Chapter 2: First Assignment

The AI told me that Major Pearson wanted to see me.

I went to his pod, and he took me into his office. I liked Pearson. He was a lot like Striker-professional and solid. During the trip we had had many conversations. He was going to be setting up the training on Tangent, which was the third military training township on Solo, the third planet in the Solarian system. He already had orders cut that I would be under his command-probably in charge of a squad of forty-five Marines or so, once I finished the Officers Basic Course. Other than ROTC summer camps I didn't know very much, but Pearson told me not to worry. That's why it's called training.

I liked and respected him. He generally was in a good mood and only pulled rank when someone was fucking up. Today he wasn't happy-he looked really pissed.

"Lieutenant," he said formally, "your orders have been changed. When the ship reaches Solo, and we transport down, you're staying. The ship will take on a couple of brigades of newly trained troops and head out. The first stop is Logis 21. You'll get off, and then the ship will continue on.

"Logis 21 is a major military depot. We are fighting a war in two systems, and Logis 21 is perfectly positioned to take in supplies from the Darjee freighters and then supply both fronts.

"Your orders are to take over command of Logis 21. You will be replacing a captain. Upon reaching Logis 21 you will assume the temporary rank of captain."

"Why me?" I interrupted.

He grimaced, "I don't have a fucking clue. Some AI must have let rust in its circuits. You are not qualified to assume command of a depot. I fought this for the last week, but your orders can't be changed."

"Jim," he continued, "You're going to be in harm's way. If there is a break in either of the two fronts, the Sa'arm will be all over you. Logis 21 would be as important to the Sa'arm as it is to us.

"And further, Logis 21 is a shit place. It's a small planet eighty percent covered with polluted water, and where there is land, it is mountainous. There is no vegetation. There is some atmosphere, but you still have to have an assisted breather strapped on. The living pods are under a pressure dome, but the warehouse areas are not."

Suddenly, my mood was as bad as Pearson's.

"Major, when we reach Solo will I have time to off load my pods and get my family settled?"

He winced at me.

"That's a problem. Logis 21 is a permanent change of station. Your choice is to take your concubines with you, or release them to the Tangent Civil Service. They will give deficit volunteers first choice for your concubines, and the rest will work for the Civil Service until they become pregnant, or they get picked up by other volunteers."

I was pissed. "You mean they break up my family, and if volunteers don't choose them, they work in a Civil Service whore house?"

Pearson answered sarcastically, "They call them 'relief houses.'"

"This really sucks, major."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes.

I asked, "Is there anything else I should know?"

He answered, "The table of organization has this command at eighty volunteers with their concubines. Twenty-five of them are Marine combat military, fifty are Marine supply specialists including repair and maintenance, and five of them are back office. The AI keeps everything organized, but the huge amount of arms and equipment moving in and out keeps everyone busy.

"The captain you are relieving has chosen to take fifteen of his combat military with him. I have been tasked with providing fifteen Marines to go with you. I'm not happy with that part of this deal either.

"We arrive at Solo in four days. Let me know your decision on your concubines before we arrive. Feel free to talk to the troops that you know, and see if any of them will volunteer to go with you. Otherwise, I will assign them to you."

"Including Fogarty?" I asked.

He winced again. "That's the best gunny on the ship...yes, including Fogarty."

I pushed, "If Fogarty agrees, can I make him First Sergeant."

Pearson gave me a tight grin, "You really push, Davidson. Yes, you can promote him to First Sergeant if he's dumb enough to go with you."

We talked some more and then I left. When I walked into our pod, Karen greeted me with a huge smile, which quickly disappeared when she saw my face.

"Karen, we need to talk. Let's walk."

I was barely halfway through the story when she grabbed my arm and said, "I'm going with you. Don't for a second think you're going to leave me on Solo. I don't want to be owned by another volunteer, and no way am I going to be a damn whore."

I pulled her to me and hugged her. I could feel her heart beating underneath the thin shirt that she was wearing. "And what should we do about the others?" I asked.

Karen replied, "After the kids go to bed tonight, you should take a walk. I'll explain the situation. When they understand it, I'll get the AI to tell you to come back and answer their questions."

When I came back that night, they were all grinning-there were no questions-the family would not be broken up because some fucked up AI made a stupid decision.

The next day I had almost completed my exercise cycle in the gym when I heard, "Lieutenant, I need to talk to you."

It was Fogarty. He went right to it.

"I hate these big command training centers. They suck with way too many officers with too little to do other than to get in the way. I want to go with you."

I asked, "How did you find out?"

He just smiled at me-it had to be the major.

I was relieved-almost happy.

"First Sergeant Fogarty-yep, you're promoted-we need fourteen more good troops to go with us. You pick them. After you pick them, I'll address them, but obviously, steal every good Marine on this ship. Fuck Solo training."

Three days later I met Fogarty's fourteen. I had already checked their records through the AI, and I'm sure Pearson wasn't a happy major right now. These were damn good Marines.

My speech was very short. "My name is acting Lieutenant Davidson. When we reach Logis 21, I will be acting Captain Davidson. I have checked each of you, and can confidently say that there isn't one of you that's not a better soldier than me-I got the rank, but not the knowledge.

"So I know that I don't know. I know that I need First Sergeant Fogarty and you to watch so that I don't fuck up. You suggest, and I'll listen. I kind of like my concubines. I don't want them hacked up by the Sa'arm because I was too proud not to take the 'suggestions' of you Marines.

"That's all I have to say. If I kept talking you would go from hearing what I think to just hearing bullshit.

"Top, thank you for your help in finding these Marines. If you need to talk to the men, it's your turn. When you're done, dismiss them.

Fogarty gave me a brief, approving nod, and bellowed, "Yes, Sir."

We reached Solo and discharged almost everyone except the fifteen Marines and me. Two days later both brigades were on board and we left.

A month later we reached Logis 21. When we transported down, I thought that Pearson was absolutely right-this was one ugly planet. It was a lot of water and then bare rocks. The depot was in a flat valley almost twenty miles square with water on one side and big hills or small, ragged mountains on the other three sides.

My first impression of the depot itself was less than ideal-it was messy. Rusted machinery cluttered the area, and fragments of shipping material were scattered on the ground. Inside the command pod-actually a cluster of six pods attached-it wasn't much better. The floor was dirty, and dust hid in places everywhere.

I was here because I had been summoned by the captain- in-command. His name was Walker.

I walked into his outer office and was greeted shyly by a woman there. She had huge breasts and dirty blond hair.

She immediately went to the inner door, knocked, and walked in. Seconds later she came out and softly said, "The captain will see you now."

I walked in and my blood turned cold-I saw a slob in uniform. His body was obviously fit, but the uniform was wrinkled, two buttons were open, and he was slouching in his chair. He took a cigar out of his mouth and said, "Hey, Captain, sit your ass down, and we'll talk about this wonderful place that I'm about to leave.

"I've been here a year-it sucks.

"Talking about sucks, do you want Big Tits Doris out there to give you a blow job? It might relax you for the great news I'm about to lay on you."

I was holding my temper, but knew it would be best to just go along.

I replied, "No, I'm fine."

He was pulling a power trip on me. He yelled, "Doris, get your ass in here."

She came in looking scared.

He ordered, "Get naked, pull my dick out and blow me-do it right."

She blushed, but quickly pulled her shift over her head, and was naked. Her tits were enormous. She sank to her knees and pulled at his zipper to get at his cock.

Suddenly, he yelled, "Ouch, shit. Don't you know to be careful pulling that zipper down."

Without warning he backhanded her face-she went sprawling and started to cry.

He snarled, "Get the fuck out of here you worthless cunt."

She ran out of the office.

I was pissed, but knew he had every right to do that to her. I sat there waiting for his next show.

He looked at me and said, "Captain Dawson..."

I interrupted, "My name is Davidson."

"Whatever. It will take three days to load the ship you came on-the ship that will get me out of this fucking place.

"I'm turning this shit hole over to you now. I have six cunts to test out and fuck in the next three days before I leave to kill the dickheads. If you want I'll fuck a couple of yours and maybe we can work out a swap.

"AI."

"Yes, Captain."

"Official notice of change-of-command to Captain Davidson."

The AI voice said, "Change-of-command logged. Captain Davidson is now in charge of Logis 21."

He looked at me. "You think I'm an ass, don't you?"

I answered, "Yes, I think you're a fucking idiot. How you got your CAP score is beyond me."

He grinned, "Okay, Mr. Captain Do Right. I'm going to give you your first lesson in the real world.

"I checked. Every volunteer here has their maximum quota of concubines including their supernumerary, including you new people. This AI is the biggest piece of shit I've ever run into. It's one that the Darjee created and it's a piece of shit-a rule is a commandment-there is no give in the stupid shit.

"I'm leaving you Big Tits Doris and Ben, who I beat the shit out of when I caught him eating out Doris.

"AI."

"Yes, Captain."

"I no longer want Big Tits Doris or Ben in my family unit. Acknowledge."

The AI replied, "Doris and Ben are no longer in your family. They have forty-eight hours to find a new volunteer."

He continued grinning at me, "Are there any volunteers on Logis 21 who can add to their concubine?"

The AI answered, "There is no one."

He looked at me and sneered, "A great introduction for you. Doris and Ben are pieces of shit. In two days the AI will recycle them.

"Maybe then you'll get off your pedestal. By the end of your tour here, you'll be worse than me-count on it.

"For me, I'm going to fuck for the next three days and then kill every Sa'arm I can find."

I was steaming. I silently told the AI to send Fogarty and one other Marine to the office.

Minutes later they entered the office.

I said, "AI, am I in command of Logis 21?"

It answered, "Transfer of command is complete. You are in complete charge."

I looked at Fogarty and said, "First Sergeant, escort Captain Walker to the transport room. I want him off Logis 21 in the next fifteen minutes."

Walker snarled, "You can't pull that shit on me. I outrank you by date of promotion.

"I need time to get the rest of my concubines..."

I interrupted, "Top, you now have fourteen minutes to execute your orders. Physical force is permitted, if necessary."

Fogarty looked at the Walker and said, "Captain, please go to the transport room now."

He answered, "Fuck you, First Sergeant."

I just had it. I cold cocked him, and he went down. "First Sergeant, you now are at thirteen minutes and counting."

They dragged him out of the office.

I went to the outer office and found Doris sobbing. I touched her shoulder and she pulled away from me.

I looked at the ceiling, "AI. Summon Karen and have her come to this office immediately."

Minutes later Karen arrived out of breath.

I said, "Karen, this is Doris. Take care of her. We'll talk later."

Karen left with a sobbing Doris. As they left, Fogarty came back.

"The captain is gone, Sir. The transport room is under orders from the AI not to let him return."

I replied, "Thanks, Top. This planet might be a shit hole, but from the little I've seen, this command has gone to hell. What's your gut feeling?"

Fogarty grinned, "The captain is being generous. Fortunately for us the captain is taking the worst of the fifteen combat troops. The ones he left are the good soldiers who felt deserted under his command."

I replied, "Take a couple of days and then we'll meet. I want your suggestions on how to get the military side of this command right."

He left.

I asked, "AI, can I give Doris and Ben to a volunteer?"

It answered, "There are no slots available. If you do so, I will randomly reduce that family unit by one."

I asked, "What are my alternatives."

It replied, "There are none. Doris and Ben will be recycled in forty-six hours, ten minutes"

I had a thought. "Can I transport them to the Odyssey where there are slots open?"

It replied, "Negative. The Odyssey is going into a combat area. Only existing concubines are allowed to travel with the Odyssey. Doris and Ben are not allowed."

I asked, "Can I assign them to the Civil Service?"

It replied, "Negative, there is not a Civil Service representative on Logis 21."

I returned to my pod. Karen was there. "Doris is sleeping-I sedated her. She's been abused for a year with that asshole. Ben is in medical. The captain beat the crap out of him."

I said, "In forty-six hours the AI will kill both of them. I don't know what to do."

We finally went to bed. I didn't get much sleep.

The next morning Karen told me, "Doris won't leave her room. She knows she'll die in the next day."

My entire family was in a funk-they all knew about Doris and Ben. The kids, of course, were oblivious to the situation. At breakfast Jackie climbed into my lap and hugged me.

She looked at me and impishly grinned, "When I'm fourteen and get my CAP score, we can do more than hug-right, Dad?"

I blushed and got hard. She felt me and giggled.

I couldn't get over that feeling-an almost thirteen year old was flirting with me, and worse, she was winning.

And then I had an idea. I yelled, "Karen, come here."

She came running and I asked, "Your CAP score is 6.3?

"Yes."

I asked, "When were tested the last time?"

She answered, "Second year. I got so discouraged I just gave up."

I continued, "So since then you've had two more years of ROTC, and you were a Lieutenant of Cadets."

She answered puzzled, "Well, yes."

I thought, "AI, can you give a CAP test."

"Of course."

I was excited now. "Karen, I want you to take a CAP test right now."

Karen looked at me strangely, "Why now."

I replied, "Think, Karen. If you score 6.5 or higher you are allowed two selections-three if you elect the supernumerary option."

Karen was upset, "But if I don't score high enough, Doris and Ben will die."

"But if you don't try, they'll die anyway. You've got to try."

She saw the logic of my argument and went to the office to be tested. One hour later she came back to me. Her face was serious, and then she started laughing, "6.6, I really got 6.6."

We hugged and kissed. I said, "First, you have to officially choose Doris and Ben, and then we'll go from there."

Karen looked at the ceiling and said, "AI, I choose Doris and Ben as my concubines."

AI answered, "It is recorded."

The AI continued, "Per existing rules, Jamison must be a sponsor for eighteen months performing her duties before she is allowed to become pregnant. She is to report to Medical within the next day."

She looked at me in anguish.

"Karen, you saved two lives."

She came into my arms sobbing. There was nothing that I could say.

The next day Karen went to Medical. Later she had a pod assigned to her. We positioned it so that my two pods and her pod were connected to each other. Doris and Ben moved in with her. Karen immediately had Doris and Ben augmented similar to the rest of my concubines. Both of them worshiped her after their year of hell with the departed captain.

Two days later Fogarty sat across from me in my office.

I said, "Okay, Top, tell me the good and the bad."

"Sir," he replied, "the only good is that the captain and the worst of the fourteen combat Marines are gone. The bad is that the Marines have not fired for record in a year; they have yet to have a combat exercise outside using their breather packs, and their morale is south of zero.

"I think the remaining ten are good Marines, but they're so shell-shocked I need some time to assess them accurately."

I replied, "Top, do what you have to do...not only with your twenty-five, but with the rest of the Marines on Logis 21. Every Marine is a rifleman first-let's try to make it so."

There was a knock on the door. I yelled, "Enter."

He came in and at attention said, "Master Sergeant Adams, reporting as ordered, Sir."

I asked, "You have met First Sergeant Fogarty?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Sergeant Adams, there are three people in this room. We are about to have a conversation that never took place. Do you understand?"

He gulped and replied, "Yes, Sir."

I grinned and asked, "You're in charge of running the depot. How fucked up are we?"

He looked at Fogarty who gave him an encouraging nod. He sighed and answered, "We are able to receive and load per the requirements of each vessel. The AI keeps our inventory straight. We have a huge amount of obsolete munitions and weapons that are stored throughout the depot.

"The depot itself is a mess. The previous commander ignored my requests that we clean it up.

"Worse, the morale of my men is terrible. The captain wanted to test out our concubines whether the sponsor agreed or not, and being the commanding officer..."

I winced. How could this captain ever get the CAP score he had?

I asked, "Can we fix it?"

He replied, "It will take time. The men don't respect officers very much these days."

I replied, "That's understandable. In two days I'd like a report on how the logistical side of this depot should be run. Assume I will agree with whatever you suggest. However, Fogarty is going to take your men and turn them back into Marines. All of them must qualify with both the M61 and the M261. He will also have them participate in some exercises outside to have them become comfortable with breather packs."

I turned to Fogarty and asked, "If the men are trained and the Sa'arm invade, where do we stand?"

He shrugged, "We're dead. Trained or not, in an hour we would be overrun by the dickheads."

I asked, "Either of you...any suggestions?"

They were both quiet.

"Sergeant Adams, there's pods all over the place. Why?"

He replied, "The Darjee originally used a basic pod as the means to transfer traded goods from different worlds in the Confederacy. When Earth became involved, the basic pod was modified to what we have today. Many of the pods you see are basic pods full of munitions. Some are empty for logistical reasons-there was a need for the freighter to leave before empty pods could be reattached to the freighter.

"We also have surplus modified pods. When the depot started we had three times the current staffing. Over time we lost staff due to the needs of the Confederacy, but their pods remained here."

I said aloud, "AI, how many surplus basic pods, and how many surplus modified pods do we have?"

The AI responded, "There are 232 empty basic pods, and 125 empty modified pods."

I asked, "AI, what percent of your power is used to run the depot?"

It answered, "Less than five percent unless a ship is here, and then no more than twenty percent."

I was excited, "Top, the after action reports said the Sa'arm either ignored or only lightly tried to attack under water structures. Right?

"Yes, Sir."

I said, "AI, assume the following: Choose an absolutely random point in the ocean that is deep. Take the basic pods and place two of them side by side in a line so there is a corridor eight meters wide and ten meters in height. At one end place additional basic pods to have a transporter room, a medical station, and a command post. In the center place enough basic pods to have a room that can hold five hundred people. At the other end place enough basic pods to have a nursery, school, gym, and play area.

"With the modified pods duplicate the pod structure we currently have on the surface, and attach them in the most efficient manner to the basic pod corridor.

"Assume the entire structure will have a force field to hide the structure.

"With extra modified pods, create a structure to manufacture any devices not requiring power; a structure to manufacture electric circuit boards; and a structure to manufacture self contained power sources. All three of the manufacturing units are to be attached to the basic pod corridor.

"Can it be done? If so, how long will it take?"

We sat for one minute, and then the AI replied, "With both shuttle crafts being used twenty-four hours a day to ferry the containers and working at ninety percent on the project unless a ship requires need, it would take four weeks to construct what you described."

A thought struck me. "AI, where is your physical location?"

It replied, "Two hundred feet below this office."

"If the Sa'arm come, what will happen to you?"

It answered, "If my power source is interrupted, I would cease to operate. If the Sa'arm sensed my presence and burrowed to my location, I would self-destruct."

I asked, "If there was enough power, could you relocate two hundred feet below the ocean structure and maintain your operation."

"Yes."

I said, "Create another surface manufacturing unit to make self-contained power units, and manufacture as many of them as needed to permit your operation under the ocean. On my orders, be prepared to move your location along with the power units to the ocean site."

It replied, "Noted."

Fogarty and Adams were staring at me.

"Look," I said, "Because of poor leadership the military here was dogging it, as were the depot crew, and now we heard the AI was only utilized at five percent. Why not work our asses off in case we have a need?

"We need to do two things. First, if the Sa'arm come to our system, we need to hide. Second, we need a plan on how we will fight the Sa'arm. It can't be nose to nose-if we kill ten thousand of them and lose one person, we failed. So we need to decide whether we just hide, or if we should harass them.

"Adams, you're in charge of hiding us. Fogarty, you're in charge of our battle tactics."

Top took me on my word. For the next four weeks he had me with the Marines practicing maneuvers and being weapons qualified. It was tough, but with the AI controlling the underwater construction, I really was free to be a Marine.

Top gave me the respect due an officer, but gave no quarter when I underperformed. I quietly told him, "Don't change. I don't want people killed because I didn't know what to do."

The good news was my family. They were wonderful. Peggy, Julie, and Joyce were now pregnant. Connie and Jane were pissed that their eggs missed the target, but were constantly after me to give them a second, third, or fourth spurt. Actually, Jane didn't care if she got pregnant or not-she just loved sex and wanted it all the time.

Karen was my rock. At her request I spent the night with Doris trying to undo one year of living with an asshole. After an hour of foreplay she finally accepted my cock and had her orgasm. She sobbed afterward-clinging to me.

______________________

The AI asked me to come to the command post. A hyperlink message labeled "top secret" had been received. After giving the appropriate password it read:

"The Arian system campaign has not been successful. All units have been ordered to withdraw to the Olerion system to receive further orders. MV Fast Pursuit is to make all available speed to Logis 21 to evacuate personnel.

Another message followed: "Logis 21, MV Fast Pursuit is en route. Expected ETA is ten days. Be prepared for fast exit as AI advised we have to continue passage with only one day to collect personnel. Please acknowledge."

I said, "Acknowledge the message and tell them one day will be sufficient to evacuate."

Three days later we received another hyperlink message: "Logis 21. MV Fast Pursuit to Logis 21. The Sa'arm have blockaded our route to Logis 21. We must detour around their blockade. Unfortunately, we can't evacuate you as it would put at risk many more people than are on Logis 21. Good luck."

I immediately called Fogarty and Adams for a meeting. They read the message and looked at me.

I said, "AI, what is the estimated ETA of the Sa'arm?"

AI replied, "Eight days with an error of plus or minus one day."

I looked at Adams and said, "You're in charge of moving everything and everyone to the underground sea structure. Your first priority is the AI. Make sure it's secure and has the power resources to support us."

I looked at Fogarty. "Top, you have seven days. When the Sa'arm gets here, I want them to hurt. Make up a plan and give it to me tomorrow."

I told my family that night. They were in shock, and started to panic-all talking at once.

"Quiet," I yelled. "Karen, we have duplicate quarters under the ocean. Get things organized here so when the time comes our families can be transported to their new home. The AI will tell you when to transport. When the time comes, put Jane in charge until you're through with your duties on the surface."

Fogarty, Adams and I met the next day.

I said, "Adams, why don't you start. Are we going to make it in time with the ocean structure? By the way, let's just call the damn thing Ocean 1?"

"Yes," he replied. "The AI's pod is being ferried to its new location today-it will take all day for the placement, power hook up, and redundancy items. Ocean 1 is going through its final pressurization tests. We don't expect any problems even though we're two thousand feet deep. The force field is working fine.

"Tomorrow we'll transport all the concubines to Ocean 1. For the next three days we will ferry as many storage pods as you require to the ocean depot-I suggest we can call that area Ocean 2. We'll be working twenty-four hours a day since we only have two ferry shuttles.

"I'm hoping that you and Fogarty will look over the inventory and tell me the priority of items that you want to save. On the seventh day we'll rig to blow up all munitions, pods and anything else that we don't take with us. We have plenty of munitions to make a big bang."

"Excellent, Adams," I said. "You've done a great job.

"Top, what have you come up with?"

Fogarty answered, "Adams, I've already gone over the inventory at the depot. With some exceptions we can't use any of the heavy equipment. We might keep twenty or so M11 mortars, but with no manpower to speak of, we won't be fighting nose to nose with the dickheads. We have a ton of the M61 assault rifles and the M261 grenade launchers, so I suggest we keep them in their storage pods and bury them in the ocean.

"I was hoping to find the RPG bee hives, but the last ship took every one that was in stock. We have about ten thousand of the obsolete buzz-saw mines that I plan to use. The spinning laser wipes out anything within forty meters and then blows itself up. I plan to use some of these on the first day the Sa'arm gets here.

"We also have one hundred thousand rock claymores-they are ten different shaped claymores that match the rocks on our surface. I think we can use ten thousand of these the first day, and we should save the rest in storage. We should store the buzz-saw mines and rock claymores in a concealed cave on Logis 21.

"I also found that we have a hundred of the Bart silenced .50 caliber sniper rifles. I plan to deploy half of them immediately, and save the other fifty for use in the future.

"We have two hundred military drone aircraft that carry one missile plus observation equipment. We should keep them at Ocean 2.

"Finally, if we have time and Adams can spare some men, I'd like to deploy ten Sabet P missiles, along with ten Sabet HE missiles. The Sabet P missile is high velocity that can penetrate any ship with their shields down. The Sabet HE follows the Sabet P in with ten times the explosives of the Sabet P. It can be set up to blow on impact, on our electronic signal, or if the dickheads try to tamper with it.

"The rest of our inventory we should blow up-we can't use it, and I'm guessing we won't have time to hide it."

I asked, "Adams, is the above doable?"

"Yes, Sir. Actually, I thought we would have much more to move. We can definitely handle Fogarty's requirements."

Fogarty spoke up, "I'm not quite done. For actions after day one, I want the ten Sabet P and Sabet HE missiles with their launchers placed at various points in the mountains so that if the Sa'arm brings in a freighter, we get a shot at it.

"My Marines are going to place the fifty sniper rifles at various points in the mountains to harass the Sa'arm. We will tie in the scopes to our monitors, and have the circuit boards set so we can fire the rifles without being at the site. Any time we shoot one of them they'll go into defensive mode, but won't be able to pinpoint where the rifle is-it will keep them busy.

"Finally, the invasion day: Around everything that we will blow up that day, I need you to construct a super-hardened structure that will take almost any hit other than a nuke, which I don't think they'll use. I need a couple of gun ports on each side of the hardened pill box."

I interrupted, "You're not planning on making a suicide defense?"

"No, Sir.

"Our early after action reports are very consistent that the Sa'arm have instant communication with each other, and a very efficient command and control structure. The Sa'arm ignore their dead, but if one of them is captured alive, they instantly turn into a frenzy to locate and recover the captured dickhead. I plan to use this tactic against them.

"I need for your construction robots to dig a pit with a trap cage that is placed 100 meters from the pillbox. When one of the Sa'arm falls into it, I need the cage dragged through a tunnel into the pillbox. I want and expect the dickheads to charge the pillbox from all directions. When they are at the pillbox, I'll set off a thousand buzz-saws that we're going to place around the structure. That should wipe out all of them within a hundred meters of the pillbox.

"Once they recover, I expect them to bring everything they have to reach the pillbox. When they are within the kill zone we will set off the five concentric rings of the rock claymores-hopefully it will massacre all of them.

"They'll keep coming and when they are everywhere, we'll blow the depot and most of them with it.

"Then we'll get our ass back to Ocean 1.

"The Sa'arm will keep coming, but they'll be aware that we can do them harm. If anything, we'll make them careful."

I liked the plan. I asked, "Adams, can you do what Fogarty wants?"

Adams replied, "It will be close, but if Top uses his Marines and only takes half my men, we can do what he wants."

Fogarty added, "The last thing I want to do is to set up high-powered telescopes in the mountains so that we can monitor their activity. The electronics to tie them all in to our command post at Ocean 1 is simple.

I thought for a moment and then asked, "Can the Sa'arm find us at Ocean 1?"

The room became quiet, and finally Fogarty said, "I don't know.

"We have some unconfirmed reports that they are able to pick up our sub-hyperlink communications and electronic signals-not understand what we are saying, but detecting that the signal is out there.

"I seriously doubt that they can detect a transport or the early actions against the Sa'arm would have been disasters.

"However, if they did find Ocean 1, their light attack aircraft could definitely destroy us."

I asked the AI, "The sniper rifles that we will fire electronically as well as the telescopes that we plan to place in the mountains both will be receiving and sending signals. Are those signals detectible?

The AI replied, "If the Sa'arm can detect sub-hyperlink communications, then they will detect these signals also, but can only detect where the signal is coming from. That is, they cannot pinpoint where the signals are received."

I continued, "So if Ocean 1 only receives communications, but never sends them we will not be located?"

The AI replied, "That is correct."

Fogarty jumped in, "That means we need a forward command post that can observe activity on the surface, and aim and fire the sniper rifles."

Adams said, "But one forward command post would sooner or latter be detected because it will be sending signals, both to Logis 21 and Ocean 1. Once they find the forward command post they'll destroy it and we'll be blind."

I suggested, "What if we have multiple command posts-say place twenty or thirty of them randomly on the thousands of islands on the planet. If we receive a warning that the Sa'arm have detected the active command post, we transport the men to another post.

"AI, how much time would we have if the Sa'arm tries to follow our signals?"

The AI answered, "Not less than two minutes, but no more than three minutes."

I looked at Fogarty and said, "If you can set up your ambush on day one, along with the sniper rifles, and Sabet missiles, then do it. But first, you have to set up telescopes and the alternate forward command posts. Do you agree?"

Adams spoke up, "Since we're blowing most of our equipment and munitions, I might be able to spare a few more men to help."

Fogarty said, "We have six days-maybe seven if we're lucky. I'll be pushing the men really hard-probably twenty hours days-but once the Sa'arm get here, we're basically hiding. The men will have plenty of time to rest. The men and I will do our best."

Top, with the enthusiastic help of all the Marines, did better than expected. Everything was in place by the end of the sixth day. On the seventh day all the men and concubines were at Ocean 1 except for me, Fogarty, and two other combat Marines-we were in a forward command post about five hundred miles from the depot. The four of us were watching through the pictures sent by our high-powered telescopes concealed in the mountains surrounding the Logis 21 valley.

Ocean 1 was sealed. No signals were allowed to be sent from the structure, including the AI, so there would be little warning when the Sa'arm landed.

One of the Marines watching the monitor said, "Sir, the radar units on the planet have detected the Sa'arm. They are twenty minutes out."

I turned to Fogarty, "I think we should turn off the long-range radar units, so they aren't detected and destroyed. Obviously, we have to keep this command post's radar on so we're not surprised. Other than that suggestion, you're in charge. I'm here to observe."

Twenty minutes later Fogarty said, "Here come the dickheads."

We watched as eight Leopard-type Sa'arm rip-offs landed about two miles south from our main depot. They quickly off loaded two platoons from each shuttle. As soon as the shuttle was empty it quickly took off. Eight more landed right behind them. Some light armored vehicles were in the second batch to land. They immediately took defensive positions. In the next two hours over two hundred Leopards landed and offloaded the Sa'arm platoons. There were now over nine thousand Sa'arm on Logis 21 with more landing every five minutes.

Fogarty muttered, "Time to kill some dicks."

Since we didn't know where they would land, Fogarty had set up mortars on top of the reinforced pillbox facing in all four directions. He ordered, "Fire the mortars facing south until we are out of munitions-we just want to get their attention."

Each mortar had a magazine of five, so quickly one hundred mortars were on their way. In a bit of luck, one batch of mortars exploded within the Sa'arm ranks killing a hundred or so of them.

The Sa'arm immediately formed into combat units using their light armored vehicles as the lead, and started to head north towards the depot and pillbox. Forty minutes later the first of the Sa'arm were within range of the Bart rifles within the pillbox. Because the pillbox portholes were so small, a Sa'arm had to literally walk into the bore sight of the Bart. When it did, we fired the rifle electronically from our command post.

When we had a several kills, they briefly stopped their advance, but resumed it when they encountered no heavier fire.

Fogarty said to all of us, "The front line is fifty meters from the cage-five minutes more and things should get interesting."

We stared at the screen showing the advance until our alarm went off as one of the Sa'arm tripped into the cage below the surface. We knew the cage would be pulled into the pillbox as soon as it was activated by the weight of one or more of the Sa'arm who fell into it.

The Sa'arm's GPS type signal caused an immediate reaction-nine thousand plus Sa'arm charged the pillbox. All combat formations ceased to exist as they went at full speed to try to reach the captured dickhead. They were attacking from three directions. When the main mass of Sa'arm got to within a few meters of the pillbox, Fogarty said, "Die, dickheads," and triggered the buzz saw mines.

It was a slaughter. The mines bounced up and the spinning lasers were cutting everything within forty meters, which was where most of the nine thousand Sa'arm happened to be. The mines chopped down almost all of them, and then blew themselves up.

There were very few Sa'arm left standing, and those that were seemed to be catatonic-bumping into each other and generally unable to reorganize.

Five minutes later a hundred Leopards swooped into the battlefield and unloaded their platoons. Seconds later three hundred Leopards landed...within twenty minutes we had a hundred thousand Sa'arm landed and charging the pillbox, with ten thousand more landing every ten minutes. As we watched on the screen we saw a heavy transport carrier land and started discharging another one hundred thousand Sa'arm-it was a real frenzy.

Fogarty turned and asked, "Sir, let me transport to one of the Sabet sites-we can get that freighter."

"I'm going with you," I said.

He replied quickly, "No, Sir. You're in charge and I'm the senior NCO-we can't do anything together."

I blushed, "You're right. Take someone else."

He and another Marine transported to one of the Sabet sites. The missile launcher held two missiles-the Sabet P and next to it the Sabet HE. The launcher itself was quite primitive and had to turn using hydraulics and aimed manually. After the missiles were aimed the arming device was set to go off either with a timer or when given an electronic command from our forward command post.

Ten minutes later the two of them transported back to our location. He said, "The P model will shoot first followed two seconds later by the HE. As soon as the first missile fires, I'll set off the claymores."

I said, "Fire when you're ready, Top."

The Sa'arm by now had reached the pillbox and were frantically trying to penetrate it and gain access to the interior. They were everywhere, stacked thousands deep going back over five hundred meters on all sides of the pillbox.

Fogarty said, "Firing on three, two, one-fire."

The missiles were too fast for us to actually see them strike the ship, but when the HE following the P penetrated the ship, the explosion was big. Secondary explosions followed and in seconds the transport carrier was collapsed on its side. All the Sa'arm near the ship were killed in the explosion.

Fogarty ordered, "Fire the claymores."

Ten thousand rock claymores had been spread around the pillbox in five concentric circles roughly thirty meters apart. We watched in awe as each ring of claymores went off with a second pause in between.

The results were spectacular-the only Sa'arm left alive were those who were on the roof of the pillbox, and those few in the rear that were beyond the kill zone.

One of the Marines said it all, "Holy shit."

No Sa'arm moved for over ten minutes, and then the few left alive once more charged the pill box. Leopards landed and began discharging more of them.

Fogarty said, "Now we wait until another hundred thousand dickheads are on the ground and we'll blow the depot and everything in it."

A warning horn sounded and a computer generated voice announced, "Light attack aircraft are approaching the forward command post. Time of arrival is two minutes."

"Shit," I said, "I bet they've locked on our radar or to our signals to the missiles and claymores. Set coordinates for another command post. Shut this post down and transport now."

Twenty seconds later the four of us were in another command post. We powered up the equipment including our radar. Another warning horn sounded and we heard, "Light attack aircraft are approaching. Time of arrival is ninety seconds."

Fogarty turned to me and said, "I hate to say it, but they're on to us. When we light up radar, or aim a Bart, or even give commands to our telescopes in the mountains, they're pinpointing our position. I wanted to wait to blow the depot until they landed a bunch more dickheads, but I recommend we do it now."

I agreed with him and said, "You two-transport to Ocean 1 now. Top and I will follow you soon."

The radar voice said, "One minute until arrival."

I ordered, "Blow the depot in ten seconds. Have the telescopes power down two minutes after the depot blows. Once you give the command, shut down all power here and transport back to Ocean 1."

Fogarty said, "Yes, Sir. Setting charges now. I'm right behind you."

I transported back and seconds later Fogarty appeared. Our telescopes captured the large explosions as anything of value was blown to bits by the massive charges that Adams and his men had set. After a while the smoke was too dense to see anything.

I made sure that Ocean 1's command post would be manned continuously, and left to go to my pod. Karen and our concubines listened to my brief description of our first battle, and then she led me to our bedroom where I was asleep in seconds.

The next morning I woke to find both Karen and Connie sharing my bed. Once they knew I was awake, I was sexually attacked as only two women getting their man to come was their only objective in life-they were very successful.

Two hours later I walked into the command post to find a very glum First Sergeant Fogarty.

I asked, "Why so glum? You gave the dickheads a hell of a beating yesterday."

He looked at me and grimaced, "Captain, I was too clever by half. When we are active at a forward command post, we activate a signal to our radar units to light up. The radar lights up and sends its signals to us and Ocean 1. The command post is also monitoring the high-powered telescopes to monitor the depot, and the telescopes are sending signals to us at the command post and Ocean 1. And when we want to use the Bart sniper rifle, it is sending signals to us showing us the target.

"The problem is that, although the Sa'arm can't pinpoint where the signals are going, they can determine where the signals are coming from. Over time they are going to locate every radar site, telescope, Bart rifle, and forward command posts that we have.

"I've already ordered that the individual radar, telescopes, and Barts are only on line five seconds at a time, and then switch to alternate sites, but I think that eventually, we're screwed. Even worse, to make these sites go online and offline, the forward command posts sends its own signal, which eventually they'll triangulate."

Fogarty was right. One week later the AI said to me, "You are needed at medical immediately."

Two of our Marines had transported to a forward command post. They sent a signal to light up the radar, and in five seconds they were attacked by Sa'arm aircraft. One Marine suffered a shoulder wound when the first missile hit close to their position, while the other lost a leg when shrapnel shredded him. The lightly wounded Marine was able to help the other and transported back to Ocean 1. Pre-programming had already been in place that once attacked the forward command post would self-destruct in five minutes after the beginning of the attack. So that command post was history.

The wounded Marines were quickly stripped and placed in the medical capsules. They would both live.

Fogarty and I met later. It was clear that our intended way to harass the Sa'arm would not work.

I started the meeting and said, "Well it's obvious that any forward command post that we have used up to now, should never be used again. That leaves us about ten virgin posts that we can use, but only passively. If we have to activate them, then the first time we should assume we have two minutes or so before they get to it, but then the post is burned for any future operations."

Fogarty replied, "I agree, sir. Further, since the only thing the dicks can't detect is our transporting, it will have to be that transporting will be our means of communication between the field, the command post, and Ocean 1.

"And it means we will have to have our men on the ground to observe. I suggest we have two two-man teams on the ground twenty-four hours a day to observe. If the Sa'arm get close to their stake out position, they should immediately transport to the passive command post."

I said, "I agree. Set up the two-man teams and make sure they have their shit together, and will not try to kill the dickheads no matter what the risk. From now on we only observe."

Fogarty objected, "Sir, I think we can do one more thing. We have nine thousand buzz saw mines and ninety thousand rock claymores. The dickheads don't patrol very aggressive at night. I suggest we use our construction robots to disperse the mines around the perimeter of the depot at night and set them for proximity explosion-make them not want to wander around. It doesn't change anything, but it would make me feel better than hiding our ass under the water and doing nothing."

I agreed with him and said to make it happen.

It took a week to disperse the mines, and then for Ocean 1, things came to a halt.

The mines worked for two weeks killing Sa'arm whenever they activated the proximity trigger. At the beginning of the third week the Sa'arm had figured it out-they sent robot mopeds racing around the depot, which activated the mines. When the robots were blown up, they sent more robots out. The mine campaign was over.

The Sa'arms' freighters came in with supplies that were ferried down to the depot, and other combat ships came in to re-supply. In effect, the Sa'arm were using Logis 21 similar to our past operations.

I started one more activity. Once a week a soldier would transport to Ocean 2 where the weapons were stored and activated one combat drone. The drone would randomly propel itself underwater for one to two hundred miles from Ocean 2 so that the underwater depot's location would not be disclosed. It would then surface and fly nap of the planet until near the Logis 21 depot valley, at which point it would abruptly climb and send a hyperlink message to Command Headquarters located in the Poseidon system. It would light up its observation cameras and project to Ocean 1 for five seconds, and then it would fire its missile at a predetermined target. If the Sa'arm had not destroyed it by then, it would dive and destroy itself at the predetermined secondary target.

This way Command would be able to read our after-action reports and know we were still alive. The five seconds that the drone's cameras were active gave us the status of the activity at the depot, and provided us targets for the next week's drone.

Although military operations slowed down at Ocean 1, other activities continued. Karen had insisted that all children be schooled aggressively, which meant that any child between four and fourteen was in school eight hours a day. Two of those hours were in physical education-unarmed combat-and one hour a day was spent on the history of the Sa'arm invasion and our tactics against them. It was, in effect, a military school.

Connie's siblings-Peter and Jackie-were feeling their oats at thirteen years old and were a constant challenge to keep them busy and motivated. Connie was the prime mover, but both my and Karen's two concubines were involved in keeping them challenged.

My job was unarmed combat. It could never be used against the Sa'arm-it would be a slaughter, but it did teach physical coordination, and helped in self-confidence.

I enjoyed the exercise and liked that I got to know both kids really well. Peter had turned out to be an alpha male. He was dying to become a combat Marine, and showed no mercy in unarmed combat-if he could get a hit on me, he took it. Jackie was much sweeter-she didn't like fighting, but knew that it was part of her education. Despite being sweet, she was extremely quick. If I paused for a second, she attacked with a kick or punches that connected-and then apologized for hitting me.

We were having our normal exercise-Peter and Jackie against me in anything goes combat. I had to watch Jackie because she was so quick, but if I spent too much time on her, Peter would launch a vicious attack.

The AI said, "You are needed in the command post."

I replied, "I'll be right there."

That split second of attention to the communication gave Jackie the chance to sweep my feet, and Peter took the killing blow on my neck, which he pulled at the last second.

I grinned, "Okay, guys, you win. I've got to go."

Jackie asked anxiously, "Did we hurt you?"

I grimaced, "Only my pride."

As I walked into the command post, Fogarty said, "Captain, we've seen increased activity for the last thirty days. The amount of supplies they are storing is huge. I suspect it's the start of a new offensive."

"What can we do about it?"

"Not a damn thing, captain."

Three days later I was snuggling with Julie, Joyce, and Peggy, who were now clearly showing their pregnancy, when the AI woke me, "You are needed at the command post."

Carefully trying to negotiate around three sleeping naked women, I dressed and hurried to the command post.

Fogarty, of course, was already there.

"Sir," he said, "our Marine just transported from the surface and told us that two huge freighters have landed and are starting to unload. They could have used their shuttles, but didn't."

That really was unusual. Since the first invasion day when we nailed one of their troop transport ships, they had never landed anything bigger than a shuttle.

I said, "Top, let's burn one of our telescopes and have the men on the ground activate it and see what we got. Once the telescope is on, have both teams on the surface transport back here.

The men transported to one of the concealed telescopes and activated the telescope, and transported back to Ocean 1. It sent us the images-they really were huge freighters-nothing that the Confederacy had seen in the past according to the AI.

We had three seconds of images, and then the telescope ceased to function-the Sa'arm obviously were right on top of it.

"AI," I asked. "Can you identify the ships?"

The AI replied, "Analysis indicates the first freighter is for food supply, which is determined by the need to keep it at a specific temperature for long-term storage.

"The second ship appears to be an improved munitions carrier. There is no way to determine what munitions."

I was pissed. "Food supply" meant that our Marines and concubines, who had died, along with other aliens, were chopped to bits, seasoned, shaped into pellets, and then stored for future supplements.

I turned to Fogarty, "Can we use the Sabets to take them out?"

"Yes, Sir."

Fogarty put out the call for four Sabet knowledgeable Marines. We transported to a virgin command post and waited for the four to follow. When they arrived he gave them their orders and they transported to the surface.

Ten minutes later both teams were back and transported to Ocean 1 leaving just Fogarty and myself.

He turned to me and said, "Sir, this is our last chance to really fuck them. On your order."

I replied, "Activate a telescope, keep the transporter hot, and fire."

Seconds later the food transport freighter was smoking and breaking up. A second later Top excitedly yelled, "It's a fucking nuke!"

A huge, not big but absolutely huge, mushroom cloud appeared on our screen-this was not a tactical explosion-and bloomed into the sky.

Fogarty yelled, "Transport, transport...we're about to be fried."

I leaped into the transporter beam and landed on the floor. Top landed on top of me.

Seconds later, our entire structure was rocked by sub-surface waves. It only lasted a few seconds, and then returned to normal.

We hunkered down for a week and then from Ocean 2 we sent a video drone. The drone told us nothing-it was a heavy mist, probably from the nukes frying the ocean, and we could see nothing.

Three weeks later we sent four drones. The two video drones showed us complete devastation-there was nothing left in the valley of Logis 21. Everything that the Sa'arm had stored plus the two freighters ceased to exist. In the twenty mile by twenty mile valley of Logis 21, nothing remained other than radioactive debris.

One drone tested for radioactivity-the whole planet surface and atmosphere was so hot that it was beyond the point that our sensors could measure it.

The Sa'arm never returned to Logis 21.

The other two drones set down and sent out a continuous hyperlink communication that we were alive, described the nuclear activity, and our belief the Sa'arm were gone from the system.

We never found out if it was a single, massive nuke, or that our missiles had set off a chain of nuclear bombs. Fogarty precisely described the situation-it was "just one big fucking nuclear explosion."

Two quiet months went by, and then over a three day period Peggy, Julie, and Joyce had their babies-a boy for Peggy and Joyce, and twin girls for Julie. It was a happy occasion that gave us an upper from two months of inactivity.

Three months later we received a message. The MV Quick Escape would arrive in two days. It would be a quick extraction-no pods other than the AI's pod, and minimal personal possessions.

The evacuation went well. We were under orders to Emeter, which was the fifth planet in the Lazidec system. Emeter was the backup to Demeter. The advance of the Sa'arm indicated that Demeter had fifteen or more years before the planet would be under siege. Emeter was five years past that point.