“Okay,” said Sergeant Green with another look at the pile. “I’ll pass that on. Now get your squad together.”
“Roger, dodger,” said Duncan, pushing himself off the wall. “I just hope the lieutenant knows what to do after that,” he ended.
Sergeant Green walked to where Lieutenant O’Neal was standing. The featureless command suit shifted slightly, indicating that the lieutenant had noticed him coming.
“Sir,” he said on a discreet channel, “can we talk?”
“Sure, Sergeant. I guess I oughta call you Top. But somehow I don’t feel like the Old Man.” The voice was precise with an enforced note of humor, but there was fatigue whispering in the background.
“I think we’re both out of our depth, Lieutenant,” said the NCO.
“Yeah, but we gotta keep treading water, Sergeant. That’s why we get paid the big bucks,” the officer said in an encouraging tone. Green was something of an enigma to O’Neal. He was not one of the NCOs involved in Wiznowski’s training program so Mike had not been able to closely study his methods. He seemed, however, to be a very sturdy and capable NCO. He had better be.
“Confirm, sir. Okay, that’s the trouble. The men know we’re in deep shit, sir and I don’t know a way out. There has been one suggestion but I think it is frankly flaky.” Green told him Duncan’s suggestion.
Mike nodded his head and briefly communed with his AID. “Yeah,” he said, “I think that will work. Tell Duncan thanks, that’s two I owe him.
“Get with him and have him experiment with it. We need to be sure before we put all our eggs in that basket. If it is gonna work, we’ll start to move out as soon as I contact higher.”
“Can you reach higher through all this rock, Lieutenant?” Green was happy to have the lieutenant in charge. He apparently not only knew his stuff, but was willing to use good suggestions. He had started talking to Wiznowski in the first place because Wiz was the official battalion expert. When Wiz told him where the expertise came from the lieutenant had gone up several notches in the NCO’s eyes. He wondered how many of the company commanders had been in on the deception?
“Sure,” said Mike easily, “these communicators aren’t affected by line of sight. They’re just stepping on the frequency.”
“Yes, sir.” The instant answer was another encouraging sign of the officer’s expertise. “Okay, how soon on the mechanics, sir?”
“Soon. Do you think it would be better to move out, or to rest up then move?” Mike flashed the schematic of the proposed route up so that they could both view it.
“Is there anywhere down the line we could stop, sir?” asked the platoon sergeant, trying to decipher the three-dimensional representation. He should have been much more familiar with the symbology, but the lack of training with the systems was hampering him still.
“Probably.” Mike flashed several possible stopping places.
“Then I’d suggest moving out as soon as possible, sir. The troops are on the ragged edge in here; if we don’t get them somewhere more open they’ll start to crack. And then there’s the other problem.”
“Roger that, Sar’nt, the weapons and energy.” Three hundred miles, hah! Seventy-two hours, hah! I told them to use antimatter!
“Yes, sir, or the lack of weapons. Most of us don’t even have a pistol.”
“Well, right now we don’t need them and later on we’ll find some, don’t you worry. What about the other group? Where are they?”
“Sergeant Brecker has eighteen men with him, sir, including two of the engineers. They were about two hundred yards away in another tunnel. They’re mining their way here right now.”
“When they get here we’ll start work on the next phase. I need those engineers, but everybody will help.”
“Lieutenant O’Neal?” his AID broke in.
“Yes?”
“Major Pauley is about to be available.”
“Right, connect me. Sergeant, get the troops who aren’t working on getting out of here mining towards Sergeant Brecker and his men. I have to talk to battalion.”
“Yes, sir.” The relief in the sergeant’s voice was evident. He got started on cross mining to the other group, comfortable now that there was a clear mission.
The chirp of connection cued him. “Major Pauley, it’s Lieutenant O’Neal.”
“O’Neal? What the hell do you want?”
“Sir, I am currently in command of the survivors gathered under Qualtren. I was looking for orders, sir.” Mike watched the NCO leading a group across the scattered rubble. The first suit to reach the far side grabbed a piece of rubble and pulled it out. There was a prompt slide into its place and a section of ceiling fell out, momentarily trapping one of the other troops. With some hand motions and swearing on a side channel Green got the group to move more circumspectly.
“Who the hell put you in command?” demanded the distant officer.
“Captain Wright, sir,” answered O’Neal. He was expecting some resistance but the harshness of Pauley’s voice made him instantly wary.
“And where the hell is Wright?”
“Can I deliver my report, sir?”
“No, dangit, I don’t want your dang report. I asked you where Captain Wright was.” The panting of the officer over the circuit was eerie, like an obscene phone call.
“Captain Wright is irretrievable with what we have available, Major. He put me in command of the mobile survivors and put himself into hibernation.”
“Well, the hell if any trumped up sergeant is going to lead my troops,” said the major, his voice cracking and ending on a high wavery note. “Where the hell are the rest of the officers?”
“I am the only remaining officer, Major,” O’Neal said reasonably. “There are one sergeant first class, three staff sergeants and five sergeants, sir. I am the only officer on site.”
“I do not have time for this,” spit the commander, “put me through to another officer.”
“Sir, I just said that there are no other officers.”
“Dangit, Lieutenant, get me Captain Wright and get him now or I’ll have you court-martialed!”
“Sir,” Mike choked. He began to realize that Major Pauley was not tracking well. The position of the retreating ACS battalion should have prepared him somewhat, but nothing could have fully prepared him. “Sir…” he started again.
“Dangit, Lieutenant, get those troops back here now! I need all the forces I can get! I don’t have time to eff around with this. Get me through to Captain Wright!”
“Yes, sir,” Mike did not know what to do, but ending this conversation would be a start. “I’ll get the troops to your location as fast as I can and get Captain Wright to contact you as soon as possible.”
“That’s better. And put him back in command, dang you. How dare you usurp command, you young puppy! I’ll have you court-martialed for this! Put yourself on report!”
“Yes, sir, right away, sir. Out here. Michelle, cut transmission.” He thought for a moment. “Michelle, who is next in this rat-fuck chain of command?”
“Brigadier General Marlatt is MIA. That makes it General Houseman.”
“Okay, who is left in the battalion chain.”
“Major Norton and Captain Brandon are still in action and collocated with the battalion.”
“Put me through to Captain Brandon.”
“Left, left! Bravo team, move back!” Captain Brandon was maneuvering the remaining troops in contact on an open channel, usually used for platoon maneuver. Since from the map Mike was scanning Brandon was in command of fewer than forty troopers, it fit the condition.