Chapter XXXIII: Big Toys and Big Guns
April 2, 2540 (UNSC Calendar)/
UNSC Inconvenience, in orbit above Reach
"Welcome back to the UNSC Inconvenience, if you will please report to your respective posts," said Eliza's voice, only that this time she made it sound like she was a PA announcer. "The new Marine and Army complement of this ship will arrive soon, please be ready to receive them," she said. "All ground-forces will act as tour guides. Navy personnel will stay on their positions. Marine aviators will not participate in the welcoming committee. Thank you."
It was probably one of the weirdest announcements that most people would ever hear, but that was Eliza to you, making battle-hardened marines feel useless by calling them tour-guides, making marine aviators feel like they don't serve a purpose by telling them that they are not needed. She was a Navy AI, so it was obvious that she had a soft spot for swabbies, but she had no inhibitions about mistreating personnel from other branches, at least she wasn't that mean to me. I was technically under ONI supervision, but not a lot of people knew that.
"Sergeant Francisco Castillo, please report to the bridge."
"Here we go," I muttered to myself. "I'll see you in a while Pavel," I called out to my friend, he simply raised his hand as if to say the same thing.
I made my way to the bridge and the captain. On the way there I couldn't help but notice how good the ship looked. The panels had been replaced and there wasn't a single scorch mark or bullet hole in any wall, ceiling, or floor. Everything looked brand new and the smell of fresh paint was fresh in the air. There were even new light bulbs that provided more light than the previous ones. The floor was even shinier, or at least it seemed that way, it'd probably be worn down after a couple of months of armored boots walking over it. In addition to those repairs, the ship had gotten extra plating covering the engines, of course, the two Titanium-A plates had the UNSC logo painted in white, along with a white horizontal stripe that someone put there jut for kicks, unless it had a naval meaning which I wasn't aware of. The ship looked brand new, which was really saying something considering the state it had been brought into the repair station.
"Sergeant, congratulations!"
"Thank you captain, for what?"
"Well, you have been promoted to Staff Sergeant, and have been issued a Gold Star. Normally a higher-ranking officer would give you these, but we are in a hurry, so no time for ceremony," Brooks explained as he handed me a wooden box with a golden star inside of it. It was only my first Gold Star; I now had Bronze and Silver Stars in addition to the higher Gold Star. I have to say I was a little disappointed though, the captain had mentioned the Colonial Cross.
"Thank you very much, sir," I said as I snapped a salute. I had gotten a Gold Star, which was still a pretty significant achievement.
"Also, I'm going to need you to act as the representative of the ground forces on board this ship when I brief the higher-ranking officers from the replacements we're getting."
"What about Colonel Zavala, sir?" I asked, curious, I hadn't seen the man in a while, but I knew that he had been safely evacuated when our ship was boarded.
"He had a heart attack, again. I forced him to retire, the man was falling apart."
"Oh, I see, sir."
To me the Colonel had been one of the few constant presences in my life since I joined the ODST. He had been a good leader, experienced, charismatic, and kind to the soldiers under his command. He was always willing to turn a blind eye to certain infractions that we committed, and was a hell of a storyteller. Since he and Layla were both gone from my life simultaneously, it looked like it was time for change.
"Listen up Staff Sergeant, we are getting a contingent of marines and a slightly larger Army attachment to our ship. We will no longer function as a testing facility for fancy armor pieces, so you'd better feel lucky that you get to keep your shoulder plates and additional non-standard issue armor."
"Yessir."
"The Inconvenience will start acting as a Special Forces ship, we will deploy and act independently of other ground forces, but will work in support of battle groups or fleets in space combat, understood?"
"Yessir," I repeated.
"The Marine contingent we are receiving is Echo Company from the 6th Battalion, 200th marines. It is a company of about a hundred and sixty marines. They are divided into four platoons of forty marines each. Alfa, Bravo, and Charlie platoons are all regular rifle platoons, while Delta is a heavy weapons platoon, they will have the machine guns, rockets, and mortars of Echo Company."
I was impressed; Echo Company belonged to the legendary 6th Battalion of the 200th. They were nicknamed Hell's Ambassadors, and it wasn't for nothing, they were as good as marines got without being ODSTs. Yet another boost for my already large ego.
"On the Army side, we'll get a slightly larger company numbering two hundred soldiers. We'll be getting B Company from the 3rd Battalion, from the 22nd Armored Cavalry Regiment."
"Wow," I said, it wasn't often that ship this small got Armored Cavalry, those were usually reserved for carriers or cruisers, it was the first I had heard of an Armored Cavalry company on a frigate. Armored Cavalry was structured in a similar way to the rest of the military units, the only difference was that the platoons were larger because they included an armored support vehicle, typically an M987 Armadillo Armored Fighting Vehicle. They also tended to include UH-144 Falcons and every now and then you could find a company that sported one or more MP-12 Anti-Tank vehicles. More commonly known as the Rattlesnake, the smaller, more mobile little brother of the SP42 Cobra.
"B Company is divided into four platoons of fifty men each."
"Those are large platoons," I commented.
"Yes, each platoon has two Armadillos carrying a squad each, one Falcon and a Rattlesnake for support in addition to two ten-man squads that go unmounted, those twenty soldiers function as machine-gun nests and anti-tank infantry. The mounted soldiers function as regular infantry with armored support," the captain explained. It wasn't really necessary, this had been drilled into my head in ODST training. "Platoons are numbered one through four."
"Sounds good, sir."
"And," he resumed.
There's more? I asked myself.
"…we got ourselves a platoon of Army Rangers."
"Nice," I said. "Sir."
Army Rangers were the equivalent of ODST troops in the Army. They had an equally flamboyant way of being deployed, although not as deadly or glamorous as hours. The Rangers were all trained in the use of parachutes and jetpacks. They would do a High Altitude jump and free fall to the battlefield, only to activate their jetpacks and slow their descent. They weren't as tough as ODSTs, but they were deadly soldiers nonetheless. I was glad to have them by my side, especially if this ship was going to start functioning differently.
"May I ask where we'll fit all of the vehicles from B Company?"
"Yes, the MOEIV bays have been removed and the SOEIV bay had been made smaller, instead of being able to drop fifty soldiers at a time, we can now only drop twenty."
"Sounds reasonable," I said. "ODST replacements, sir?"
"Not yet, command is using ODSTs as much as possible, it'll be a while before you and Corporal Klaus get a new squad, besides, you eat through replacements faster than they can send them here."
That was mean, true, but still mean.
"Sir," I angrily said, the captain had just directly insulted my leadership skills, I might've been an unlucky sergeant, but I had definitely not been a bad one.
"I'm sorry Staff Sergeant, but it is what it is. By the way, talking about Klaus, please inform him that he has been promoted to sergeant, and hand him this will you, it's a Silver Star, he deserves it."
"Yessir," I said yet again.
"Place the box over there, you'll give it to him after we finish the meet and greet ok?"
"Understood Captain," I said.
Through the course of the conversation we had made our way through the ship and down a couple of decks to the observation room. Right now it displayed a lovely view of Reach's southern hemisphere. I could see cruisers from the Epsilon Eridani Fleet flying in the distance. They looked like little specks of gray against the blues, whites, and greens of the planet, but up close they were really dangerous gray specks.
"Captain, Sergeant," said Commander Albaf as she entered the room.
"It's staff sergeant now, Commander." The captain said.
"Is that so?"
"It is, ma'am."
"Very well, congratulations," she said. It was so out of character from her, the woman that I had idealized as a bitch that I couldn't come up with a simple 'thank you.' Fortunately, a group of officers entered the room and saved me from looking like an ungrateful bastard to the Commander.
"Ah, ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard."
All of the people in the room snapped a brilliant salute to the captain. I could see a major dressed in an Army Combat Uniform, with him was a lieutenant dressed in the same clothing, the major's XO. I also saw a marine captain and his XO, another lieutenant dressed in the darker Marine Combat Uniform. I also spotted a lieutenant wearing the Army Combat Uniform with the short-sleeved version. He stood at 6'2, an inch shorter than me, and had a scar in his face that reached all the way from the tip of his right eyebrow to the corner of his mouth, it was an energy sword scar by the looks of it. He had the Rangers' patch on his left shoulder. This man would be my counterpart for the duration of the war. Unless he was killed before it finished, but something told me that he wouldn't.
The captain introduced me to the new officers on board the ship. The Army major that I had seen first was named Ricardo Hernandez, he was from a colony founded by Colombian terra-formers. I couldn't get much information from him, but he looked like an able soldier, I just hoped that his talent went hand in hand with his appearance. His executive officer was a shy-looking trooper that must've been straight out of her teens, she must've gotten incredible grades in officer school, because no one got to be XO that young. Her name was Chloe Delacroix, she was a young woman from France, back on Earth, apparently she had proved herself in her first combat engagement, that's why she had been chosen to replace Major Hernandez's deceased XO, Lieutenant Ailsa Graham. Her good looks had probably helped a bit through her career. During the twenty seconds I spent talking to her my head wouldn't stop repeating 'Ramsey's Curse' endlessly. She seemed relieved when I moved on to shake hands with the Marine captain.
Her name was Veda Sharma, she was from Terranova, and apparently had been a very successful officer during her twenty years of military career. She looked to be in her forties, which probably meant she was closer to her sixties. She would be in command of Echo Company from the 6th. That alone said all I needed to know. Her executive officer, Krikor Darbinian, was an asshole, there's no better way to put it. His eyes were full of contempt and he shook my hand like it was going to burn him, he also took the opportunity to make some thinly veiled comments about his opinion on ODSTs. It was all I could do not to punch him right there and then.
"Nice meeting you Lieutenant Darbinian," I said as I offered him my hand once more. He had no choice but to take it, he might've been an asshole, but he had to treat me nicely. Once his hand was shaking mine, I used all of the strength in my enhanced arm and hand muscles to crush his hand, I stopped as soon as his eyes started tearing up with pain. I let him go with a smile, no one seemed to have witnessed that, other than a wide-eyed Lieutenant Delacroix. I simply shrugged at her as a way to dismiss my action.
I was suddenly glad that I had been wearing my "all blacks" uniform. It was supposed to be worn underneath the ODST armor for operations that didn't involve vacuum. It was, as its nickname suggested, entirely black. Black combat boots, black cargo pants with pouches on the sides, and I had chosen to wear the black t-shirt with the legend 19th Battalion written in the chest and the symbol of said battalion on one of my sleeves. That shirt had been a gift from Colonel Zavala. He had managed to get his hands on a pack of ten and had given me five. I still had four undamaged ones, which was saying a lot.
Anyways, drifting away from the topic. My uniform might've not been the most formal, but it signaled me as an ODST soldier, that got the people in the room's respect. Save for Lieutenant Darbinian, but that matter was handled.
"Sergeant Francisco Castillo," a deep voice said.
"That would be me," I said as I shook the Ranger lieutenant's hand.
"My name is Yevgeny Nazarian," he said as he shook my hand. "I have heard some interesting stories about you."
"Really, from who?" I asked, curious, he had barely been on board this ship for twenty minutes, it was unlikely that someone from this ship had told him something about me.
"Your operations are well known in some circles, even if your name isn't," he said.
Does that mean I'm famous? I asked myself.
"I was particularly impressed by that battery takedown you did in New Constantinople," he continued. The fact that he knew about that proved just how high his clearance level was, it had been classified as top secret because of the little matter involving the arbiter.
"We getting somewhere here?" I asked, perhaps a little bit to sharply. "Lieutenant."
"Not really, I just wanted you to know that I am impressed by your record," he stated.
"May I ask why you've been snooping around my record?" I asked, this time with a calmer voice.
"I just wanted to see what I was going to have for support when I transferred here, I am actually glad to have someone like you here, most OSDTs are… less than easy to deal with. Since you have worked with marine and army personnel in the recent past, I assume you and I will have no such problem."
"Probably not," I said. There was something about the calm demeanor of this guy that unnerved me, but he was probably as nervous as I was during the conversation, he was, after all, talking to a decorated ODST, veteran of numerous campaigns as well as various operations.
The lieutenant told me some quick pointers about his platoon, it was composed of three ten-man squads and they functioned as spearheads for larger Army operations, they would have a similar job to ours during their stay on the ship. I was actually glad to have another specialized team on board the ship in addition to Pavel and me. We were good, but we were only two men, and without replacements, we couldn't really do much other than small missions that required some of my trademark slick maneuvering. Pavel would've called it luck, but he had been pretty lucky as well. His entire unit had been wiped out back in Jericho VII, he was all that remained of the Drop Jet Platoon of the 105th.
"What missions do you usually partake in?" Nazarian asked me.
"I thought that you had gone through my files."
"Yes, but even with my contacts I wasn't able to get past some black-inked sections."
"Well lieutenant, I'm usually dropped on hot zones, with my pod acting as a kinetic projectile as well as deployment, then I proceed to clear said hot-zone to establish a landing zone for the rest of the troops on board the ship. That's what I generally do, although I also partake in larger operations as well as more specialized operations," I explained.
"I see."
"Ok, now that you have all made acquaintances with each other, I recommend you return to your quarters and rest, then get to know the ship. We'll be leaving the system in a few hours, after that we make a jump towards the frontline."
I saluted the officers as they left the room, leaving it empty save for Commander Albaf and me.
"So, what do you think?" Captain Brooks asked us.
"Very capable men, sir," Eliza's voice said as her hologram popped up on a small holopad.
"Yes, thank you Eliza, I take it that you have managed to get your hands on all their files."
"Yes sir, just like you ordered, the only one I wasn't able to crack completely was the file on one Lieutenant Yevgeny Nezarian."
"The ranger," I said.
"Yes, the Army Ranger," Eliza repeated.
"Well, what is your take on them," Brooks asked the human crewmembers.
"I think they are good officers, the XOs looked a little green though," Albaf stated.
"I agree, Lieutenant Darbinian seemed like an asshole," I said.
"Yes, I had that same impression," the captain replied as he nodded.
"Seems that he is the son of a rich businessman back on Earth, that probably explains the reason why he behaves like he is better than everyone here."
"Now now, Eliza, that is stereotypical to all the sons of rich businessmen on Earth, but I agree with your opinion," said Brooks.
"What about the other XO?" asked Albaf.
"I wouldn't worry about her," Eliza started. "Her psych evaluation marks her as shy, not ideal for leadership, but her practical grades outweigh that small issue. She graduated top of her class in Luna Academy, she was attached to the 3rd Battalion immediately after she graduated, initial reviews on her by the platoon staff sergeant marked her as incapable and lacking will and charisma, the following showed her as an inspirational leader who would die for men that she barely knew, a brilliant tactician and willing to do what it took, all from the same soldier."
"Thanks Eliza, that'll be all."
"Captain," she said as her hologram flickered and died. She had a way of not being a mean AI or prankster to Navy personnel.
"Staff Sergeant?"
"She's pretty," I said simply.
"My thoughts exactly," Brooks stated. "Dismissed."
Albaf and me left the room, she signaled that she wanted to talk to me.
"Time for a body scan," she said. I followed her to the medbay. Doctor Zhivago was there, with a couple of nurses sitting around as well.
"Vacate the room," Albaf ordered. The nurses left immediately, the doc stayed for a little bit longer.
"May I ask why?"
"No Doctor, you may not."
"Don't worry doc, we're not going to have sex or anything in here," I said with a big smile. The doc returned that smile before leaving.
As soon as the doors closed, my face met the end of a rather potent slap.
"That was because I am a lady, and you have to treat me as such," Albaf stated angrily.
Did your mother tell you that?
She slapped me again, at first I though that my brain-mouth filter had malfunctioned, but her next comment proved me wrong.
"And that, was because I don't like you."
"Ma'am," I said, my cheeks stinging.
"Now, if you'll please stand here…"
Fifteen minutes later the full body scan was done, I was headed towards my quarters, where I expected to find Pavel either sleeping or having some 'alone' time. A few weeks ago I would've added 'flopping on top of Vicky' to the list, but she had died in the Covenant boarding raid.
Turns out my friend was sleeping and not having alone time.
"Wake up sergeant!" I called out.
"Frankie, they're looking for you," he mumbled. "What?"
He sat up from his rather narrow bed and looked at me while scratching his head.
"You've been promoted," I said. "You've also been issued a Silver Star," I said.
"Another one?" he asked.
"Yep,"
"What did you get?" he asked.
"A promotion and a Gold Star," I said.
"Makes sense, since you're the higher-ranking soldier you get the higher commendations."
"I did save the captain," I said "and with him the ship."
"True, but you let your girlfriend get shot, " he said. "Oh, that's right, your ex-girlfriend."
I knew my friend too well and realized he was joking around, but the comment still hurt.
"That was low," I said.
"You're right, I'm sorry," he said as he opened the wooden box and tossed it to an empty bed. I told him about the replacements and he said that he hadn't seen any new crewmembers; he hadn't been called to act as a tour-guide to show the ship to the replacements. We talked about the new soldiers and marines in our ship for a while before he started asking me what I thought of them. I told him about the pretty Delacroix, the asshole Darbinian and the Major and Captain. He laughed when I told him how I crushed his hand, although I kept the details out, I always had had a very strong handshake, so Pavel wouldn't ask any questions, sooner or later I'd have to tell him about my augmentations, he was my friend and a squadmate, he'd have to learn one way or the other, but for now, keep the secret stuff secret.
"Dibs on the pretty lieutenant," Pavel said.
"She's all yours," I said, slightly annoyed at his calling dibs, after all I wanted to keep my options open.
"Damn right she is, it shouldn't be long before you receive some comfort at the hands of Warrant Officer Marina Bogdanovic!" he proclaimed. "She likes you, you know."
"Of course she likes me, everybody does, you should know that already Pavel."
He simply rolled his eyes.