Indomitable by W. C. Bauers Page A

holosphere. I literally walked through the jaws of the Devil Dog on my way to the men’s.” The Devil Dog was a famous constellation faintly visible from the surface of the planet Hold, and across the planet’s solar system. The view from Hold’s only moon was particularly gratifying. The constellation consisted of ten stars, the nearest being twenty-two light-years away. Drawn together, they outlined the profile of a fierce canine (assuming you filled in the teeth with foam and drool, and added flaming eyes and a snarl).
    â€œJust off the men’s is the longest row of poles and tackle in the ’verse. Even the literature says so. I picked up a sonic spear—the Mac-Seven—perfect for the modern underwater enthusiast.”
    Promise felt a headache coming on. A few standard years ago she’d pushed Maxi to invest a portion of his monthly pay into a multisystem index fund. Thankfully, he’d heeded her advice and his portfolio had grown consistently, even beating the market most years. Without Promise, he would have been a very broke sergeant.
    â€œI placed the order for the hydrodisks too, on the lieutenant’s orders. They arrived four days later via jumpship, which is stellar service by any standard.”
    â€œAnd how did you … how did we … how did the company pay for forty hydrodisks?” asked Staff Sergeant Go-Mi.
    â€œWe didn’t. Deep Sea Six donated them to the RAW-MC, specifically to our company. DSS has a large parent company with a significant R-and-D department, and its weapons division is courting BUWEPS.” Maxi nodded to the hydrodisk before them. “That there is the M-HYD Model A, and we will be testing it in a simulated combat environment for some very senior brass.”
    â€œYou’re leaving something out. Do tell, Sergeant,” said Staff Sergeant Go-Mi.
    â€œAh, well, I suppose I should mention that my great-granny sits on the board. She’s RAW-MC too, First Sergeant Ahana Sindri, retired in 53 A.E. She will be observing the op tomorrow.”
    â€œThat bit of information is need-to-know.” Promise swept the faces of her platoon sergeants to make the point clear. “It will just make our cubs anxious so we’re not telling them. Clear?”
    Verbals and nods all around.
    â€œCrystal,” said Ramuel.
    â€œDuring the last few days, you’ve all stepped up, trained hard, encouraged and pushed and prodded the greenhorns to step it up too. We’ve made real progress and you are to thank for that. Even Private Atumbi is showing promise.” The looks she got back told her her platoon sergeants needed some convincing. “All right, point taken. He will get there.” I hope.
    â€œTomorrow we deploy as a full company and find out if all the hard work has paid off. I know we will do ourselves proud. Mount Bane is designed to teach Marines to face the very real possibility of failure. Complete, utter failure. We all know a traditional assault on the island sets us up to fail by the numbers. We have to think differently, and train our least-experienced boots to expect the unexpected too. Teach them to adapt, and flex under pressure.”
    Promise looked around the circle and locked eyes with each Marine in turn. Nodded to, reassured, and challenged every one. “We can do this. It will be fun.”
    â€œAre you bringing your senior, ma’am?” asked the gunny.
    â€œOf course, Tomas. Regulations allow good-luck charms on an op. Don’t worry. I’ll have a standard-issue sidearm on me too.”
    â€œI wear a cross, ma’am.” Ramuel let himself smile. “Don’t you think you’re stretching the Regs just a bit?”
    â€œNo. Why?” Promise feigned innocence. “Did you know GLOCKs can fire underwater?” she replied without missing a beat.

 
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    APRIL 24 TH , 92 A.E., STANDARD CALENDAR, 0530 HOURS
    REPUBLIC OF ALIGNED WORLDS