Descent from the Black: An Odyssey One Novella by Hugh Taylor

Author:Hugh Taylor [Taylor, Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Lang made a final check of the strategic display on his HUD. Much to his surprise, the actions that he had needed to take came naturally to him. The mortar section from Charlie Platoon, his former platoon, did not have to shift their position much in the hills to the east since their effective range covered Bravo Company’s entire area of responsibility. Their Carnivore drones were supplementing other intelligence assets by reconnoitering the immediate area at a relatively low altitude. Lang’s Marines had managed to pacify the entire area, including the nest at the hardware store, so their current mission was essentially that of patrol.

Lang had assigned geographic areas to the three rifle platoons that he had just inherited, which relieved Charlie Platoon quite a bit. Given that his former platoon was a weapons platoon, he kept the assault and mobile armor sections at his company headquarters, ready to deploy within minutes. He had decided to set up shop in the abandoned businesses near the nest that they’d destroyed, both because the location was relatively central to his AOR and out of a tiny bit of paranoia. He wanted to be near the warehouse in case something else decided to crawl out of the hole in the ground.

Night was falling, and with the pending assault in the morning, he ordered his platoon commanders to make sure the troops got some sleep. He had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be a long day. Seeing that the patrols were up and running as ordered, he exited his armor, put on a set of combat utility uniforms, and prepared to get some shuteye himself. However, his stomach reminded him that he had other needs, so he made his way to the makeshift mess.

He walked in to the old-fashioned diner and found several groups of men and women eating, including two first lieutenants, one of whom he recognized. “So they made you a captain … again,” a young woman said with a mocking, though friendly smile as she stood to shake his hand.

“It’s good to see you too, Carter,” Lang responded in kind, returning the handshake.

“Thanks for the platoon, Captain,” she added.

“I know they’ll be in good hands,” Lang replied sincerely.

“Sir, I’m your new XO,” the other first lieutenant said with a salute.

Lang returned the salute and said, “Welcome. Please, sit; eat while you can.” He then went to get as many scoops of whatever they were serving as he could, returned to the table, and sat down. “Glad to have you here so soon, Lieutenant,” Lang said to the man with the nametag “Weiss.”

“Can’t think of any other place I’d rather be at the end of the world,” he responded.

Lang laughed, and it felt good. “It’s refreshing to see a sense of humor.”

Weiss nodded in acknowledgement before asking, “So Carter tells me you two served together?”

Lang was about to respond, but Carter interjected. “For almost two years, right up until the Odyssey departed and the captain was transferred to Logistics.”

Lang’s face flushed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.