bring any heavy protective gear, so they didn’t have any to lose.”
Stone grimaced, “Well, I guess I’m humping it on foot. Let’s get people moving, shall we? Major Numos, would you take charge of the evacuation, please?” He sounded much calmer than he felt. Being outside without some protection was going to be bad, but with Numos taking charge, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about leaving anyone behind.
Allie pointed at Tuttle and the other marine. She said, “You two are now assigned to Baker Platoon. Carry Ensign Stone to the collection point. Keep him safe and keep an eye on him. Get him out of the blast zone.”
Stone said, “Wait. No. Corporal Tuttle, please go over there.” He wagged a finger in the general direction of where his conference room had been. Please get Lieutenant Commander Butcher and carry him south. One mile. Take Doctor Menendez with you, if you can.”
Numos nodded. “Yes, sir. All suited marines not with Hammer’s Charlie Platoon are to carry wounded to our next gathering point. Corporal, secure a protective detail for any civilians at our collection point. Do it fast and come back for more.” A suited marine could move a mile a minute. It will be a rough ride for seriously wounded people, so they may only be able to make a few trips.
Stone said, “I don’t want to be outside. But, if my options are that or being taken captive by Hyrocanians, then I’m going to take my chances with the wildlife of Allie’s World. But, I don’t even have a knife with me. Allie, can you find us weapons before we move out?”
Nodding, she said, “We can strip out Charlie Platoon’s armory on our way out the back door, sir.”
Stone said, “One thing before we go. Can we get Hammer to slow the Hyrocanians enough for us to get clear, and then let them slip past him in time to capture the deserted compound in say, forty-five minutes from now?”
FOURTEEN
Stone kept looking behind him when he wasn’t looking at the sky overhead, the jungle around them, or the command projection he had locked into place in his two o‘clock position. He had the same aversion to someone micromanaging his daily chores as any human, so he tried hard not to step on anyone’s toes. There were too many things happening at once and he wasn’t where anything was happening.
He tripped—again. Allie, who seemed to be all over the group all at the same time, grabbed him by his collar to keep him upright. He expected her to say something but after glancing at his dataport view, she moved off.
He had his dataport set to show Numos and Hammermill’s images from the compound. He could switch his view to any camera in the compound or to any suited marine, but unlike many navy combat missions, marine officers tended to be at the center of where the action was the thickest, so he continued to ride along on their shoulders.
The security risk was minimal in picking up the video feed. The Hyrocanians might be able to trace the signal if they could find it. However, Allie said the receive only signal was so weak, she doubted the Hyrocanians could even scan it. More than likely, if the aliens did pick up the signal, it would be from the broadcast end in the compound, from Numos or Hammermill. Since the four-armed freaks knew where the compound was and Numos was still in the compound, there wasn’t much of a security risk in tapping into his signal. Lieutenant Hammermill was a mile north of the compound setting up a line of defense against any possible ground invasion. They weren’t planning on setting up an ambush, so their location wasn’t a secret. Unless the Hyrocanians were dumber than humans gave them credit for, they would know a defensive force waited for them. Even the dumbest of enemies would know they hadn’t completely destroyed the compound. A smart enemy would only disable the compound and then swoop in to capture prisoners for interrogation. Stone needed Charlie Platoon to delay the enemy long
Stone grimaced, “Well, I guess I’m humping it on foot. Let’s get people moving, shall we? Major Numos, would you take charge of the evacuation, please?” He sounded much calmer than he felt. Being outside without some protection was going to be bad, but with Numos taking charge, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about leaving anyone behind.
Allie pointed at Tuttle and the other marine. She said, “You two are now assigned to Baker Platoon. Carry Ensign Stone to the collection point. Keep him safe and keep an eye on him. Get him out of the blast zone.”
Stone said, “Wait. No. Corporal Tuttle, please go over there.” He wagged a finger in the general direction of where his conference room had been. Please get Lieutenant Commander Butcher and carry him south. One mile. Take Doctor Menendez with you, if you can.”
Numos nodded. “Yes, sir. All suited marines not with Hammer’s Charlie Platoon are to carry wounded to our next gathering point. Corporal, secure a protective detail for any civilians at our collection point. Do it fast and come back for more.” A suited marine could move a mile a minute. It will be a rough ride for seriously wounded people, so they may only be able to make a few trips.
Stone said, “I don’t want to be outside. But, if my options are that or being taken captive by Hyrocanians, then I’m going to take my chances with the wildlife of Allie’s World. But, I don’t even have a knife with me. Allie, can you find us weapons before we move out?”
Nodding, she said, “We can strip out Charlie Platoon’s armory on our way out the back door, sir.”
Stone said, “One thing before we go. Can we get Hammer to slow the Hyrocanians enough for us to get clear, and then let them slip past him in time to capture the deserted compound in say, forty-five minutes from now?”
FOURTEEN
Stone kept looking behind him when he wasn’t looking at the sky overhead, the jungle around them, or the command projection he had locked into place in his two o‘clock position. He had the same aversion to someone micromanaging his daily chores as any human, so he tried hard not to step on anyone’s toes. There were too many things happening at once and he wasn’t where anything was happening.
He tripped—again. Allie, who seemed to be all over the group all at the same time, grabbed him by his collar to keep him upright. He expected her to say something but after glancing at his dataport view, she moved off.
He had his dataport set to show Numos and Hammermill’s images from the compound. He could switch his view to any camera in the compound or to any suited marine, but unlike many navy combat missions, marine officers tended to be at the center of where the action was the thickest, so he continued to ride along on their shoulders.
The security risk was minimal in picking up the video feed. The Hyrocanians might be able to trace the signal if they could find it. However, Allie said the receive only signal was so weak, she doubted the Hyrocanians could even scan it. More than likely, if the aliens did pick up the signal, it would be from the broadcast end in the compound, from Numos or Hammermill. Since the four-armed freaks knew where the compound was and Numos was still in the compound, there wasn’t much of a security risk in tapping into his signal. Lieutenant Hammermill was a mile north of the compound setting up a line of defense against any possible ground invasion. They weren’t planning on setting up an ambush, so their location wasn’t a secret. Unless the Hyrocanians were dumber than humans gave them credit for, they would know a defensive force waited for them. Even the dumbest of enemies would know they hadn’t completely destroyed the compound. A smart enemy would only disable the compound and then swoop in to capture prisoners for interrogation. Stone needed Charlie Platoon to delay the enemy long
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