Chapter Two: Hiya Captain!

After a relatively short drive, we'd finally made our way to the front.

"Last stop, El-Tee. Be seein' ya real soon," Corporal Dandh said to me as I got out of the Warthog.

I slung my rifle and looked around. It looked like any front I'd ever seen: tired, war-weary soldiers eating and sleeping and keeping watch. If this is what it took to make sure humanity had a future, though, it was worth it.

"Anybody know where I can find Captain…" I began, the name escaping me.

"Kingston?" Beesner finished for me. I nodded, and he replied, "Company CP's less than half a klick behind the line, east."

"Thanks, Private," I said, turning in the direction he'd pointed. He'd already uploaded the map to my HUD.

"Lieutenant?" Private Beesner said as I started off. I looked back and waited. "Don't you want that looked at before you go? Our medic's right over there."

I stared down at my right side; the blood had finally dried up and I was dizzy no longer, but it still hurt like hell. "I'll be fine, Bee. It's not a deep wound and if I've made it this long, I can wait until the captain gives me my orders."

Beesner looked like he didn't buy it, but he nodded. What more could he have done? "Yes, ma'am."

The walk to the Bravo Company command post wasn't that long, but by now the sun was starting to rise over the horizon. My helmet's visor was beginning to polarize as the light grew in intensity; I'd never seen a sunrise on this side of Heath before.

With the beautiful sunrise, however, also came an unbearable heat. It was only about six in the morning, but already the desert sun began taking its toll. It seemed to defy all logic; January in the desert was supposed to be cold, barren, and covered with snow. In this hemisphere of Heath, however, it was summer…a deadly time to be in a desert, war or no war.

Oh, God. If the plasma and grenades didn't kill me, the heat would.

Before I could get thoroughly depressed, I made it to Captain Kingston's makeshift office. It wasn't hard to find, mostly because there was only one medium-sized, camouflaged tent in the middle of mounds of sand. And because of that map Beesner had given me.

I walked up to the canvas tent, lifted the flap, and stood at attention. "Sir! Lieutenant Cooper, reporting for duty!"

The man sitting behind the desk seemed like a seasoned soldier: he had brown hair that was beginning to gray, and a scar running down his left forearm. I also noticed that he wore no helmet, gloves, or jacket; instead, he wore only a T-shirt, trousers, boots, and armor plates in the usual places.

I hope he lets me strip some of my gear, I thought to myself. The hell with explosive ordnance---I wanted protection from frying in my uniform. Just from the short hike through the early morning desert, I was giving off twice my weight in sweat. And I was in peak physical shape, too.

Captain Kingston didn't look up from his papers. "At ease, kid," he said. "And you can take off your helmet."

I tried hard to remain expressionless as I took off my helmet. What a relief!

Kingston was silent as he signed a paper, then placed it on a pile to his left. Then, finally, he glanced up at me.

"Who're you, kid?" he asked me.

"Lieutenant Cooper, sir."

The captain took out a datapad and seemed to be reading for a moment. "41st Orbital Hospital?"

"Yes, sir."

"Says here you got your back barbecued. All better now?"

"Yes, sir. Fit for duty."

"Good to hear." He was still reading. "First Lieutenant Natalie McKenzie Cooper, twenty-four years old from Emerald Pines, Mars."

"Correct, sir."

"Ok, Cooper. How much of our situation down here do you know?"

I racked my brain, trying to think of the short, uninformative briefing I'd received while still in the hospital. "Well, sir, I hear you're picking up replacements for a big invasion coming up soon. Covenant base twelve klicks north of the frontline, right?"

Kingston sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Right you are, Lieutenant. Or, as it so happens, were. Things've changed now, Cooper. We found out last night that we've got a relief coming in in about five days. So, it's time to dig in, keep the area neat for the next group, and start packing our bags."

I was dumbstruck, but I tried not to let it show. Still, I had to ask. "Sir, permission to speak?"

"Granted."

"Sir, with all due respect…well, I just got here."

"I'm well aware of that, Lieutenant. Unfortunately, it's the Marine Corps and some cigar-smoking general safe in his warm bed that…" He stopped and gave me a look; he seemed to have just realized what he'd said. He cleared his throat. "Bottom line is, Cooper, you are now a lieutenant in my company. And I'm telling you we're not staying here long."

"Yes, sir."

"So don't get too comfortable, but do get to know the men. You're with us now."

"Understood, Captain." I fiddled with my fingers behind my back. "Sir?"

"Lieutenant?"

"If I may ask, sir, where are we going next?"

"There'll be a more formal briefing, but there's no harm telling you now. It's a planet called Sigma Octanus IV. Supposed to be one of the easiest posts since the Covies don't know about it, and it's often used as a relaxed setting for soldiers who have been in the frontlines for a while." The captain leaned back in his fold out metal chair. "Even though you haven't been with us, I understand you've had a helluva time on the lines in the Heathan forest."

I struggled to maintain composure…visions of charred bodies next to equally charred trees danced in my head. "Yes, sir," I replied quietly.

Kingston nodded again. "For what it's worth, and I know it's not much, I am sorry for your loss, Lieutenant. Know that no one blames you; you did all you could before the plasma took you out. And that is no fault of yours."

"You…you saw the report, sir?" Oh, great. He knew the whole story of how I'd let my men down because of an injury.

"Yes. Now don't beat yourself up about the loss too much. Just take care of the platoon you've got now."

"Yes, sir." I said through gritted teeth. Not because I was angry, but because I feared I was about to cry.

"Your orders are to watch the frontlines these next few days until the relief force arrives. Use the time to get to know first platoon, Bravo Company. Dismissed."

I saluted and was lifting up the flap when the captain called my name again. "Sir?"

"It's ok to shed some gear, Lieutenant. Gets up to 150 degrees out here on mild days."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

And that was that.