“Take a reactivation?” Steve asked.
“Absolutely, sir,” Lyons said.
“Consider yourself reactivated as of now, Lieutenant,” Steve said. “As to getting back in shape… Really think that’s an issue?”
“No, sir,” Lyons said. “Looking forward to it.”
“Biggest problem will be time,” Steve said, shaking his head. “As in: There is never enough. You may have to just hit the gun rack when you’re marginally cleared and get back to SEAL shape as time permits. Colonel Kuznetsov.”
“Sir?” the assistant commander said.
“Had my first face to face talk with Colonel Ushakov about you and Mr. Matveev,” Steve said. “We’re trying to get him up on the video conference here. There is an issue with it since it has to go through the Hole and there are incompatibility issues. His take is what you want to do is up to you given that, like the Hole, he’s trapped for the time being. I understand you are a rotary wing pilot as well as fixed.”
“Yes, sir,” Kuznetsov said.
“I have a crying need for rotary wing pilots,” Steve said. “You have the usual problem of being a foreign national, but I’d be more than happy to give you the functional position of, say, captain as opposed to colonel if you’d take it. The problem with colonel is that your pilot in command, at least initially, would be a Marine captain. However, I’d have you as an instructor pilot rather rapidly. I need a lot of helos and a lot of helo pilots for land clearance eventually. The plan is to set up a helo training site in the Keys when we’ve cleared them. The focus would be on cargo and heavy utility helos.”
“I would be comfortable with that, sir,” Kuznetsov said, frowning. “The situation would be…strange, but I am sure I can work with your Marines. If they are willing to work with me.”
“Colonel, without any sarcasm whatsoever, this is a zombie apocalypse,” Steve said, smiling. “You’re simply suffering a bit of cognitive dissonance. I was a digger in the Australian paras and now am a U.S. Navy captain and Commander Atlantic Fleet. Which is composed of a group of civilian boats and not one single pre-Plague Navy platform with the exception of the subs. Asking a Russian colonel and cosmonaut to take a dip in position to Navy lieutenant, which is what the position would be, and then not even having it be an actual rank since I still cannot so appoint a foreign national, is not even in the top ten weird items in my last week. Part of why I can do this job so effectively is that I just ignore the cognitive dissonance and look at the situation as it actually is.
“For example: I know that if you’re put in a position and given any rank, no matter how odd it might be legally, the people you’ll be working with are so untrained on military basics that they’ll salute, or more often not, and just follow the orders as long as they make any sense whatsoever. When they don’t is when it gets to be a problem,” he added with a sigh.
“I’ve got a person who is technically a civilian, given that he’s a retired British sergeant major, as my official NCOIC of my U.S. Navy landing parties. And his people call him ‘Sergeant Major’ without even realizing that sergeant major is not a Navy NCO position. They assume it’s what you call a chief that is a master-at-arms. Sometimes they still refer to him as ‘sir’ and he’s pretty much given up telling them not to. Because in the game ‘Halo,’ the master chief is referred to as ‘sir’ and that’s as much training as most of them have in military protocol,” he added with a grin.
“Cognitive dissonance is a common feature of this universe,” he continued. “The meme is a Zombie Apocalypse Moment, a ZAM or zammie. The ability to rapidly overcome the cognitive dissonance is sort of the definition of competence in this universe. Those people who can, and are otherwise fairly competent, are gems. Those who are stuck in pre-Plague mindsets and have an impossible time getting their brains around zammies, no matter how competent, are only barely useful.
“I’m hoping that all of you will be gems,” Captain Smith concluded. “But if you’re simply good, that is fine as well. Heck, if you decide you want nothing to do with us… This island is functionally cleared and we’ll be glad to give you some guns for self-protection. If you can keep the ISS going for six months without any support I’m sure you can survive, and it’s a nice little place. Up to you each individually. And with that I bid you adieu.”
“That was not…the pep talk I was expecting,” Dr. Price said after a moment.
“I am glad he did not press me to be part of the vaccine production group,” Rizwana said.
“Have you made up your mind?” Commander Daniels asked.
“I have not,” Rizwana said. “It is a very difficult decision. But that is why I am glad he said that.”
“We’ll leave you to consider it,” Commander Daniels said. “If you wish to talk, feel free. But I think we should respect the captain’s wishes in this. Change of topic.”
“Thank you,” Rizwana said.
“I am wondering why he wants a fleet of helicopters,” Mr. Matveev said. “And we did not take the opportunity to ask about planes.”
“I have been thinking about that,” Commander Daniels said. “It is probably something to raise, again, with the local chain of command. What they could probably use is a small float plane. And we have, between us, more than enough technical expertise to both get one into operation and use it.”
“We have enough expertise between us to make one,” Lyons said, grinning. “Although, I’m almost regretting taking the recall. I can sort of see just retiring to Anguilla. Nah. I’m going to have too much fun killing zombies.”
“I never really saw that side of you on the mission, Troy,” Rizwana said.
“That is because I didn’t pull it out, Doctor,” Lyons said. “The International Space Station is about peace and international brotherhood. But once a SEAL, always a SEAL, Doc. You don’t go to BUD/S, much less pass it, if part of you doesn’t long for combat. It was part of my frustration and stress being up there. That I couldn’t be down here in a very target-rich environment. Admittedly, like the majority of my SEAL buddies I would now be dead or infected. That does not reduce my desire to engage in the fight. Dr. Price, permission to attempt, again, to stand?”
“Wait for the aides to return,” Price said. “If you break a bone it will hold you back even longer. Symptoms check.”
“Continuing fever,” Commander Daniels said. “Still moderate. Malaise.”
“The same,” Kuznetsov said.
“So far so good,” Price said since nobody had any indications of negative effects.
“Now if we could just do something,” Troy said, sighing hard. “I am more than ready for my next therapy session.”
“Follow the program, Troy,” Price said. “You’ll get there.”
“Astro unit,” the intercom squawked. “Be advised. Flag has left. We are undocking to move to our next objective.”
“They don’t sit around much, do they?” Commander Daniels said.
“Sort of my point,” Lyons replied. “They seem to know what they’re doing and I’d sure like to help…”
CHAPTER 22