Alarm of War

Sergeant Kaelin nodded. “That was a good job, Brill.” He looked at him for a long moment, pausing as if he were going to say something more, then abruptly turned and left. Emily turned back to Brill.

“All honor to you, Hiram! By my life! It worked like a charm!” She laughed and hugged him. He shook his head somberly.

“You know what, Em?” he said softly, so that only she could hear. “I didn’t know if it would work, I really didn’t.” He swallowed and lowered his chin. “I mean, I thought it should work, but I was so scared. Once I sent you out to harass them, all I could do was sit and wait to see what would happen. Gods of Our Mothers, I waited for hours before I had a clear picture of what was going on, and even then I was afraid to believe it.” He smiled weakly. “Harder than it looks, Em. Harder than it looks.”

And that, Emily thought at the time, was the lesson of the day.

There were more missions, and sometimes Blue Company came out on the losing end. Through it all, Emily kept her head down and her mouth shut, anxious not to rile Sgt. Kaelin. A couple of times he made her the officer for a tactical problem, but they were relatively simple and straightforward, focusing more on logistics and movement than combat. She performed the tasks competently and that was that.

Chapter 10

P.D. 948

The Recruit

At Victorian Fleet Training Facility on Aberdeen

One morning late in the third month of training, Sergeant Kaelin assembled Blue Company and told them to stand at ease.

“Alright, most of you know that in five days this training cycle ends and you will rotate to specialized Fleet Training. On that day you will officially become “Cadets” instead of mere recruits. You will begin classes in line with your long-term assignments within the Fleet. Today,” he paused to consult the clipboard he held, flipping several pages before coming to the one he wanted. “Okay, today there is a light schedule in the morning at the weapons range. You’ll be brought back here for your mid-day meal and this afternoon you’ll begin packing your equipment, tagging anything that needs maintenance. Report out front in fifteen minutes with your rifle and two battery packs. No other equipment is needed.” He closed his clipboard with an audible ‘snap.’ “Recruit Skiffington is in charge of the Company for today’s activities. That is all! Dismissed!”

Beside her, Cookie gave a “Whoop!” and grinned broadly. “We are almost outta here! I finally get rid of you candyass Navy pukes and start Marine training.” She turned and started back to the barracks to get her equipment.

Emily laughed and started to join her, then caught sight of Brill. She hesitated. Brill was frowning.

“What?” she demanded. “Aren’t you glad we’re getting out of here? Don’t you want to start all those intelligence school courses you’ve been waiting for?”

Brill glanced at her and then back to the main yard, where transport trucks were already pulling up to take them to the weapons range. “How many days off have we had, Em?”

“What?” she said, confused. “Come on, lighten up, Hiram. What’s your problem?”

“Three days,” he said, answering his own question. “We’ve been here for three months, and in that entire time they have given us three days with no training. Now, with five days left of training, they tell us we have light training today and nothing but packing and cleaning for the rest of the week. Don’t you find that a little…” he groped for the right words, “…too good to be true?”

Emily sucked in a breath, thinking furiously. Five days left…five days to put them in the field, five days to…

“Oh, damn!” She turned and glared in the direction of the Administration Building, where Sgt. Kaelin kept his office.

“What’s with you two?” It was Cookie, who had come back to see what was keeping them.

“Hiram thinks it’s all bullshit. If he’s right, instead of rifle range, we are going to be sent on a major exercise.” Emily quickly explained it. Cookie whirled on Brill.

“Goddammit, tell me you’re makin’ this up!” she said accusingly.

Hiram shrugged. “Think about it. They put us into the field with little ammo, no food or water, then they throw something big at us. It’s perfect, in a gruesome sort of way. Catch us unawares. Lot of stress, have to think on our feet.” He shrugged again. “Think of it as Sgt. Kaelin’s special graduation present as we go off to Fleet School.”

“Aw, bugger me,” Cookie moaned.

In the Administration Building across the field, Sgt. Kaelin stood in the window, watching them through a pair of binoculars.

“You are a mean sonofabitch,” you know that, Sergeant?” Major Korber said pleasantly.

“I never disagree with the Major, sir.”

Korber snorted derisively. “Have they figured you out, Sergeant? Will they escape the full emotional trauma of the dirty trick you are playing on them? Or are they going to be thoroughly and irrevocably screwed, like the last class?”

Kaelin scanned the field once again with the binoculars. “Well, sir, I think some of them sense that something is not quite right.”

Major Korber leaned forward. “Really? Who?”

“Brill, Sir.”

Korber looked blank.

“The smart one. The guy who completely buggered Green and Gold two weeks ago. He’s talking to Tuttle.”

“Ah, the history major. Is she smart enough to figure it out?”

Kaelin grinned ruefully. “Yes, sir. She’s plenty smart. I haven’t thrown much at her yet. Been saving her for this.”

Korber gestured for the binoculars. Kaelin handed them over and the Major peered through them. “Okay, I see Brill. Looks like a bloody accountant, doesn’t he? I recognize Sanchez. She already looks like a Marine.” He moved the binoculars a fraction. “Is that Tuttle?” He snorted. “She’s tiny, for Christ’s sake.” He lowered the binoculars, his smile gone, and his tone serious. “Is she tough, Andy?” he asked, using the Sergeant’s Christian name.

Kaelin shrugged. “Well, sir, that’s what this mission is intended to find out, isn’t it?”

“Has any group ever successfully completed this mission?”

“No, sir. Always a first time, though.”

Korber pursed his lips. “Who is the officer of the day?

Kaelin grinned wolfishly. “Skiffington.”

Korber shook his head in dismay. “You’ve got a mean streak, Andy.

On the parade field, Emily checked her watch: ten minutes left. Grant Skiffington was nearby. She ran to him. “Hey, Skiff! Hold up! There’s a real good chance this is a setup for a surprise mission. You should tell everyone to wear full battle rattle. Extra food and batteries.”

Skiffington stopped and turned to her. He smiled condescendingly. “And you made the jump from a morning at the rifle range to a surprise mission how, exactly?”

“Hiram thinks they’re going to send us on a major exercise.”

Skiffington pursed his lips and nodded. “Ah, well,” he said sarcastically. “If Brill says it, it must be so, right?” He looked tall and fit and more like a soldier than Brill, and the contrast of the two of them standing side by side somehow made Brill’s hunch sound like a feeble joke.

“Sergeant Kaelin would never give us five days of light duty,” Brill said defensively. Emily winced.

Skiffington laughed then, the tone hovering on the edge of outright scorn. “You want everyone to carry thirty extra pounds because the Sergeant is being nice? You sound like the lunatic fringe, you