Chapter 16

We were redeployed after 14 days. The redeployment got us 24 hours of R & R. I slept and avoided Sanchez while only seeing Amy with other people around.

The observers from command had come and gone and were back again. Everybody was glad to see them go and there was some serious talk about shooting them down when we heard they were coming back.

The first continent was declared secure. I had my doubts about that. There would be subways linking the continents. However, Navy had landed the heavy munitions and scanners and Marines were now playing treasure hunters at the beach. It was not my favorite thing to do, but your odds of surviving the drop went up with that duty. There was little chance our regiment would get to beach-comb though.

Day 124 of the Grinder was a turning point. It was like somebody had walked up and bitch-slapped their queen, which I guess Amy and I had basically done. We found ourselves on the other continent taking over for the 24th Marines who were rotating back for some R&R. They were not doing so well and were the second unit to get this piece of dirt to plow.

Amy told me that Santiago was not exactly happy about it, but not surprised. While our success rate could not be called a fluke, command obviously wanted to see if our magic was real and could be duplicated.

The regiment hit the ground and immediately weapons sent down tunnel busters. Every tunnel had a weapons team on it, our landing site. It was SOP to get a secure starting point to move out from and be able to fall back to for recall.

They all more or less detonated close to the same time. It was not a long wait.

Right on cue chameleons started taking shots at us. The drones were becoming useless, as the sky filled back up with mosquitos and wasps after being cleared for the drop.

One might wonder why the fuck we didn't just bomb the Lizards to hell. Clearing the air of the bugs in a remote and unimportant location was doable. It was damn near impossible to do it near anything of strategic importance. It was certain there would be at least one hive near anything interesting. The eggheads estimated there were, on average, a little over two million bugs in a hive. Most were small like the mosquitos. All those bugs would end up splattered on any munitions like a vehicle's windshield. The problem with that, though, is the nasty corrosive goo they have for guts. It will eat right through all but the hardest stuff almost instantly. Cermasteel and plasteel along with durasteel were pretty much resistant to it. However, those three things made exceedingly poor munitions housings because of their cost and rarity along with the materials' properties.

The advance party of Lizards was spotted and we headed that way. As a regiment we made a large target. I was on the left flank scouting. As soon at our lead element made contact, skinks started to pour out of tunnels about a klick away to our left.

"Skinks at grid 6472.1320," I called in.

"Okay you know the drill. They are going to come at us from all sides. We roll right over them in front, string them out a little, and turn around," Amy reminded our platoon.

It pretty much worked like clockwork. They seemed a little more determined I thought, even if their numbers were light. Our observers from command stayed near the middle of the formation so I did not get a chance to see them. Amy informed me that they were quiet as far as she could tell and I did not bother tuning into them.

It was not a real attempt by the Lizards. Not a single Dragon was seen. I told Amy that this was a probe. She agreed and passed it on to Santiago. Lizard probes make me nervous.

Weapons was busy clearing tunnels and I was a forward OP as usual.

"Weapons reports that there are doors not that far down," Amy said and flashed me the image from the TB's before they detonated.

It was the blast doors we had run into before.

"Did anybody bother to check if the tunnels were venting?"

It was a few minutes later.

"Apparently not," she said.

"They send us down with moles?"

"Nope."

"It's quiet out here at the moment," I said being one of the forward OPs.

It wasn't likely we would be getting any self-tunneling tunnel busters any time soon and it was not SOP to send them down on an unsecure area. As we waited for weapons to scan the ground beneath us I brought up Lt. Col. Lindstrom on the battlecomp. It was something I was not supposed to be able to do but there were many things that I could make my battlecomp do that were supposedly restricted access. Normally I wouldn't care. He was probably just another dumb officer who thinks he is shit hot. Lindstrom was rated mid-grade beta. His drop count, hours, kills, and kill ratio were average. He was currently watching me.

He then flipped over to Amy briefly and onto the rest of the officers. When he flipped back to me every so often though, I began to dislike him. As an officer he could see my vitals, slug load, power level, and position but that was it.

My battlecomp let me see what he was doing on his battlecomp. I discovered this trick over ten years ago. It was a feature as part of a diagnostic mode and a leftover from research and development. I don't know if it's in there by design or accidently left in but I was not going to tell anybody. I figured out how to make my battlecomp run in that mode, which is essentially a super-user privilege level.

Almost on schedule the chameleons showed up. They came from the other side of the regiment so my little corner was quiet. At least for a while.

"Thad. 3rd says the chameleons are not taking shots. They are just watching."

"Probably watching from the air too. Sounds like they are being cautious."

"That's new. Or is it?"

"There is nothing new under the stars, Grasshopper."

"Watch it or no pussy for you."

"Hah. Watch it or no cock for you. See, it works both ways, sexy. They are either unprepared and being cautious or have something in mind. I'm inclined to think it's the latter and we won't like whatever it is. What's Santiago saying?"

"He is telling us to get ready to move," she said to me then passed the order on to the rest of the platoon.

That was always a good order. Sitting still got Marines dead fast. The tics turned into mikes and we held position. I was feeling like I should be someplace else. This corner of the world was not pacified, as the brass liked to call any area we had blown to hell and littered with lizard bodies.

Just as I was about to see if Amy would mention to Santiago that this is downright foolish she spoke up.

"Thad, you, Gomez, Smith, get to go have a look see. The drones are getting nowhere with the bugs flying around."

"Good. I was afraid I was going to grow roots."

"Behave."

"Yes dear," I said skipping off to meet up with Cpl. Gomez and PFC. Smith.

Once everybody was close enough for the proximity band Gomez and Smith made it clear they were confused by what was going on.

"Why the fuck are we just sitting?" Gomez asked.

"Yeah. The old man needs to pick a direction and go," added Smith.

"I'm guessing that is what we are doing. Finding him the most Lizards to kill," I said trying to get them to stop thinking so much.

We skipped ahead. I had point and Gomez was in the rear even though he was in charge. Gomez was more interested in living and succeeding than measuring dicks. I headed right for one of the Chameleons after it was eliminated.

It was a scout more than a sniper. Sure, it had the dart thrower, but it was slung. A Lizard version of a spotter's scope lay near it. I smashed it with my boot. They transmitted back what they saw and probably heard.

Gomez called it in. We were told to sit tight. We sat for what seemed like a long time before we heard back. Santiago wanted us to range out a little further then sweep to our right and circle back.

I checked the orbital images and there was not anything for klicks. Towards the edge of our sector there was a mass of Lizards headed for the seven four Marines.

"Was there much activity in our sector before we got dropped?" I asked Amy.

"Normal."

"Then why is it so quiet?" I asked her.

"We don't know. That's what your neighborhood stroll is for, to have a good close look."

"I don't like strolling. Tell Santiago to give us some B4s and let's level that industrial complex at grid 6476.1290. We are letting them get ready. They need to react, not act."

"Yes my love," she sarcastically replied.

"You need a spanking!"

"Promise?"

How in the world she ended up in the right time and place for us to meet I will never know, but that woman drove me crazy. I could not have designed a more perfect one if I tried.

Amy, along with the rest of 1st platoon Whisky, came skipping up. A fire team from Bravo with heavy weapons was with them. They were loaded heavy, each had a MLA55OE grenade launcher and MLA302P plasma thrower. Sgt. Gregs handed out B4s to Gomez and Smith and me while Amy started a quick briefing.

She flashed us images and locations marked as preliminary targets as we started to move.

"Time to stir things up, Marines. The old man has given us the job of smashing this. No idea what it is for but they think it is some kind of smelter. It was working and online less than twenty-four hours ago. The heat signature shows it still online but not active. Lizards heat with plasma, so watch your fire."

I was on point and set a brisk pace knowing that the platoon would be able to keep up. The facility was a couple of klicks away. I was expecting more Chameleons than what we found. As we closed on our target Amy split us up by squad. She was with my squad. When we got close some Gators made an attempt to defend but they were clearly outmatched. To really level the place, we needed to get inside.

It was just a matter of running right through the wall instead of the door. I was first of course. My battlecomp steered me clear of the reinforced Lizard concrete, which was incredibly hard and strong. Inside there were more Gators waiting and set up to defend the door.

Twenty were dead before they could swing to engage me. Gomez was right on my ass and he and Smith took the rest. Immediately we spread out and worked to clear the area. Quickly Amy identified the spots for B4s as we pacified the occasional resistance from a Gator who was hiding. In less than three mikes we were the only living things in the building.

We tended to go through walls instead of doors and shoot through them at targets the battlecomps easily highlighted. It was like a complex dance as my platoon waltzed through the building. The resistance was about average for an evacuated building that they wanted to keep.

The other two squads reported they had accomplished their objectives. We were a few hundred meters away when Amy triggered the B4s. Some chunks of concrete landed around us as we skipped away. There were enough B4s left to hit something else and Santiago gave Amy some other targets of opportunity.

As expected, a few mikes later the wasps started to attack. They generally did when there were nests near after such a large explosion. They were no real danger when we were not engaged with a ground force. As soon as the mosquitos got thick Bravo torched them with the MLA302Ps.

The next location looked like some kind of warehouse. We were ignoring the abandoned civilian dwellings and what were probably Lizard shops. It was the Skinks and Gators that lived above ground. All Skinks did and most Gators. There had been no evidence of Dragons living above ground.

The battlecomp spotted the rattlesnake just a tic before I did. I dropped prone while taking a shot and flashed the warning to the rest of the platoon, who was far enough behind me to be in little danger. While I hit it the shot was not lethal.

"Bravo. Take it out," Amy ordered.

A couple of gyrocs zipped over and the rattlesnake was dead. We jumped up and assaulted the position as weapons switched to nickels. There were no fortifications. The Gators and Skinks were using whatever they could find around the building including vehicles and landscaping.

It was all very amateurish. The rattlesnake was a surprise though. Inside the warehouse were boxes and barrels which we ignored and placed a couple B4s and skipped away to the next one. In total we destroyed a dozen more before we needed to be resupplied. None were as well defended at the first one though.

Amy told me that the other platoons sent out had similar success. The rest of the regiment had been moving and sealing tunnels as they went. Other than the occasional Chameleon it was quiet. Santiago and Firsk were getting nervous. I was glad to hear that, because I still had my bad feeling.

When it came it made sense to me. However it did not make sense to Santiago.

To our right at the two o'clock a swarm of what looked like Gators with some Skinks trailing behind were moving to intercept us, or try to. They consistently under estimated how fast we move.

I was on point and I could not say what was wrong with the advancing swarm but I knew there was. Santiago had grown tired of listening to my misgivings passed through Amy so she had stopped sharing them. There was no way he was going to listen to my 'bad feeling' now that things were back on track.

Santiago did the obvious thing and we changed course to intercept. No longer on point but back with my company on the left flank I moved close to Amy.

"Stay close," I said.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Something is not right about that group."

"Another missile coming?"

"I don't know. It just does not add up. We hit the hottest sector on this planet and it goes quiet, then little resistance when attacking the infrastructure. Add that to the ragtag bunch that hit us the first time. They are up to something."

The lead element hit the swarm right after I said that. Not losing our speed we went right through them. When Amy and I engaged it finally hit me. There were no leaders in this swarm. I did not spot a single Lizard commander. These Gators were wild and uncontrolled. The snails, on those that had them, were not right either.

"They're bait," I told Amy.

"Bait?"

"No leaders. No dart throwers. Few snails. Bait."

"Fuck!" she said for my benefit.

"First platoon. Break off. I want scouts out yesterday!"

The platoon didn't question. Quickly we disengaged and skipped out of the formation into the clear.

Soon after came Capt. Simmons ordering the same.

"Whisky. Break off. I want first platoon in front, Second at our port, and Third at our starboard. Move, Marines! Lizards are trying to get sneaky and I want to know what the fuck is going on!"

The sky was still filled with bugs, way too many bugs for drones to get far at all.

I skipped out ahead at my best speed leaving everybody else behind.

"Santiago didn't see it either. Your bad feeling feels very bad to him all of a sudden," Amy said.

"Advise Santiago to break to the left instead of going straight ahead and turning around," I said.

"On it."

I quickly covered some ground. Five clicks ahead I stopped. Ahead was a cliff and in it were caves. There were always caves in cliffs. The Lizards loved them. However these caves were like the hanger complex we ran into on Doe Four. And moving out from the hangers were Lizards. It was a whole fucking swarm and then some. This wasn't like any swarm I'd seen before.

In a normal swarm there are around three thousand Lizards. Mostly, they're Gators and a few are Dragon leaders. Skinks are optional it seemed. This swarm was at least twice that size.

The front ranks were Gators in black snails. Behind them were Dragons in black snails. That was troubling enough but we had run into them before. The part that got me really worried was the ranks of colored Dragons.

Roughly half of this swarm were peacocks. It followed what we had seen before. Half of that number was green. Half the rest were yellow, then half of that were blue, then most of the four hundred left were red. But the fashion show did not end there. There were about a fist of purple, a dozen or so gold, and at least two white ones. I was scanning for the Grand Poobah thinking there must a rainbow one someplace but I could not see it.

"Look at this," I flashed to Amy, Firsk, and Santiago.

"Fuck me..." Amy said in her eloquent way.

Firsk was silent as usual.

"Now I've seen it all," Santiago said.

The Lizards picked up the pace and were running before Santiago finished.

"I hope that doesn't mean you can die happy now, Sir," I said trying to break the mood and spur them into action.

"Hardly. Mark the grid for mortars, Sweeney. What are the other scouts finding?" He asked Firsk and keyed me into the command channel.

"Nothing. They are not as far out as Sweeney is yet."

"Light a fire under them. We need to know."

Mortar shells started to rain down on the Crayola crew. The first salvo clearly caught them by surprise. They started to spread out after that. Since I had not been given orders to come back I started to snipe at them and call in corrections to weapons. Santiago had all the regiment's heavy weapons platoons firing. It was a significant amount of ordinance going down range. The skies started to get even more congested as the bugs did their best to shield the Lizards below.

I was hoping to get a white one or one of new colors but I did not get any opportunities.

"Swarms at our three and eight o'clocks. Looks like black ones mostly. Only a little color," Simmons reported.

"Col. Santiago, I think you should consider established procedures and tactics. You need to dig in."

"Lt. Col. Lindstrom you're an observer here. This is precisely what you are here to observe."

"I'm not here to watch you kill your Marines to further your career."

"Your protest is noted. Now clear the channel."

"I'm not going away that easily, Santiago. Your officers might agree with me."

"This is not a democracy. My officers know they can disagree with me and you are treading dangerously close to inciting mutiny. Clear the air, Lt. Col."

"My role and duty grant me access to this channel. I will not clear it. And I request you use accepted and proven tactics when faced with such an overwhelming force."

"On the double to the eight o'clock swarm. I want some time for weapons to soften up Sweeney's swarm and we are not engaging them on all sides," Santiago ordered, done wasting breath on Lindstrom.

"Col. Santiago I am making note of you actions for a review," Lindstrom said in a confidently scornful voice.

A team broke off from the swarm I was sniping at to come get me when they finally got an idea of where I was. They didn't send enough and all died before they got close. I moved anyway. I didn't want to get stuck behind them.

"Amy. Drop a B4 or two here and get me the codes," I said highlighting a spot on the grid. She was not with the rest of the Regiment. Our platoon was out scouting so she was behind waiting for us to catch up.

"Aye Aye Sir," she said.

"Taking my orders now are we? Hmm. I can think of a few more that I'd like to give you."

"Are they naughty?" she said and sounded entirely too eager given our current situation.

"Very," I said.

"Too bad," said laughing at me.

I don't know if it would slow them down. I doubted it, but it might make a few feel a little less confident and make a nice hole.

Once again I was not able to get any of the white ones, but I did catch a purple one along with a handful of other colorful ones in the blasts. They spread out even further after that and I had to range out a little further making it even harder to find the white ones.

The rest of the Regiment hit the swarm they were targeting. It went about like expected. Some yellow and a few critical on the first pass. The return trip was better.

"You should probably send some past the swarm the old man just hit to have a look," I suggested to Amy.

"Right," she said, and issued the orders.

"You're just full of good cheer aren't you?" she complained.

"You don't think they are going to let us avoid them all together do you?" I asked her.

I don't think anybody else realized what was going on.

"You're right. I'll let Santiago know."

"Sir. There are bound to be others. They won't let us avoid them completely. I've sent scouts past you."

"Acknowledged, Swanson."

"Amy, tell them to look out for crawlers and rattlesnakes and other emplacements."

"Damnit. Can this get any worse?" she said, clearly not wanting me to answer.

"Yes." I told her and I felt it would. We had walked right into this. Even if it wasn't really Santiago's fault.

"Sir. If you can, get Navy to ready some cannon fire."

"Son of a bitch, Sweeney! I don't know if I hate you or should give you my first born," he said clearly frustrated.

I skipped off to a new place as the peacock parade was getting too close.

"Where, Sweeney?" Santiago asked.

"We will know in a few, Sir."

"You're starting to scare me, Private."

"Scared is good. You're going to be famous Sir if we live through this."

"This is it?"

"I think so."

"Stay near Swanson. I think," he said.

I was torn on that. In one way I wanted her far from me. There was little doubt in my mind that the Lizards knew exactly who I was. I don't know if they thought I was some sort of leader or figure head, but they knew me and had a real hard on for me at this point. I was sure to get more attention than was healthy and Amy would be too close and catch fallout. On the other hand she had my back like nobody else could and being close would have normally helped. There was little to be done about it though. The only way to keep her from my side would be to shut her down and that was not something I would ever do to her, or to any Marine for that matter.

"Amy. When we engage the peacocks they are going to be doing their best to get to me and to the officers."

"Shut up. I've got your back."

"Okay."

"Sanchez has spotted crawlers. They're underground and hidden from orbital. You're scary sometimes," Amy said.

"Tell Santiago to wait for the others before he drops the sky on them. They'll fire as soon as we start."

I thought the Dragons were looking for a fight and wouldn't use the big guns unless we are going to get away or they are about to lose. They will use them to keep us corralled though.

I pulled up the command display and tried to get a gauge of the progress the regiment was making with their swarm. It could have been better and worse. They did not have a lot of time to finish it, though, before they would either be forced to move outside of the Lizards chosen field of battle or face the peacocks.

I briefly thought of trying to distract the peacocks but that was a good way to get killed. They might go for a duel but there was no way they were going to let us or me walk away from this fight.

Thankfully most of our scouts had found the hidden Lizard guns and Santiago called it in. Navy opened with some missiles and the Lizards countered with their own, shooting many of ours down. That had barely happened when what must have been ten raiders opened up with their big ion cannons. Lizards don't have any defense against them. I'd not seen so many raiders firing in such a small area in a very long time. It was risky. The Lizards then countered with plasma cannons and missiles as usual. You could see the superheated masses rocketing towards orbit. The raiders were sure to be in evasive maneuvers and we would not be getting any more ion support for a while.