##
Wills, CeCe, and Helt stood at the top of the loading ramp and watched as three of Helt’s people guided the cargo floater past them and down the ramp. The large, sealed equipment box on it contained the Silverman Integrator.
Wills looked back along the ramp up to the first cargo-deck; the massive ship above him was now a dead hulk with only batteries providing the last use of electrical power. He put a hand on Helt’s shoulder, “It seems a waste to leave this all behind.”
“I know, Admiral; but most of the major systems are in need of extensive repairs. Even the Berlin reactors have advanced neutron etching in the initiator chambers.” He extended a gloved hand and patted a support column he was standing next to, “The ship is old, and we asked it to do something it was barely capable of doing. In the process, it suffered a great deal of damage.” He turned a switch on the support column, and the strut platform went dark. He turned back to Wills, smiled, and shrugged, “If they want it, they’ll know where it is.”
The three of them descended the ramp. CeCe stopped a couple of meters from the edge and the others stopped near the edge to turn and give her a questioning look.
“If you don’t mind, gentlemen; there is an old tradition that seems appropriate here.”
Helt and Wills smiled, nodded, and stepped off the loading ramp to the ground. CeCe followed them off the ramp, bent over, and pressed the button behind a small panel. The ramp swung slowly upwards and closed.
CeCe watched the ramp settle into its frame and listened to the lock bolts slide into place. When the sound had faded she lowered her head and seemed to slump a bit. She turned and started walking away, “There goes my first, and probably only, command.”
Wills and Helt fell in alongside her and headed for the waiting floater. Marine Colonel Samantha LeBeau stood next to it with three members of her staff. Wills sealed the top of his borrowed Marine parka as he got further from the close cover of the Weasel’s overhang. The temperature had dropped below freezing several days ago and an erratic breeze made it worse.
Colonel LeBeau and her people braced to attention and saluted as Wills approached. The three of them stopped in front of LeBeau and Wills returned the salute, “How are things going, Colonel?”
The tall, hard faced Marine radiated the aura of someone that would be a mistake to meet in a dark alley. Just her manner of speech confirmed that crap was something she dished out but did not take.
“Sir, I have been advised that all voluntary groups of Foresters have been evacuated. I now have full command of surface operations and have forty-two teams rounding up the more recalcitrant members of the indigenous population.”
CeCe had been looking past the floater toward the town. The dim light of the distant Mallcott primary that now hung near the southern horizon made it easy to see a well-lit concentration of activity.
She pointed at it, “What’s going on there, Colonel?”
LeBeau didn’t turn, “Since the temperature has dropped, we have been able to use simple IR scanners to find groups of those that are disinclined to cooperate with the general effort. This particular case involves Joe and several of the town leaders that managed to turn their situational shock into total paranoia. My team just tossed in a stun grenade and then gave them all a jolt of snooze juice. Their next contact with reality will be on a warm, sunlit world.”
“Do you think you will be successful in completely clearing the planet?” asked CeCe.
The first sign of frustration crossed LeBeau’s face, “Captain, if I had to bet on it, I would say that will not happen. What are left at this moment are only the ones that are prepared to be confrontational. My experience in trying to dig out the toughest nuts tells me that there will be a few that are better at hiding and require levels of destructive extraction that Admiral Baleman has requested, in no uncertain terms, does not occur.
“However,” she brightened, “there will be patrols on Forest for the next three to four months. As the real cold sets in and it becomes obvious that there isn’t enough insulation on the planet to keep it out, scooping up the remnants should be fairly easy.”
Wills watched the three Marine floaters lift away from the center of town. Two of them landed near the floater they were standing next to; the third headed for orbit.
Wills reached out and shook the Colonel’s hand, “Thank you, Colonel; it looks like you’re doing a good job. These people are worth the effort. I got to know them quite well and I appreciate your efforts to get as many off as you can.”
It was easy to see that Colonel LeBeau was not used to such personal and heartfelt expressions of gratitude; a smile almost managed to rearrange the lines in her face, “Thank you, Admiral; you may always count on me to get the job done. You may be assured that my booted foot will be the last living thing on the surface of this planet.”
Helt stepped closer to them, “Admiral, the Silverman is loaded; time to leave.”
LeBeau and her people saluted again as Wills, CeCe, and Helt mounted the steps into the floater. Wills dropped into a seat and watched the Weasel go by as they climbed steeply toward the orbiting cargo ship.
Planet Earth - October 1, 2262 - 1340 hours (CST)
Wills broke into a huge grin as he approached the top of the sweeping staircase that descended to the crater floor. Admiral Cicely Copeland turned from the conversation she was having with Planetary Secretary Jons Algon. When she saw him, she broke into a matching grin. The sloppy salutes and embrace that followed were not exactly what the Navy expected from its
