And forgive me, but you're a Selkie. Ground searches aren't your thing. I wish
I had some dogs. Or another Neocanine. But we don't, none but your Tix, and
he's the one lost. The wolves,  they tend to go in packs.” He scowled but
stopped saying anything else.

“Oh?” Deja said. “As it happens, I know
a few standing around nearby. Hang on a sec.” he called it in. The wolves
howled in response, then went off.

The Neo wolves worked to help the mayor
and villagers find the missing cub as well as hunt for the fast approaching
winter. They returned with Tix with them. Three of the wolves and the cub were
towing carcasses behind them. Tikaani was quite happy, ears forward, smiling
and wagging her tail. “Damn that was fun,” she panted over the communications
link. As they returned they were joined by the searchers. Some patted them on
the back, some were a bit more wary of the newcomers. All however were quite
grateful for the bounty of meat.

“Caribou. Three of them. We could have
gotten more but I figured we should stop while we're ahead. No sense getting
bogged down like the cub here,” Tikaani reported. She indicated the splint on
the cub's ankle. “Just a twist, but it'll heal if he stays off it. He probably
aggravated it a bit dragging his kill back, but he insisted on doing the last
leg himself.”