Jethro Goes to War (Wandering Engineer Jethro's tale) (4 page)

“
Yes sir.”

“
We're running
them through the basic wringer right away. Right after the initial
fitness evaluation Commander Thornby and Commander Standish are
running them through right now. Then we are running them through
psych evals over the next three days. After that we've got a day or
two of testing to get a handle on their education. We need to get rid
of the dead weight right off so we can focus on those who have the
guts to stick to the job. Hope you've got your running shoes.”
Schultz growled, smiling evilly to the other gunny.

“
Crap,”
Thompskins sighed, sitting back. He knew he was outvoted. Not that
this was a democracy or anything. Knowing which way the wind was
blowing and going with it was the only safe course left now though.

“
You want a
piece of advice? Show them you can handle the same thing right off
from the start. Lead from example, and put the fear of you into them
from day one. Scare the ever loviin' piss out of them and I guarantee
you there wont be many disciplinary problems. Land full force on each
and every transgression right away with both boots and they will
learn to toe the line. Or at least to shut up and act like they can,”
Schultz said with a shrug as the others looked at him. “That's
my plan anyway.”

“
Easy for you
to say.”

“
Yes. Easy to
say. Hard to do. Talk is cheap,” Schultz growled. He shifted
his amputated arm to draw attention to it. “But even without
this, and this,” he pointed to his eye patch. “I'll still
kick their asses. I'll make sure they know it too.”

“
Which is the
point. Scare them straight and keep them there once you do. We need
them to follow orders even if they don't want too. It's your job to
get that through their thick heads. So when it comes to crunch time
they wont freeze up in combat and get killed or get their team
killed,” The Major said with a nod to Schultz. “I'll be
looking in from time to time. When I'm out Lieutenant Pendeckle or
Ensign Halsey will be the officer in charge.”

“
Yes sir,”
the trainers said together.

“
If that's it
then we've got a lot to do before tomorrow,” Forth said. The
Major rose. They hastily followed suit. “Dismissed with my
compliments. Get some rest. You'll need it.” He nodded as they
about faced and walked out.

Jethro watched
quietly from the shade of the statue. The quad was quite busy, and
well lit. Something he wasn't at all in favor of. Being a creature of
the dark he preferred skulking around where it was quiet.

They were in a
rented park on a deck he'd never been on before. The park was big,
quite large, with trees being planted around the perimeter. A path
was there, some dirt path that ran along the entire perimeter. He
wasn't sure what that was about. The trees and old statues were nice
though.

He tugged at the
collar of his gray sweats then grimaced as he heard the stitches rip
a little. Damn thing. Human thing. Every Neo hated clothing. It
itched like no tomorrow after a few minutes of wearing it. It matted
his fur, making it hard to groom properly. He rumbled a sigh. “This
oughta be good,” a voice said from the group sitting or lying
in the grass nearby.

He looked over to
see a marine straight out of an old recruiting movie coming over. He
was whipcord thin, and since he had a dog's body, obviously a genie.
Most likely a Neo. He was wearing pea green marine khaki's, with a
lighter green top. His uniform was crisp, with fold lines that looked
sharp enough to cut with. A crop was tucked under his good arm. The
other sleeve had a prosthetic claw just before the elbow. He had a
classic drill instructor wide brim cover on. With that eye patch and
snarl he looked like he meant business.

He marched through
the quad not looking left or right. People instinctively straightened
and got out of his way. Students, teachers, staff. It didn't matter,
they all scattered in his wake. Behind him two more DI's followed.

“
On your feet
maggots!” he snarled, coming to a parade rest in front of the
group. Some of the group jumped to their feet. Others rose with
fatalistic indifference.

“
Now hear
this. You sorry excuses for recruits are about to enter hell.”
He smiled. On a Neo-Doberman hybrid as battle scarred as he was it
wasn't a pleasant sight. He sniffed the air. “Pussy. Get your
ass over here,” he growled. He turned to look squarely at
Jethro.

Surprised Jethro
froze and then hissed. His fur fluffed up and then he quietly came
out of the shadows to join the back of the group. “Welcome
welcome all,” the Doberman barked, looking around. His wide
brimmed hat turned as he looked them over. “I see we need to
sort out you lot. Normal humans over there.” He waved a clawed
hand towards another DI. “The rest of you get to learn from
me.”  He pointed to the yellow foot prints painted onto
the tarmac. “Feet on the marks move it move it!”

Hastily the genies
and aliens moved to obey. A few of the larger species had to be
guided to the back. He had them dress ranks by standing with one arm
outstretched.

“
You people
are too stupid to pour piss out of a boot with printed instructions
on the heel! All right we're going to do this right. Human twits that
way.” The human DI pointed with his crop when they didn't move
fast enough.

The humans in the
group looked surprised and then went off to the other DI. “Move
like you mean it maggots!” the DI's snarled. They moved into a
trot, and then run.

“
You've all
had your shots and your check up. Your nice long chat with the
doctors to make sure you're playing with a full deck. You're not, you
are after all, volunteers. That alone says your IQ isn't double
digits. You'll see why in a short while,” he said. He had a
slight smile on his muzzle. Jethro noted it wasn't a particularly
nice
smile at all. That
didn't bode well.

“
In a moment
corporal Jefferson is going to go around with a bag. Anything
contraband goes in the bag. This is your one and only free pass.
Don't waste it. This is your one chance to get this right. We catch
you with something contraband and you'll wish you'd never been born.”
He glared around with his brown canine eye and then turned. His eye
patch and battle scars made him look particularly vicious.

The DI assistant
walked down the rows with an open bag. A few things were thrown in
after he paused and looked at someone.

“
For those of
you who don't know, this is your fall in position. When I or another
DI, that's Drill Instructor, tell you to fall in you better damn well
do it,” the doberman growled as he glared. “Fast.”

The DI's marched up
and down the ranks smacking recruits to get them to stand straight at
parade rest. Seeing what was going on the others behind tried to
follow suit.

“
There are six
hundred and twenty recruits. Thirty seven washed out before getting
here.” He let them digest that fact for a moment. “You
lot are a platoon. That's one hundred and ten wet behind the ear pups
to take a rolled up newspaper too whenever I feel the urge.”
His lips curled in a nasty smile. “I'll be perfectly happy if
there is only one of you left when we're through.” He looked
around.

The Dalmatian next
to Jethro seemed to gulp. His tail drooped and his ears flattened. “I
so wish I'd chosen firefighter now,” he muttered, practically
whimpering. Jethro snorted softly.

“
My name is
Schultz. Gunnery Sergeant of this man's marine corps. gunny Schultz
is an acceptable alternative. I'm the right hand to god. Which for
those of you who don't know is Major Forth in this man's corps,”
he said. He looked around. “This is Corporal Brenet and Lance
Corporal Jefferson. They will be assisting me. If any of us tell you
to jump you do it and ask how high on the way
UP
.”

Jethro tried not to
roll his eyes at the cliché. Goddess of space. Terrible. Just
terrible. Right out of a bad movie. He schooled his features to a
deadpan as the human DI nearest him looked his way.

“
All right,
the rest of you are the freaks of the group. That's F platoon for
fuck ups if you don't know who the fuck you are.” The DI turned
looked around. Someone in the front row snickered.

“
You think
that's funny recruit?” He turned in a flash, hat brim right up
against the leopard's nose.

“
Yeah, just a
bit.”

“
That's sir
yes sir! And you better damn well learn it fast! Drop and give me
twenty!” The DI stepped back and slapped the cat's shoulders.
Surprised, the cat looked over to the DI as he fell forward into a
push up. He started to bounce back but the DI rested his shinned boot
on his back. “One.” He looked around pushing down with
the boot.

“
The rest of
you sissy pussy fat ass dregs can join in!” He swept them with
a baleful glare. Jethro dropped fast. Others went down slow. “Let's
make it a hundred since you don't know how to move when I tell you to
move. Now ONE!”

One hundred painful
pushups later Jethro was ready to shred something but his arms felt
like lead. He'd done push ups before, but not like that. He looked
around. A DI cuffed him until he got onto his back. “That's
right sit ups! Get on your ass like you know what you’re doing
and move people!”

They were led
through a grinding exercise regime and then let back on their feet.
Several of the platoon were already fighting mad. “Time for a
nice stroll around the quad. Fall out, Move it MOVE IT!” the
DI's screamed.

One by one and then
in groups the recruits moved off at a trot and then run. Jethro kept
pace with the others and looked around a little. He wasn't winded,
more amused than offended by the abuse. So far he had taken more guff
from his own clan than from the DI's. Somehow he felt a little
disappointed.

His platoon were all
alien or genies. Somehow most of the normal humans had been traded to
other platoons for Neo's or aliens. They had a lot of Neo's and only
a dozen or so aliens.

Neo's of just about
every persuasion that was still alive; orangutans, chimps, gorillas,
ursines, cats, dogs and others were there. Over the centuries most of
the inter breeding had turned them into mutts. Only a few stood out
in recognizable sub breeds. There were only a handful of aliens he
recognized. A Gahsg, Veraxin, Naga, and a Tauren. There were two
aliens that he wasn't too sure about though.

Most of the aliens
that had joined the Federation military preferred a career in the
navy over the marines or army. At least that was how he had thought
of it from what he had pieced together. He wasn't sure why. He knew
there were other predators out there. He nearly stumbled over a
fallen runner and so returned his attention to the course.

The humans were
running in groups as well. But for some reason they had been shaved.
Even the females. He felt unease. He remembered how and why they did
that now. He prayed to the goddess of space that they didn't do that
to him. Damn if they'd turn him into a pink skin. He had a hell of a
lot more fur than a fricken human did.

His nostrils flared
and then tried to close as he jogged past a place where someone had
made a mess. So much for that big breakfast they were fed this
morning. He looked away, trying to breathe through his mouth as he
watched another human puking off to one side. A DI was on him,
yelling at him to get moving.

“
Panting all
ready pussy? We've just started!” The Dobie DI said, jogging
near him. He wasn't sure if the DI was joking. Neo's didn't sweat
like a human. They had to relieve excess heat by panting.

“
SIR no Sir.
Just trying to avoid the stink!”

“
Aw what's the
matter? We too good for you? Well a little sweat is good for the soul
pussy. Get your ass moving. Faster! Like you mean it! Or I'll give
you a reason! Like light your tail on fire! Shove this stick up your
ass!”

“
SIR YES SIR!”
Jethro had learned one thing, don't piss the gunny off. He ran for
all he was worth.

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

Two days of
relentless drilling had Jethro feeling like his entire body was on
fire. Apparently he'd only thought he'd been fit and in his prime. He
grimaced as he ran a clawed hand paw through what was left of his
head fur. The gunny had been sadistic with that. At least he'd
stopped at their neckline though, Jethro thought, feeling the
stubble. Damn. He probably looked like one of those bird creatures.
The ones with no feathers on their heads.

“
It'll grow
back. It's only fur,” the lynx growled licking her paw.