Federation Marine 7: Colonel by Jonathan P. Brazee

Author:Jonathan P. Brazee [Brazee, Jonathan P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2024-04-24T00:00:00+00:00

19

FS BRANDENBURG

“You need to get some sleep, sir,” Jorge said as he closed up his PA.

The two Marines were in Ryck’s stateroom and had just gone over the list of casualties and had worked on coming up with a plan for the return to Tarawa. A half-eaten sandwich was on Ryck’s desk, but while he knew he should eat, the only things he could get down were two slices of bacon slathered with raspberry sauce that Staff Sergeant Ekema had brought by. For all the staff sergeant’s skill in the kitchen, he was well aware that the dish, which brought sickly stares by the others, was Ryck’s comfort food, something Ryck had eaten since he was a kid.

Ryck knew Jorge was right. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But his mind was still racing, and he knew it wouldn’t let him drop off to sleep. He could see Doc Grabowski, of course, for a little help, but he didn’t want to shut off his mind artificially. He needed the stress to run its course.

He’d been wary from the beginning of going into battle with the Klethos, but once the decision had been made, he’d allowed himself to become excited at the prospect. And now he felt a little guilty about that. It was commonly known throughout the Corps that shit seemed to follow Ryck, but what that really meant was that men tended to lose their lives when they were with him. He’d lost a lot of Marines, sailors, and Outback soldiers on the planet, and that was something to which he’d never gotten accustomed. It still ate at him.

And Hog McAult was on the butcher’s bill. Ryck had hoped that Hog could be zombied like Joab Ling had been on Freemantle, but the captain had been too far gone. There had never been even a chance at a resuscitation.

Ryck picked up the half-eaten pastrami sandwich, gave it a sniff, then dropped it back on his plate. He leaned back and rubbed his eyes for a moment.

“I know, but I want to talk to Sandy first,” he told Jorge, eyes still closed.

“Are you sure you want to do that now? Maybe it’d be better if you do that after getting some sleep,” Jorge said.

Ryck had told Jorge about Sandy’s hesitation in battle and of his reaction when Ryck ordered Genghis to roll up the Klethos’ flank. Ryck knew he couldn’t ignore that, and while Jorge was probably right, Ryck wanted to get it over with. He’d never be able to get any decent rest if that was running through his mind.

“No, I need to get it done now. Look, why don’t you get him and send him here. Then you get some rest, too. We’ll go over all of this tomorrow with the staff. I want everyone to understand what is going on. If we’re detaching from Quail Hunt or not, if there is even going to be a Quail Hunt, we’ve got a lot to cover, and that starts the moment we land.

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.