Hell, everybody had heard of Warboys' stand against the Seppy line outside Mons City during the Exodus. He alone had been credited with over thirty kills that day! When the tankheads and AEMs had been overrun in the desert outside Mons City, instead of running, Warboys led the charge of his Warlords headfirst into the Seppy line, where he fought them almost to a standstill, until the numbers game finally had caught up with the tankheads. Then, as any good marine knew the story, a group of FM-12 Marines—Cardiff's Killers—had to come in and save their Army asses in the nick of time.
'Tamara, are we clicking along all right?' Major Roberts asked her as she approached them. She half saluted the major who, likewise, half returned it.
'The Robots are a well-oiled, heart-breaking, life-taking machine, sir. They are gung-ho and good to fucking go,' Tamara replied with a salute.
'Just what I wanted to hear, Gunny.' The major turned and motioned his armored hand toward Warboys. 'Gunnery Sergeant Tamara McCandless, I'd like you to meet Colonel Mason Warboys. Mason and I played football at Ohio State together.' Major Roberts grinned at Tamara, and she was sure that he knew what her response would be.
'Well, sir, I'll try not to hold that against either of you.' Tamara grinned and saluted Warboys, saying, 'It is an honor to meet you, Colonel Warboys. You know what the only sign of near sentient life in Columbus is, uh, sir?'
'What's that, Gunny?' Warboys returned her salute and asked with a raised left eyebrow.
'It's just off Highway 33. There's a sign that says Ann Arbor three hundred kilometers.'
'You got something against my Buckeyes, Gunny?'
'You see, Mason,' Major Roberts interjected, 'Tamara here played basketball in college.'
'Is that right? Let me guess . . . .'
'Wolverine, sir!' Tamara stuck out her armored chest rigidly and laughed proudly, as any self-respecting student from Michigan would have at least some loathing and seething hatred for Ohio State grads. The two senior officers chuckled for a moment, and then Tamara quickly realized they were ready to talk business. 'What can I do for you two, sirs?'
'Well, Tamara, as you know, we are to disperse on the ground with the tank squadron. What I'd like to do is for you to pick a team of recon AEMs to ride down with them.' The major had a blank stare for a second as if he were reading something DTM, and then he continued. 'The Warlords are likely to burst through to the target first, but they probably will not be able to sustain the location. But a small recon team could get past the enemy lines of defense and wreak havoc from the other side.'
'I see, sir,' she replied. 'Do you have any particular team in mind to do this recon?'
'Your discretion, Sergeant, minus one. I'm going with you. But coordinate with the colonel here and get it done.'
'Yes, sir.' Tamara had gone to ground in a drop tube before but never one filled with a tank. Her thoughts were that it was going to be a hell of a ride. 'Colonel Warboys, I hope your tankheads don't mind getting awfully cozy with a bunch of marines, sir.'
'They shouldn't, Gunny, as long as you don't put anybody from Auburn in the tube with Warlord Four. We'd likely not be able to put up with the continuous shouts of 'War Eagle' and 'Roll Tide'!'
'Damn, sir, I don't think we've got anybody in the whole company from the SEC,' Tamara responded with disappointment in her voice. 'That might've been fun.'
'Skinny, once we drop through, you six of the Saviors shag ass to the southwest apex of the octagon,' Major Caroline 'Deuce' Leeland explained to her second-in-command while she slipped into the organogel layer of her armored g-suit. She slid the cool pseudo-liquid garment up over her naked body, causing her to shiver slightly. But just as soon as the gel layer
'Roger that, Major,' Captain Connie 'Skinny' Munk acknowledged, likewise pulling up her organogel bodysuit. Connie and Deuce were veterans of the Exodus and had fought hard along side their previous top pilot, 'Bigguns,' who had given her life in the battle to save Mons City. Skinny had actually been holding her commander and best friend in her mecha's hand when she had died. Something like that stuck in a pilot's craw, and it didn't increase her love for the Seppies.
Over the years, Deuce had moved into that top spot with the Saviors, and Skinny had moved into the number two. Both of them were very accomplished mecha pilots.
'That suit you, Captain?'
'Yes, ma'am. HoundDog, Goat and Volleyball, and Popstar and Romeo are on me. Since we ain't supposed to damage the target, I guess we just recon for things to kill?'
'They'll be flying their support out of somewhere. Find where it comes from and take it out.' She snapped on the thin armor over the organogel and the compression layers and then stood straight to work the suit into place.
'Oo-fuckin'-rah, ma'am!' The marine pilot pulled the zip cord of her armored g-suit up her back and fastened it over her right shoulder. The armor healed over the zip seam and hardened, hiding any evidence of the seam. Skinny picked up her brain bucket, snapped to the tether, and let it hang over her shoulder like a backpack.
'Gung-fucking-ho, marine.'
Chapter 4
October 31, 2388 AD
Sol System; Orlando, Florida
Saturday, 5:35 AM, Earth Eastern Standard Time
'Marine One is across the bridge from Tomorrowland in the open area in front of Cinderella's castle, sir,' Kootie
