To Sail a Darkling Sea by John Ringo

Author:John Ringo [Ringo, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Fiction / Science Fiction / General
ISBN: 9781476736211
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2014-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

O makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep

Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;

An’ hustlin’ drunken sodgers when they’re goin’ large a bit

Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.

“Tommy”

Rudyard Kipling

“Captain?” Captain Wilkes said, sticking his head in the compartment. “I was told you wanted to see me immediately following clearance ops.” The captain was out of zombie gear but still wearing the same uniform. Which was fairly grungy.

“Grab a seat, Milo,” Steve said, waving. “You’re not flying any time soon. Are you a drinker, Captain? And what? Bourbon, scotch . . .”

“Scotch, sir,” Wilkes said, taking a seat.

“My daughter, Sophia, has cleared two hundred and eighty-six small craft, according to a report I just read . . .”

“Good God,” Wilkes said, shaking his head. “Where do you get them, sir?”

“My wife actually popped them out, Captain,” Steve said, smiling. He’d pulled a bottle out of the drawer and poured two glasses, then handed one to Wilkes. “And, yes, I consider them fine little sheilas. But the point to it is that people seem to always take booze with them when they evacuate. I was rather remiss in that area. Apparently, I was supposed to pack along two-hundred-year-old brandy instead of guns and ammo. Who knew? But the rich people with rich yachts that took to sea tended to stock rather fine booze. And from experience, your first day of clearing the fucking bowels of a supermax liner requires a little snort. Cheers.”

“Semper Fi, sir,” Wilkes said, taking a sip. “God, that is good.”

“We’ve got a post clearance meeting in fifteen minutes,” Steve said. “This is not any sort of official meeting. This is a debrief, only one you’ll get. Time to clear your head with someone you can, actually, be frank with. The first comment would probably be along the lines of the ‘Good God’ you already used or possibly ‘Holy Christ.’ ”

Wilkes leaned back and put his hand over his mouth, clearly thinking.

“How about ‘Holy fucking shit on a cracker?’ sir,” he said after a moment. “When I looked at the objective my first thought was ‘I’m expected to do this with thirty Marines?’ My second thought was ‘There is really no way anyone did this with four people. This is a battalion objective.’ I mean, sir, with respect, I just sort of thought . . .”

“We’d made it up?” Steve said, snorting. “There are plenty of people who were around for it, Captain. I’m not offended, but—”

“It’s not the sort of thing you go up to random people and say ‘They had to be lying,’ sir,” Wilkes said. “And that was before I actually went forward and saw what it’s like, sir. When I actually did it . . . Jesus Christ Eating a Holy Wafer in Hell, sir.”

“Are you still wondering . . . ?” Steve asked. “I’m curious, not upset.”

“No, sir,” Wilkes said. “Sir, I saw the video, sure. But working with Shewolf is a different deal, sir.

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