“And we’ll get H7D3 and go insane,” Tom said.
“Probably,” Sophia said. “And we’ll put a bullet in you and in your case probably give you a nice funeral like we did for Anarchy instead of just letting your body be picked by the seagulls. Which is what we’ve done with several thousand other humans who turned. Probably tens of thousands, come to think of it. Beside the wreck, when you can stand up, you can see the pile of bodies my gunboat division created on this pretty beach. The more infected we kill, the more people we can save and maybe save civilization. That’s how we roll. Welcome to Wolf Squadron.”
“That is the most world-weary fifteen-year-old I have ever met,” Tom Shelley said as Walker gave him the vaccine.
Doing so had required getting them out of their suits. All of the astronauts, besides being physically weak as kittens, were skeletally thin. But that was common with survivors. One wag had called the apocalypse “the best diet plan in history.”
“More just weary,” Walker said. “Seawolf is also one of the brightest young ensigns I’ve ever met. Her entire family is quite extraordinary.”
“Is there some more detailed information we can get than ‘it’s really bad’?” Colonel Kuznetsov asked. “For example, is there any continuing Russian government?”
“Fourth Strategic Rocket Command,” Walker said. “Although General Kazimov apparently committed suicide by shooting himself repeatedly in the back when he tried to order a nuclear strike on Washington.”
“The world has gone utterly mad,” Tom said.
“By definition,” Walker said, straightening up after his last shot. “If you define sanity as what is normal for the standard human, then sanity is being an aggressive animal with no higher brain function, Doctor. I was in a pitch-black stores compartment for five months passing the time doing knot work. Besides the three people who succumbed to the virus in the compartment, I had to kill an additional member of the party when he went stark mad and began attacking people at random.
“There was some issue with hooking up the TV. On the outside of the container; they don’t have to come in. When it’s working, we’ll run the basic brochure then the video they show new arrivals. It’s rather good propaganda but it is also truth, which is odd for propaganda. When you view it you will get a new appreciation for that world-weary young lady….”
CHAPTER 20
“You guys okay?” Sophia asked as she entered the container.
“They finally got the TV working,” Troy answered. “They just ran the Welcome to Wolf Squadron video.” It was possible the former SEAL was the only one able to talk.
“Your family started this,” Tom said.
“Yes, sir,” Sophia said. “That shot of me in a suit was where I was working in New York producing vaccine. Like I said, I’ve pulled half the squadron over a transom. We’d get you all the other briefing stuff but it’s paper and there’s no good way to decontaminate it and ditto with moving a computer in here. I’m not sure what they’ll be playing, next, but I hope you can hang in there with it. We’re going to have to crash. After that, we’ll be going to four-hour shifts until you guys are recovered and we see if the vaccine holds. Shortest period for turning we’ve seen is three hours. So we’re going to have to secure you while we pass out. Light restraints; you can get out of them if you’re sane. Then Mr. Walker will be back in about four hours.”
“We’ll be fine till then,” Dr. Price said. “One question. How many MDs have you found?”
“One,” Sophia said. “You. Our other doctors are Lieutenant Fontana and Mr. Walker, who are both SF medic trained. There’s one in the CDC who can talk us through stuff. Oh, and we’ve got seventeen hundred women who are pregnant and about to give birth.”
“I’m not sure how many more shocks like that I can handle,” Rizwana said.
“Here’s another then,” Sophia said. “We had eighteen hundred. We’ve lost about a hundred babies or their mothers to complications or miscarriages already. And when Walker isn’t in here, he’s running around the flotilla checking on the mothers. Including both of my subordinate skippers and six members of our boat crews. Last bit of news. We’re moving, so you’re going to have to put up with some motion. This beach is getting rather nasty so we’re moving to a harbor that hasn’t been shot up. Should take about an hour. Since I have to move my boat as well…”
She hung her head.
“See y’all tomorrow,” she said, exiting the container.
“Sir, I’ve been looking at the map…” Faith said, her mouth half full of sushi.
The Marines had cleaned up after extracting the astronauts, eaten breakfast, then crashed. It was dinner time and Faith was still barely recovered.
In the interim the task force had moved to Rendezvous Bay. It was on the far side of the island from Road Salt Pond Bay and thus nicely away from the smell and sight of piles of dead bodies. Unfortunately, it was close to Blowing Point, which had been another clearance point. But even though the wind was from that direction, there was no real effect.
The bay was better in lots of ways. It had fewer wrecks and less mess than Road Salt Pond and there was, apparently, no fire damage. There were a couple of resorts in sight that looked almost as if nothing had happened.
“Remember those sayings, Lieutenant?” Hamilton said. “That sounds very much like ‘I have an idea…’”
“I’m a second lieutenant not a first lieutenant, sir,” Faith said. “But about the map, sir. This beach has another one of those salt ponds behind it. It’s just a little strip of sand, sir. It’s even narrower than that other anchorage was.”
“I noticed that, Lieutenant,” Hamilton said.
“Thing is, sir, we put out a couple of security points and infected can’t really get to it, sir,” Faith said.
“Thinking of hitting the beach for a tan, Lieutenant?” Hamilton asked.
“Thinking that most of us haven’t had anything like a break in a long time, sir,” Faith said. “So, yes, sir, that was sort of asking if the men could have some shore leave, sir. Since we’re stuck here till the astronauts recover, sir. I was thinking about Christmas day, sir.”
“How would you do it?” Hamilton asked, interested.
“One squad should be able to cover it, sir,” Faith said. “One team at each end with the squad leader doing interior patrol as sergeant of the guard, sir. If we’re here for a few days we could have them rotate one day on one off, sir.”
“Why not Navy away teams?” Hamilton asked.
“I…don’t run them, sir?” Faith said.
“The force has about the same number of Naval ground combat team members as Marines,” Hamilton said. “How would you do it if you had them as well?”
“Not much different, sir,” Faith said after a moment’s thought. “Possibly have two shifts each day. I’d suggest that all armed personnel who go ashore, go ashore armed. But other than that…Just more free time, sir.”
“How do you integrate the fact that people who go on liberty tend to drink?” Hamilton asked. “What about a reaction team?”
“I’m getting out of my depth, sir,” Faith said.
“There’s an outline for a standard liberty schedule in your inbox, Lieutenant,” Hamilton said. “Along with our current TOE. I need the details filled in by zero eight hundred tomorrow. That way, people can have liberty on Christmas Day.”