Lieutenant (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 3) by Jonathan P. Brazee Page A

before it was gone and he switched to cider.  The four sat around, mostly listening to Hannah and Joshua telling tales about each other when they were kids.  At one point, when Joshua was relating when an eight-year-old Hannah had gotten her hand stuck in a toilet, Ryck laughed so hard that cider came out of his nose, burning as it came.  That made all four of them laugh even harder.
    It took a few moments for Ryck to realize the recall was being sounded.  The four of them were singing a love song popular when they had been in high school, and it wasn’t until Joshua’s wrist PA started chiming in with its own recall that the singing stopped.
    “What’s going on?” Ryck asked stupidly, more than a little tipsy.
    “Oh, man.  We’ve got to get back to battalion.  It’s the sergeant major, I know it is,” Joshua slurred in disgust.
    The sergeant major was a reformed alcoholic, and his opinion of Marines who drank was well known.  Ryck thought it was within the realm of possibility that the sergeant major had convinced the CO to sound a recall.  The battalion was the secondary alert battalion, and technically, they should be ready to take off on a moment notice.  That had never happened without prior warning, though, at least as far as Ryck knew. 
    Ryck shook his head, trying to clear it. 
    “Baby, can you get us both a cup of coffee?” he asked Hannah.  “If it really is just a drill, we’ll be back in a couple of hours, but we should sober up a bit if we can.
    “Well, Joshua, you ready?  Get some water on your face, and we’ll head on back.”
    Hannah came back with the coffee, and both Marines drained the cups.  It really didn’t help.  Ryck kissed Hannah before he noticed Hope seemed worried.
    “Nothing to it, Hope.  It’s probably just a drill, and we’ll be back in a shake.”
    The two men went to Joshua’s Flamingo.  The hover’s AI detected the level of alcohol and refused to relinquish control.  Joshua keyed in the battalion, and the hover lifted off in automatic mode and took them back to the gate where a line of hovers slowly made it past security.  It looked like the entire division was on the recall.  Whatever this was, it wasn’t the sergeant major checking to see how many Marines had been drinking.
    When they finally pulled into the battalion area, Ryck told Joshua to go check on the platoon to see if everyone was making it back.  Ryck made his way to the battalion CP to see what was up.  Donte, still in uniform, saw him and motioned him over.
    “All officers are supposed to be in the conference room in ten.  You hear anything yet?” he asked Ryck.
    “I just got here.  What about you?”
    “Nothing.  We were still at the club when the recall came,” Donte said.
    They both made their way to the conference room where most of the officers were already gathered.   The majority of them were in civvies.  Capt Yu was even in coat and tails.  Ryck knew the captain and his wife were champion ballroom dancers, and he figured the suit had to be related to that.  There was surprisingly little talking as the Marines waited.  The sheer number of people streaming back onto base was indicative that something, probably something big, was up.
    “Attention on deck!” the XO shouted as he and the CO burst through the hatch. 
    The CO was in PT gear, so this had evidently caught him unawares as well.  He strode to the head of the conference table before putting them at ease.  He nodded to Terry Olney, the commo [22] , to start the holo.
    The image was only 2D, obviously from a security camera.
    “This was just received at Franklin Station from G.K. Nutrition Six about an hour ago,” the CO intoned.  “I have not seen it yet, but I’ve been briefed by the CG.  I will withhold comment until I see it with all of you first.”
    Ryck shifted his position from where he was standing behind the company commanders and senior staff so he could see the display better.  The image