Red Letter Days/Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Tactical Superiority


 * ''Epsilon Indi System
 * ''UN colony: Second Base
 * ''Pvt. 1st class Leonard Schaeffer
 * ''En route to Garmed City Bank

The platoon had reformed and reorganized after the attack, gathering the wounded and dead and dragging them to the back of the column. Some men slowly pushed the destroyed warthog all the way to the side of the street and the warthogs carefully removed themselves from the pileup. The lieutenant ordered a fireteam to move up ahead and make sure there would be no further ambushes while Schaeffer and Mackenzie walked together, looking for bodies.

"So Newbie, why the hell are you in the marines?" Schaeffer looked up as they both leaned over and grabbed a dead man, his arm was torn off at the shoulder and his whole body was caked with blood. When Schaeffer just looked up, slightly confused and very queasy, Mackenzie continued, "you look like you are ready to start cryin', I thought they conditioned people to like killing and shit in boot."

They both grunted as they both pulled him up, Schaeffer had a hand on his boots and Mackenzie gripped one arm and the bloody stump that once was the other.

"Well my grandpa always talked up Force Recon..." he said, he tried to keep his eyes away from the blood covered body. At the mention of Force Recon, Mackenzie laughed and smiled.

"Everyone wants to be Recon or ODST or god knows what. Then they end up just a marine." Schaeffer nodded slowly, it was a decent summary of how his membership into the military went. Two marines moved out of the way as they walked by and before he knew it they were at the transport warthog that was being loaded up with dead or wounded.

"I remember back at the farm, there was this one kid..." he paused as they pushed the dead marine into the back of the warthog. The four dead men were piled on the floor while the wounded were cramped on the seats. Any wounded not in critical condition were going to walk it.

"So this kid, couldn't be more than sixteen, asks me if I am spec ops..." Mackenzie tore the dog tags from the mans neck, then handed them to the corpsman standing by. Schaeffer glanced over to see Hooch arguing with the corpsman, demanding he give the moaning Norman more pain killers.

"I am like "sorry kiddo, marine corps," they walked over to a man slumped up against a wall, he had a bullet in his shoulder and was groaning from pain. Mackenzie paused his story and laughed as he walked up with Schaeffer. "Oh man look at this Newbie, Corporal Kormen got himself a scratch."

"Oh fuck off and help me to the warthog Mackenzie." Mackenzie laughed and Schaeffer went to help him pull the corporal to his feet.

"That ones gonna get you sent to the back for at least a month, what are you now? A week from leaving?" Schaeffer was dumbfounded at Mackenzie's ease around the bodies and gore, Schaeffer knew it wasn't just him because could clearly see several other marines looking about ready to throw up. One was even crying.

"Where was I... oh right, so I tell the kid I am marine corps. Semper Fi do or die and all that stuff. Kid all of a sudden goes "that's stupid, you don't even do anything." Schaeffer stepped back as Mackenzie helped the sergeant into the back of the warthog, patting him on the back. The lieutenant noticed and leaned over to speak in his radio.

"Third squad, Omerta is now in charge. Adjust accordingly." Schaeffer and Mackenzie started to walk back to the front of the formation as the marines slowly began to organize. ''"That's everyone, back in formation everyone. We are less than a mile from the bank."

"So can you imagine my surprise when the kid says that? IF I wasn't dating his sister I swear I would have beat him down." The two fell into the formation, four men down the line. Mackenzie yawned and Schaeffer cleared his throat, he had something on his mind.

"So... whose side do you think the police are on?" Mackenzie glanced behind him briefly as the convoy began moving up the road.

"Ours?" Schaeffer couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"But they didn't clear the buildings, even though they said they did..."

"We will deal with police stupidity when that bridge comes." Schaeffer wanted to continue, but decided he didn't feel like talking anymore. The march went on uneventfully up to the point where they entered the plaza outside the bank. The scouts they sent were waiting there, weapons ready.

The other platoons slowly filed into the plaza as they formed a perimeter. Second platoon carefully made their way out of a set of buildings bordering the plaza, while third platoon strolled up a road opposite to the one they rode in on. It was obvious from how they moved and acted that they had met no hostiles on their way up. The platoons linked up, and after some discussing between the lieutenants it was ordered for the entrance to be surrounded and the warthogs to prepare for an air attack.

Schaeffer and Mackenzie had split up when the platoons started to man the perimeter and Schaeffer found himself alone. There was some casual conversation going on but otherwise no one was really in the mood.

''"UAV drones have spotted heat signatures in the building, the captain just told me some very pressing news. The innies nabbed a VIP when they bombed the place, some big guy real high up, no one is telling cappy who he is or why he is there, just to get him out ASAP. Lock and load marines, get ready." Third platoon cheered, being the only platoon who hadn't lost some one on the trip to the bank. Schaeffer simply glowered at the closest member and thought about reasons he hated them.

--


 * ''Epsilon Indi System
 * ''In orbit arounnd UN colony: Second Base
 * ''Ensign Corren Bashar
 * ''Screwing away time
 * ''One hour later

Bashar lit up his cigarette as he leaned in his chair, the smoke puffed up and he felt some of the warmth enter his body. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth briefly for a breath, air visibly left his mouth. The station was frigid, always below zero to ensure nothing went wrong with the equipment. Bashar didn't get it, they hadn't had to do that for nearly five hundred years but whatever, he wasn't going to bother writing a complaint form about it.

His console lit up briefly, the marines reporting this or that. The TACCOM station had been monitoring them all day. Telling them what UAV's spotted or any communications they intercepted. Slow day as always. He muttered he hated his job and took another drag from the smoke.

"Hey Bashar, you should check out this video I just found," mused Sharon, his closest friend on the station.

"What's it now Sharon." He asked idly, taking another nice long drag. The jar heads on the ground were requesting if he saw contacts converging on his position, raising an eyebrow, he told them he saw at least six with various weapons before leaning back again.

"It's this video called 'kitties of New Madrigal', it's hilarious. The cats are basically-" Bashar frowned at his monitor, in addition to misc tactical info he also had access to the sensors around the colony, the planet not being large enough to warrant independent sensory stations. Multiple slip space jumps were detected, they were going to be there very soon. Ignoring Sharon, he clicked through some things on his terminal to check the multiple cameras set up, then he looked for his list of incoming ships. Checking the schedule twice, he saw no ships were expected for at least a week. "-Jeez if you just want to look at porn than you could tell me to stop talking, never mind the fact I have been offering to-" Bashar raised his hand, not in the mood to talk.

"Greenert, I need your schedule for ships movements in this sector, starting from two days ago to a week from now. Possibly late or early ships, I need five names." At the mention of her last name, Sharon's back went stiff and she instantly got to work. She knew that the only time he used her last name meant he was dead serious.

"Cut that, nine, nine ships. I need that list yesterday." Sharon pushed off of her chair, it rolling across the ground towards him. Handing him a PDA, he glanced at the list and compared it to his own. Perfect. Both lists were perfect.

"This can't be right." Sharon leaned over his shoulder and looked into the monitor.

"Have you tried searching for ship names? Could be insurgents." She let the thought hang in the open, the UNSC had three ships at dock, a crappy old frigate experiment called the Furious Five, and two sister destroyers who had gotten there yesterday as a stopping point on a longer journey, the In For a Penny and the In For a Pound. Nine or more ships versus two destroyers and a barely battle capable frigate would be a massacre if the rebels were brining any decent ships. But it was a good idea, if they were this close than the names would be registering soon. Bashar quickly opened up the list, even rebel ships had the ID's embedded in them.

"There's... nothing... it's reading the ships, but they don't have names..." Sharon pushed farther into his back, if he wasn't so stressed, Bashar would have enjoyed the feeling.

"Impossible, that's gotta be a glitch. Let me go get Captain Fella and we can-" she was cut short as the ships finally left slip space. They were far closer to the planet than any UNSC ship could manage. And they weren't UNSC ships either. Bashar felt the cigarette fall from his mouth and onto his lap, Sharon gasped and squeezed his arms from shock. Training kicking in, Bashar pushed forward and set his comms to all military assets he could get access to.

"Attention ground and o-orbital teams. Unknown warships have entered the system, class and shape are I have no fucking idea. They are making a bee-line for the planet..." Bashar shouted to Sharon before going back to the microphone, "GO GET COMMS WITH THOSE SHIPS, MOVE IT." Sharon ran to her terminal and quickly tried to see what she could do. "Possible... alien's found. All assets are to follow Protocol 3C, I repeat-"

"Comms established!" Yelled Sharon, he glanced over when suddenly the screens around the control room all flickered on. Some sort of four jawed creature sat in a seat, nothing seemed right about the image, it just gave Bashar a headache and an ache that he knew could only be filled by tobacco.

"Your deaths are inevitable, your sorrow shall be joyous music to our ears, for you heretics shall now know the power of TRUE faith." The comm link cut out before they could do anything, they just sat there shocked.

"Bashar I-" Sharon began.

"NOT NOW SHARON." He yelled, he quickly slid back into the terminal and tried to see if he could do anything with those ships.

"Bashar I am sorr-" she didn't have the chance to finish, all Bashar saw was blue arcs flying out from the ship and destroying their station.