Chapter 1: Omissions and Commissions

I was waved into Commodore Roff’s office by his stunning blond receptionist. He was, as I saw him last, standing with his hands behind his back, staring at a full-wall display of the swollen globe of Poseidon.

“Come in, Steward, come in.” He didn’t turn to see who had entered; he just knew that his receptionist wouldn’t let in anyone unexpected.

“A fine bit of work there on the George Vancouver. I’ve reviewed both your dictated report and viewed the raw recorded footage of several key events. A few minor discrepancies between them, but no fucking sunshine piped up my ass.” He turned and looked me in the eye.

“Try to imagine how grateful that makes me.”

I was struck cold by the chance that Commodore Roff had viewed the record of my urging LeCroix to run away when we encountered the huge, unknown Sa’arm ship. I was starting to get a bad feeling about this meeting.

“I’m detaching you from the George Vancouver. I got what I wanted from that first cruise. Fleet is starting to see the value of the concept, and is freeing up more resources, in both ships and personnel. I’ve moved a lieutenant with Fleet experience into your old XO slot. Maybe we’ll even get some real warships assigned to the missions.”

He turned to look at me at last.

“And I’ve gotten a read on you. Don’t worry about that scene between you and LeCroix over whether to retreat or advance. There were merits to both positions and your job as XO was to provide him with alternatives. When the shit hit the fan, though, you came through.” Somehow, I wasn’t set at ease by his words.

He turned back to the view of Poseidon.

“But that’s not what I’ve called you here for. I’ve got another mission for you. This one is much more in your ballpark. I want you to ride along with the Third MEF’s Fourth Regiment as they assault the Dickheads on Metek’at.”

“What’s the objective sir?”

“Besides killing Dickheads? Well, Earth’at Command is starting to brainstorm strategy and tactics for recovering Earth after it falls.”

I was stunned.

“So, they are certain that they can’t prevent the Sa’arm from landing?” I asked.

“They aren’t admitting it, but everybody who has his head on the outside of his asshole is planning on a long hard scrap to kick them off the Earth. We’d rather use other planets to test our harebrained schemes out on.”

I felt as if my insides had turned to liquid.

“What do you expect of me, Sir?”

“I’m not expecting you to go all John Wayne on me, just ride with the Navy support group and give me an evaluation of the troop’s effectiveness. I’ve read their after-action reports and they often smell a bit too fragrant. I want to know if the troops really can leap over tall buildings.”

“How does the Marine command structure like you looking over their shoulders?” I asked.

“No more than I’d like them snooping in my pea patch, I imagine. But if they want Navy ships to support their operations, the Navy is going to want to have an occasional set of eyeballs on board.” He waved a hand as though to dismiss an annoying thought.

“Don’t worry, were not sending you in under cover or unofficially. Your contact with S2 will be Regiment’s Intel officer, Captain Jerry Sparks. The Marines are acting as if they’ll be reasonable about this, so don’t fuck up a good working relationship.”

He gave me a searching look.

“You’ve seen more combat than most of our Marines. But all your combat was against other humans. Humans have human motivations and human limitations. The Dickheads are different; they are like a force of nature.” My uneasiness grew.

“Most of the Marines that you are going to meet have seen action with the Dickheads. Follow their leads. Some are going to be newbies. Get a read on how they make it through their first firefight if they make it through.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And Steward?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Don’t step on your own dick this time. You showed some style, you got lucky, and LeCroix stood up for you. Don’t count on luck or favor this time. Dismissed.”

“Aye aye, Sir.” I saluted smartly, turned on my heel and left.

The uneasy feeling seemed to settle in the pit of my stomach. I tried to push it out of my mind and look forward to some leave time.

Back home I pushed away thoughts of what was ahead, and I luxuriated in my favorite role, that of Daddy. While I had been away on my

“Vancouver” deployment, Phyllis, Kellie, Yoo Jin, and Diane all had baby girls. They had named them, respectively, Rosita, Annabelle, Yeon Joo, and Lucy. Ruth broke my streak of six girls in a row (counting their older half-sisters) with a robust baby boy, whom I insisted naming

“Beau.”

And poor Rosita. When I first saw her, she was hollering loud enough for any three babies. I picked her up and said,

“Big talk for such an itsy-bitsy girl.” At the sound of my male voice, she stopped crying and gazed into my eyes. After that she was by everyone in the family, called

“Bitsy.”

All of them were at the stage where teething begins to make them squallers, and the mothers become tender-titted. Tough on the mommies, but it let me be the hero when I came in to cuddle them. The girls had recovered their figures within a couple of weeks, so I cuddled with them a lot, too.