“If I may, sir,” Gunny Sands said. “Let me have them for a week and then we’ll look at it, sir.”
“Agreed, Gunny,” Hamilton said. “A Marine officer should not show any weakness, but I can honestly say I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’ll get ’em dialed in, sir,” Sands said.
“I needed him to organize the helo unit,” Smith said, shrugging. “It was necessary, then. But Januscheitis has it well in hand at this point. Another example of critical personnel. At this point the gunny would have to be caught with a dead boy in his bed.”
“That ain’t gonna be an issue, sir,” Gunny Sands said, grinning. “I’ll get ’em dialed in,” he repeated.
“The point to this discussion is that, much as with the vaccine production and beginning clearance of the continents, we simply have to do the best with what we have,” Steve said. “And we have to accept that perfection is simply going to be unobtainable. So we maximize what we have, both in terms of materials and personnel. Which means that the competent people we have are always going to find themselves having to do more and more. And one aspect of that is, sometimes, selection.
“Gunny, this is not disrespect to the Marine Corps. In any group of people there are those who are better at some jobs and less so at others. I threw every Marine I had into the breach from the time we found Hooch to now because I had to. I still would prefer to. Clearance is the number one issue after finding the materials for a vaccine. But if any of them are determined to be either truly incompetent at clearance or just too difficult to get trained to do it…we’ll find somewhere they can help. And I’m not just discussing Decker and Condrey. If they cannot be trusted to keep their damned finger off the trigger, after reasonably sufficient training, I do not want them trying to clear liners. In the distant past the infantry was the place you put your incompetents. That is not the case in Wolf Squadron’s Marines. The clearance personnel will be our best. That’s an order.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Gunny Sands said.
“That goes for NCOs as well,” Steve said. “I can’t imagine a Marine NCO who is truly incompetent at battle, but if any of them cannot handle battle management…we’ll find somewhere for them. That does include Staff Sergeant Decker.”
“We’ve been…managing the staff sergeant, sir,” Hamilton said. “For example, he’s excellent at ensuring all sterile protocols are followed with the astronauts.”
“Do you have to keep to this harbor while the astronauts recover?”
“Not really, sir,” Hamilton said. “We can float with them as cargo.”
“We just added an island to your operation,” Steve said.
“Which one, sir?” Hamilton asked.
“Sint Eustatius,” Smith said. “It’s on the list after you check Saba. And we’ll need Sint Eustatius as clear as this one.”
“The oil storage point,” Hamilton said.
“You noticed,” Steve said. “Yes. When you’re approaching it, we’ll send down a POL and security team to secure it and get it into operation. Probably permanently, or at least as long as the materials hold out.”
“It’s primarily unprocessed crude, though,” Hamilton said. “Isn’t it, sir?”
“No,” Steve said. “Yes, by volume. But there are also supplies of diesel, aviation, gas and even bunker C. Assuming the stuff hasn’t leaked or something. And large stores, larger than Gitmo. At last report, which was pre-Plague. There are two other facilities like it in the Caribbean but that is the only one in the Leeward Islands and the largest on the smallest island. So securing it is important. It’s going to be a long time before we’re pumping crude again, much less refining it.”
“Yes, sir,” Hamilton said, making a note.
“We’ll punch the team down on the Pit Stop when you get to Saba,” Steve said. “And that covers all the major issues. I suppose I should go talk to our visitors…”
“Hello,” Steve said, looking through the plexiglass and using the external mike. “I’m Captain Smith, U.S. Navy and acting Atlantic Fleet Commander. Hope my people are treating you folks well?”
“Just fine, sir,” Commander Daniels said, sitting up in his chair. “Better than we’d had any reason to expect, sir. Really appreciate the hospitality.”
“Out of four thousand plus survivors we have one guy with a masters in mechanical engineering,” Steve said. “Zero MDs, zero SEALs and, really importantly, zero microbiologists. To say that I was surprised when I was informed of this mission is an understatement. I’ll add when I was told who we were rescuing, I was overjoyed. I’m obviously hoping that you’re all interested in helping out.”
“We are,” Commander Daniels said. “We’ve been having some difficulty adjusting to current realities. Even seeing all the lights turning off couldn’t quite prepare us for how bad it is.”
“I fully recognize, and even understand, Dr. Shelley’s reported discomfort with the vaccine program,” Steve said. “I don’t even have an issue with it. Given her many areas of training and education, there are other areas where she can contribute tremendously. I’ve given the order that it’s simply not a subject for discussion. She should make her own decisions on it. And until we can secure the rest of the production materials, the question is moot. Not why I’m here to talk with you. I’m not even really here to see you, particularly. Could have done that over the video screen. There were some issues to address with the Marines having to do with clearance ops and some other conversations I’d like to have. Dr. Price, I understand you’ve been reviewing the obstetrics issues.”
“I have,” Dr. Price said, smiling wryly. “OB was one field I’d never even considered as an MD. But…guess it’s time to be a baby doctor.”
“I’d like you to discuss with Dr. Chen at the CDC and Mr. Walker the viability of setting up an…assembly line, if you will, for C-sections on mothers who are likely to have complications or are already experiencing complications,” Steve said. “Among a thousand things we haven’t found and need is countercontraction medication. But it seems likely that going ahead and pulling the kids would make more sense than waiting until we’ve got complications in childbirth. We’re going to have enough of those as it is. We’ll probably need the assembly line prepared when the tidal wave hits to handle the complications, then.”
“I’d…have to review what literature there is available,” Dr. Price said. “And discuss it with Dr. Chen.”
“Of course,” Steve said. “It’s something that I’m leaving up entirely to the medical team. My knowledge of obstetrics begins and ends with standing by my wife going ‘Breathe, honey, breathe,’” he added with a grin. “Twice.”
“That certainly seemed to have turned out well enough, sir,” Commander Daniels said.
“Indeed,” Steve said, sighing slightly. “Mr. Lyons.”
“Sir?” Lyons said.
“I can always use a mechanical engineer,” Steve said. “I’m honestly not sure whether I need a mechanical engineer or a SEAL more. We’re going to crack the boats at some point and many of their engineering officers can at least hum the tune. So I suppose the answer is ‘a SEAL.’”
“If you’re asking would I prefer to shoot zombies or run a CAD program, sir, the answer is ‘kill zombies,’ sir,” Lyons said, smiling. “Take me a while to get back in shape, but I’m your man, sir.”