Walker Brigade - Book of Incidents

"How's Second Latham doing?"

"I don't know. She wasn't doing so well when she was carried out of here." I wasn't angry, I wasn't happy either, just drained. "Request permission to go to sickbay and check on Second Latham?"

"Sure, go ahead, Chief. Oh, and tell her thanks for me."

"Did you get what you wanted?"

"Yes. Dismissed, Chief." I stood, snapped to attention for an instant, turned and left the Captain's quarters.

I slowly walked to the sickbay where they were caring for Becky. When I entered, the Doctor was just about to leave.

"She's not here anymore, Chief. She woke up halfway here and demanded we let her go. I ordered her to the sickbay so I could check her over. She seemed fine, so I let her go to her quarters with orders to rest."

"Thanks, doc. Is Specialist Eckles still in there?"

"Yes, you can talk to him if you want. I'll be letting him go tomorrow."

"Thanks, doc," I said as I slid past him into the sickbay.

* * * Simon Eckles

Max came striding into my room looking like he had been through the wringer. He pulled up a chair and sat for several minutes before he spoke. He looked as though he was having a hard time deciding what he wanted to say.

"Simon," he hesitated, "you may have heard that I lost a man yesterday," he paused again looking down at the floor, a sadness so deep washing over his face that he looked about ready to fall down, "and I'm still wondering if you would like that job?"

He came right to the point. I stared at him for some time, nodding my head, wondering if he would ever recover from the loss of his comrade.

"Yes. Yes, I would."

"You know you would have to start all over again? You wouldn't be able to keep your current rating?" I wasn't in the military for the money that's for sure.

"Yep, no problem. In fact, I should have to pay you to be able to use one of your walkers." I was joking, but it let him know I wasn't just doing this on a whim.

"Good, I can use a good man in the unit. As you can see, we are a little short on men." His unit contained seven women and five men, four men, now that Fletch had bought the farm. I would make it five again.

"You will have to resign once we reach Pacifica and do three weeks training at the Walker Academy."

"I have already resigned, and it's been accepted by your father. If you want, I can have the Captain draw up the necessary papers for me to sign and we can get all the admin crap done before we jump." His face broke into a smile at my suggestion. It looked as though he was going to recover from his loss.

"That would make things a lot easier, and shorten our time to just the three weeks you're in training that we would be short-handed. Plus, any time needed to get you to wherever we are." Little did he know that his unit wouldn't be shipping out without me. At least, that's what his father had said when I told him I would be joining his son's unit if he accepted my resignation.

We shook hands, and he turned to leave.

"Chief, I just wanted to express my condolences on the loss of Fletch."

"Thanks, Simon. That means a lot to me."

He turned quickly and stomped out of the sickbay, shoulders sagging a bit, but his back was ramrod straight. I lay back wondering what conniving schemes Max Senior had up his sleeves now that I was going to be serving with his son.

6.03.0093/10

* * * Max Jones

I went with Becky to the Coldsleep section so they could place her in coldsleep before we dropped into hyperspace. The NavComp had finished its calculation, and we were going to make the jump to Pacifica.

"God, I hate coldsleep," Becky whined.

"This is going to be a long jump, and we can't have you inciting a riot among the ratings." I smiled at her as her shoulders slumped.

"I know."

They were ready for her when we arrived, and Becky was asleep within five minutes. As the coldsleep chamber slid back into place, I turned and left, heading to the squad transport. There was much to do. The first was a schedule of exercise for the squad so we didn't get sloppy and lose our edge. There were simulations to go over, and training to see about.

This would be a fairly long jump, two months. You see, when a jump is made from a known jump point to a known jump point it is a quick process as the big computers at Pacifica have crunched the number to the last decimal place. When jumping from an unknown point, the onboard NavComp can only calculate so far before it runs out of decimal places. So safety factors are put in place and the jump is not as precise, therefore it takes a while for the jump to complete.

Personally, I don't understand that kind of stuff. But I would rather take our time than to wind up dropping out of hyperspace inside a star or planet.

Gathering up Jolene as I entered the transport, we sequestered ourselves in the wardroom to go over everything. She was going to be responsible for a lot of this stuff, and it would be good OJT for her if she ever decided to take a posting as a Squad Second. She may now think about doing just that, once she was over her grief.

Besides a training and exercise regimen, there's always some brightwork which needed polishing or some bulkhead that needed painting, these are ways to keep the squad busy and out of trouble.

8.03.0093/9

* * * Max Jones

We dropped out of hyperspace three AU's out from Pacifica. It took us four days under normal drive to drop into orbit. Becky was out of coldsleep, the transport repacked for space, and the squad became more and more excited at the prospect of carousing the Pacifica bars and eateries.

During those four days, Becky and I...well, she said she had dreamed in coldsleep, dreamed of her and me. To tell the truth, I had been too tired to remember any dreams I might have had. But I had missed her warm body and her bright smile.

As the Med Ship stabilized its orbit, our transport disengaged for the drop down to Pacifica's Stellar Army spaceport. We made the drop slow and steady. We touched down with hardly a bobble. Everyone was in their dress greens as we all headed for the port. Simon was among us, having been accepted into the Stellar Army's Walker Brigade Academy.

As we tramped down the ramp to the spaceport apron, a ground transport glided up to our parking space. It had no markings, yet you could tell it was someone of import. The driver popped out in full dress Navy blues and opened the passenger compartment door. We all snapped to as a Fleet Rear Admiral stepped out of the transport. It was my father, resplendent in his dress whites.

"At ease, troopers!" he shouted as he climbed the ramp.

We all shifted to at ease, awaiting the Admiral's pleasure. He strode right up to me. I snapped to attention, and threw him my best salute, forcing him to do the same.

"Son, it's good to see you!" he said, as he took my hand to shake. "Simon." He nodded to Simon as he shook my hand.

"Dad, what do you want?" As he had put it on a personal level, so would I.

"Nothing, son, nothing at all, just wanted to come down and congratulate you on a job well done," he said beaming to the squad.

"Now, why don't I believe that?" I asked of no one in particular. Simon snickered behind me as my father's smile disappeared.

"Son, you always doubt me. Why is that?" Why was he asking such leading questions? Did he want to be humiliated in front of my squad? It was time to change tactics.

"If the Admiral pleases, maybe we could finish this discussion in a place with a little more privacy?" I said, snapping back to attention.

"Hrumpf..." My dad scowled at me. "That won't be necessary, Chief. Simon, it was good seeing you again. Son, just stop by and see your mother while you're here." He nodded, turning away and walking back down the ramp toward his car. The squad jumped to attention as he turned, and held it until the car had pulled away.

"At ease, everyone," I said, as our ground transport pulled up and stopped at the foot of the ramp. It was liberty time on Pacifica.

9.02.0093/8

* * * Max Jones

As I dragged myself out of bed, I noticed I had orders waiting for me in my mail slot. I ignored them for the moment and went to the fresher to wash the sleep out of my brain. The past four weeks had been wonderful. The first three weeks the squad assignment was at the Academy training section. We played the role of an aggressor squad of walkers for the current set of trainees. The last week we had R&R, so most of the squad was out every night getting to know the local fleshpots and nightspots. Others, to whom Pacifica was home, spent time with their families, I spent my time with Becky.

Our complement was full. With Simon out of training, we were having a good relaxing leave. The orders were not unexpected but I just didn't feel like dealing with them right then. I headed down to the mess hall to get some food in my complaining belly before I dealt with the new orders. I'm sure my father had a doozy for us this time after our face to face on arrival.

Becky was sitting in the mess hall sipping a cup of coffee as I placed my tray on the table across from her.

"Geez, Chief, you look like I feel!" She smiled at me as I sat down.

"I feel worse than I look." I took a big swig of coffee, then started in on my breakfast.

"Any word yet?" She had asked this question every morning for the past week.

"Orders sitting in my mail slot as we speak," was all that I told her.

"You haven't read them yet?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You and I both know it's going to be someplace we could never guess." There had been a running bet among the squad as to our next posting. The pool was up to two hundred credits. There were a finite number of places we could be sent, as a Walker unit, about ten in all.

"When will you read them to the squad?"

"At ten hundred hours."

"I'll spread the word," she said as she rose to leave.

I sat there eating my breakfast and drinking coffee staring into space. The past couple of weeks had been fun and relaxing. Playing the aggressor squad at the Academy had been a blast and it also allowed the squad to hone their skills. One of the new courses had been an urban battle in a large city not unlike New Pacifica.

During this final week, we were at one of the clubs every night, and we all had headaches the next morning. Becky and I had become closer over the past month, and we were enjoying our time together without combat getting in the way. Jolene and Becky had become good friends and were hanging out together during the day. The whole squad had become closer since Fletch had bought the farm and Simon had been welcomed with opened arms. He was now an integral member of the squad.

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was now oh-nine-hundred. I left the mess hall and headed for my quarters. It was time to read my orders. I entered my quarters and pulled the mail tube from the slot, then opened the orders.

BEGINTRANS - 5A1255B4510C8899CCIL9901298KIEW3395548VVWJ1020

Date: 9.02.0093/6

To: Maximillian Q. Jones Jr., Chief Warrant Officer - 1B/64ARB/3MD

From: DevSecCom Joint Strike Force HQ, Pacifica

Re: New assignment

Subject: New York City, New York, Earth

Pursuant to Article 124 of the Stellar Inter-cooperation Act of 5-0092, you are hereby ordered to proceed to New York City, Earth. Upon landing at the Rikers Island Spaceport, you will report to the Earth Security Authority for Operational orders. You will give your full cooperation and assistance to the quelling of the insurgent organizations, which have taken over portions of the city to the exclusion of necessary city services.

Background:

The island of Manhattan has long been the center of activity, which precluded the essential services of being maintained. It has now become a battleground as the two strongest insurgent forces have started a struggle for control of the island. This struggle has injured and/or killed many innocent civilians and Earth Security forces.

The north half of the island is in control of the El Morto Diablos, the 47th Zulu Nation controls the southern half, both forces are heavily armed and equipped with Class IV armor. The fighting has been contained in the area of Central Park but has spread, at times, into the neighboring areas with disastrous results to the civilian population.

Force strength is estimated at brigade levels for both sides, although the maximum force in deployment at any time has been observed at platoon strength.

Delta squad and two battalions of Colonial Marines under the command of Colonel Jed Stewart who will be in operational control will join your squad. You will be in operational control of the Walker platoon and the Marine Walker battalion reporting to Colonel Stewart.

Promotions:

You are hereby awarded a brevet promotion to Major for the duration of this operation. Brevet promotions are awarded to all members of your squad as well as Delta squad to one rank higher than the Marine platoon commanders.

Attachments 2

Signed,

M.Q. Jones

Fleet Rear Admiral

2nd TechCom, Pacifica

A800200091998IIIIF45345873228Q1GVB00090001-090901120E ENDTRANS

Holy crap, no wonder the urban courses were added to the Academy training. New York City on Earth, I had never been to Earth. From what I had read, it certainly wasn't a tourist stop anymore. Mostly agrarian, the major cities in decay and mostly slums, Earth had really become a planet of farmers. Its cadre of Security Forces was mainly been pulled from the inner cities themselves, so they are heavily embedded with gang members of one sort or another.

Attached to the orders was a copy of the roster and TOC, including the makeup of the Marine contingent. It looked like half the Marines would be equipped with Mark V Walkers and everyone would be wearing Class II armor. That's two classes higher than we usually wear. Holy shit the other battalion had a Company of M'roby and two Companies of humans. I wonder if they have gotten over their fright of being in proximity to women. It would sure be a hell of an operation if they ran in all directions whenever a woman showed up.

I turned to my deskcomp and brought up the squad roster scrolling through the names and bios. Christine Shonner, Shonner, Christine born blah, blah New York, Earth. Okay, it looks like we had a homegrown expert. Anyone else? Wickers was raised on Earth but not in New York. Nope, no one else had been born in New York or lived in the New York area of Earth.

It was time to address the troops. I entered the squad room managing to get the attention of Becky, Christine, Jolene, and Simon, and nodded for them to follow me to the front of the room. Before calling the room to attention, I wanted to huddle with my team leads and my very own ex-mission specialist.

"We've been ordered to Earth," I told them in a whisper with my back to the rest of the squad. Their eyes all got wide except Simons.

"Ok, spill it, Simon."

"Chief, I can't."

I shoved the orders over to him to show him who signed them.

He looked, then nodded. "Ok, ok."

He stood there studying the floor as he thought about what he was going to say. When he started to speak, I waved him to silence.

"Whatever you have can wait until after this little meeting. Shonner, we're going to New York City. I want to know everything you know about the city and the politics within the city. You'll be briefing the troops later. Simon, Latham, Akers and I will meet right after I announce our orders to the troops." They all nodded in agreement. Christine's eyes were huge with astonishment. I turned to the squad, and they all came to attention.

"Attention to orders, at ease. We have orders sending us to Earth to assist Earth Forces with quelling an uprising in the city of New York. It seems a group of gangs has gotten together and are trying to take over the city. There are two factions of brigade strength each. Delta Squad and a rump brigade of Colonial Marines will join us. The Marine commander will be in operational command, and I will command the Walker squads along with the Marine Walker battalion.

"We will be mounted up and ready to depart at 0800 hours tomorrow. There will be a mission briefing in route to Earth. Tonight is your last night in Pacifica, so make sure all your gear is stowed and in order before you go into town. Dismissed!"

"Wait, wait!" I shouted at them as they started to scramble from their seats. "Who won the pool?" The laughter was immediate. I knew no one had won or even come close. "Dismissed!"

As the squad filed out of the room, I turned to the others. Christine was standing behind me with a bewildered look on her face as the rest of the leads and Simon took seats.

"Chris," I spoke softly to her, "you can go now. Get your gear squared away."

"But, but..." she stuttered as she looked around the room. "You want me to brief the squad. Don't you want to know what I know so you can brief the squad?"

"Christine, come sit next to me." I waited until she was seated. "I want you to brief the squads. You may even brief the Marines, but I don't know that for sure. You're our resident expert on New York and its inner workings. You spent a good part of your life there, and you survived. I want the squad to survive. I'm depending on you to tell them how. Okay?"

"I can do that. Yes, I can do that, Chief," she said nodding her head. She was now sure of herself, confident that she could help her mates survive in the bleak wilderness that was New York City.

"Good, good. Now go get your gear squared away, and think about what you want to tell your squadmates about survival in New York. Then go have a night of fun."

"I will, Chief," she said as she rose from her chair and left the room at a trot.

"Ok, now for you, Simon. What's going on in New York that we should know about?"

Simon was a wealth of knowledge on the geopolitical situation in old New York. He spent the better part of an hour filling us in on everything he knew. By the end of the meeting, we were all experts in the way the government of Earth and New York City worked. All this knowledge gave us nothing on how to survive in the city only how to survive in the political climate of Earth. Simon's mission briefings had been from the point of view of a Mission Specialist going into the situation undercover, not as part of a military force tasked with the quelling of an uprising.

We broke up the meeting so we could each see to our gear and our teams. Simon left with Jolene since as he was assigned to her squad as Fletch's replacement. I had talked with her and offered to move Westerboc over since he was more experienced than Simon was, but she had asked for him to be assigned to her team. She said she could use a good information source like him in her squad.

I went to see to my gear and team, and get things squared away in the shuttle.

9.03.0093/6

* * * Becky Latham

After a night out on the town, we were all in good spirits as we sat in the squad bay waiting for lift off. We would meet our transport in orbit where our shuttle would dock in one of the docking bays. Delta squad in its own shuttle was waiting for liftoff just as we were. From what I understood, the Marines had been aboard the transport for the past two days, getting their gear stowed aboard.

While we waited, there were jokes told and stories of past adventures. The Chief was in a huddle with Shonner at the far end of the bay. They were both scribbling notes as they talked. Christine had a look of wonder and stern concentration on her face as she answered the Chief's quick-fire volley of questions. Simon was sitting next to Jolene, quietly answering her questions as they tried also to pay attention to the jokes and stories told by the others.