Islands of Rage and Hope

CHAPTER 21

“The materials on the Achille are mostly what Fontana thought Walker would need for a recovering gunshot wound,” Captain Smith said as soon as they were seated in the colonel’s office. “Notably, Keflex. I’m not putting that on you, by the way, Colonel. I didn’t give you time to get trained before you went on the float and the short time your units had together was doing police call. In retrospect, I should have had the gunny run them through combat action training. My mistake. One I’m not prone to repeat.”

“Yes, sir,” Hamilton said. “My man, my failure, sir.”

“Not if you were under other orders, Colonel,” Smith said. “And it touches on one of the main issues I have, both upward and downward, with the current situation.”

“Sir?” Hamilton said.

“In the pre-Plague military, that sort of thing could have been a career killer,” Smith said, taking a sip of the scotch Hamilton had produced. “Just as this might be. It would depend mostly on politics, I suppose. But as with my decision to essentially not give out awards like so many Christmas presents, I’m trying to get both the newly inducted civilians and the professionals to grasp that this is not pre-Plague. The military culture can’t be, exactly, pre-Vietnam in nature. We don’t have the sort of personnel numbers to afford that degree of fatalism. We cannot afford a Somme or a Hamburger Hill. On the other hand, we also do not have an infinite supply of even vaguely trained officers and NCOs, so we can’t kill any career over any fault without it affecting our overall efficiency. That, as much as any reason, is why I’m here. I have already pointed out to the Joint Chiefs that the blue-on-blue was as much my fault as anyone’s and offered to retire in favor of Mr. Walker, whatever or whoever he is.”

“I… don’t see that working, sir,” Hamilton said, frowning. “There are cultural psychology issues…”

“Which is sort of the point, Colonel,” Smith said. “They said the same thing. Nor can I kill your career over it, demote you or something. It wouldn’t be honest and I need you just as the Joint Chiefs need me. In fact, we can’t even get all that down on PFC Curran. We’re that short on Marines. And it was a training failure which falls on us, not the PFC. Now, if he can’t seem to control his fire in the future…”

“He won’t stay a Marine, sir,” the gunnery sergeant growled.

“And where are we to get a replacement, Gunny?” Smith asked. “But that is probably the way to go. I leave it up to you two. The subject is closed except to say that you don’t continue the mission until the gunnery sergeant is satisfied with the small unit tactical training of the Marine Force. We’re going to have to be a bit more lenient with the Naval Landing Forces.”

“They are…honestly about as good as could be expected, sir,” Hamilton said. “Sergeant Major Barney has been taking their training in hand very well. And they’re not used for missions that are…”

“Difficult?” Smith said. “I think you and I both realize that daytime clearance of one of these islands is not difficult by pre-Plague standards, Colonel. Which is another philosophical issue I brought up with the JCS.”

“Sir?” Hamilton said.

“Does your career stretch back to Grenada, Colonel?” Smith said. “No, it wouldn’t, would it?”

“No, sir,” the colonel said. “Shortly before my time.”

“It was, from all reports, an absolute cluster fuck,” Smith said. “But the U.S. military learned from it. So was much of the Aussie response to the Indonesian quake, which I was in on. But we learned from it. The point is that the U.S. military got so good that it was expected to be able to perform any mission, anywhere, under any circumstances, and get it right, first time, every time. Which, surprisingly enough it was able to for some values of ‘right.’ An example is the essentially ‘green’ units in the first and second invasions of Iraq who performed like veterans. Do you know how historically insane that is, Colonel?”

“Yes, sir, I do,” Colonel Hamilton said. “I read a paper on it from CGSC and had to agree with the conclusions.”

“Which was the amount and reality of training,” Smith said. “I think we read the same paper. The problem being, we no longer have the luxury that the DOD did to do that amount and reality of training. We don’t even have blanks much less MILES gear, Simunitions, AirSoft, entire bases like Polk devoted solely to as realistic training as possible, et cetera. And we don’t have the months that it takes or the people to do the training. We may occasionally get the false impression that things are going well. One look at a satellite map tells a different story. The entire world is bleeding every moment of every day. We have word that there are some other groups, similar if less organized and still out of contact, doing something similar in other areas. But they are smaller and, as noted, disorganized and not in contact. They also don’t have our resources and aren’t close enough—they’re in the Pacific—to get to them to help. We cannot afford six months of training to get your Marines to the elite level of pre-Plague Marine infantry. Even if we could do so with a group that is mostly composed of ‘fobbit’ MOS’s. I don’t think anyone questions the ability, in this world and our missions, of my daughter in terms of lethality and ability…”

“No, sir,” Hamilton said.

“But she wouldn’t have stood a chance in Marine Infantry Officer Course,” Steve said. “I take it you agree with that as well?”

“Yes, sir,” Hamilton said, shrugging. “Sorry, sir, but as good as Lieutenant Smith is—”

“She is both thirteen and female,” Smith said. “She might have made it through entry qual, with some training and if she was fully grown. I doubt she’d make it all the way through the course. No woman had prior to the Plague. I know how tough it was. Nonetheless, she has shown her ability to lead and fight in this environment.”

“Agreed, sir,” Hamilton said. “She is even…flexible, sir. She reacted extremely well to the change of mission to a night attack and sweep. Her…methods raised some question of favoritism towards the Marines who were from the Iwo Jima…”

“Official questions?” Smith asked.

“Unofficial, sir,” Hamilton said. “And I stomped on them. The lieutenant’s methods were mostly proven by the results, sir. The Marines from Guantanamo were under-trained for this mission and it showed. I’m considering a change to the TOE based upon it.”

“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.”

“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…”