Walker Brigade - Book of Incidents

"You and your squad will be on your own. The local constabulary has been alerted, they have the individuals under surveillance, awaiting your arrival. When you arrive at the scene, the locals will apprehend the individual. You are there for back up only. Do not interfere with the local police unless they happen to be outgunned. Is that clear, Chief?"

"Aye, sir."

"Very well, go pick these people up and bring them back here."

"Aye, sir."

Both Chief Latham and Second Akers jumped to attention, saluted and snapped a turn. They then left my office.

"God speed, ladies," I said, as the door closed behind them.

* * * Becky Latham

The squad was waiting for us in the walker bay, suited up and ready to depart. The Admiral's aid had alerted them to our mission. Jolene and I suited up as Sam opened the bay door. Two grav-lev transports were waiting outside. This time everyone was carrying pulse rifles and sidearms. Flack vests and helmets were the order of the day. As I finished buttoning up, Jolene split the squad in half. I took the first team plus two from the second team. Jo took the third team and the other one from the second team. Scans was with me in the first transport.

"Ernie, I want an up to date scan as we move through the city. As we get to the pickup points, I want full active scans and I don't care what kind of havoc it does with anyone's electronics. Is that clear?"

"Aye, Chief."

"Mount up," I yelled as I slapped the side of the transport. "GL One, move out, first pickup point on your display now." I pointed to Ernie, who nodded to me.

"Roger, Echo One." The transports silently moved out.

"GL One, lights, and warning horn, on the double." I wanted this over with as fast a possible.

"Roger, Echo One."

We were now doing about eighty klicks an hour, five times the base speed limit, four times the in-city speed limit. At this rate, we would be at the first pickup point in five minutes. Looking around the compartment, everyone was relaxed and ready. Ernie signaled me that he had something on his scanners.

"What is it, Ernie?"

"I have a vehicle closing fast on our tail, Chief. Two occupants armed with particle beam projectors and side arms. The vehicle is a police cruiser, the occupants are not policemen."

"Thanks, Ernie."

"Echo One, GL Two; I have a police cruiser signaling me to pull over."

"GL Two, ignore him." I switched channels. "Echo One to police control," I was calling them, even though I knew the men inside weren't cops. "I am on a priority Federation Council Mission. Tell your cruisers to stand down."

"Echo One, Police Control. We don't have a cruiser in your area. Be advised that two cruisers were stolen this morning. We will vector additional support to retrieve our cruiser."

"Negative. We'll deal with the cruiser ourselves." I switched channels again. "Echo Two, Echo One, disable that cruiser behind you."

"Aye, Chief." Ten seconds later, there was a loud boom from behind us. "Echo One, Echo Two, cruiser disabled."

"Very well."

We were at the first pick up point within minutes. The local police were waiting for us with our first pickup. He was hog-tied and lying in the street when we glided to a stop. I hopped out of the back of the transport with Sam, picked him up and carried him to the back of the transport. I turned and thanked the locals, then climbed in the transport.

"Ernie, how far is the next one?"

"Four klicks."

"Send the coordinates to the drivers."

"Aye, Chief."

The next two pick-ups went just as smoothly. The locals had them in custody and waiting for us. As we pulled up to the fourth pick up, the transport started receiving small arms fire. The transports grounded and the sides fell away, giving us a 360-degree field of fire. A hail of bullets from multiple slug throwers coming from the third floor of the building in which our pick up lived pinned down the local police.

"Section one, deploy left, section two, deploy right, go, go, go," I yelled as I jumped from the transport, running for cover to my left.

The rest of my section filed past, seeking cover to the left of my position. I could see Jolene's section spreading out to my right. The local police commander plopped down next to me behind one of their cruisers.

"They got a call about five minutes ago, then all hell broke loose. All other occupants of the building have been evacuated. We don't have the firepower to handle this. It's all yours, Colonel," he told me in a huff. "One Charlie, to all units, stand down, the military is here to handle the situation. Repeat, stand down." Turning to me, he said, "Good luck."

"Thanks. Echo One to all Echo units, on my mark, fill those windows with lead. Mark!" I turned, flipped the safety to fire and pulled the trigger. Frangible metal slugs screamed to their target. Anyone stupid enough to stick their head up would be instantly vaporized. Although the bullets would turn to dust after the initial impact if they hit soft tissue or bone, it too was turned to dust.

"Echo One to Echo Ten, grenade, one round, each window, fire." I heard the pop, pop, pop followed by the thunderous detonation. "Echo One, all units move out, take them down, now." Ten bodies moved as one, five to the front door, five to the back entrance.

I rose slowly, as did the police commander. I walked around the cruiser. It was beyond repair. I climbed the stairs to the third floor. On my way, I passed Ellen on the first and Marg on the second. As I passed Nadia on the third, she whispered to me.

"It's a bloody mess in there." I nodded and entered the apartment we had rendered useless.

There were six bodies lying in disarray, all armed with some manner of slug thrower. All were dead. The walls of the rooms were scorched from the explosions, all the furniture was smoldering, the lamps and such destroyed.

"Becky, they were all gang members from Earth. This is the one we came for." Chris was kneeling beside the body of our pick up.

"Right. Let's go. We'll leave this mess for the locals to clean up. Echo One to all Echo units, move out, mount up." I turned, then halted. "Chris, do you know any of them?"

"Only this one," she said, pointing to the body behind her. "He was the leader of the gang I was in. I didn't even know he was on Pacifica, or I would have killed him myself." Her emotions were strong, hatred filled her face as she spat on the body.

"All right, let's go," I said, extending my hand to help her up. I put my arm around her shoulder as we left the building. As we approached the police commander, I let go of her.

"Commander, it's all yours. Sorry about the mess." I saluted him and walked away before he could respond.

* * * Chris Shonner

Becky gave my shoulder a squeeze as she let go of me before we climbed in the transport. One more slim ball to go then this would be over and the last one on the list was the slimiest of them all. I truly hope he resisted like this last one did, I truly did. As I sat, the transport moved out, the panels were back in place and we rode in comfort. I was looking at Becky as she was talking with Ernie. I thanked my lucky stars that I had been assigned to Echo Squad, or I might have wound up like those men back at our last stop.

"It looks like we are going in hot again...positions now," Becky yelled, as the panels dropped.

The building was a stand-alone house that looked like a fortress. It had slits for windows, bars over the metal clad doors. The police were pinned down, all hiding behind their cruisers. Small arms fire was tweeting past as the dull thud of larger rounds hit the transport sides. I took aim at one of the slits displaying muzzle flashes and gently squeezed the trigger. Twenty rounds were on their way to the target before I could let go of the trigger. Twenty rounds impacted through and around the window. No more muzzle flashes came from that window.

The others in the squad started spraying the windows with bullets. The small arms fire from the house stopped.

"Cease fire, cease fire," Becky called over the comm. "Dismount, same as at the last stop."

I jumped out the back of the transport and started running to the left. I pulled up at the last cruiser in line and hunkered down behind it. There was some small arms fire coming from the house again. As time passed and there was no return fire, it increased in frequency. Poking my head up just enough to see what was going on; I saw a panel slide away to reveal a heavy machine gun muzzle. I pumped a grenade in the chamber, jumped up and let fly. I ducked before anyone could get a bead on me. The thump of the grenade striking home was music to my ears. Peeking over the edge, I could see that where the MG had been poking out was now a gaping hole in the side of the house and the MG was lying in the front yard.

"Echo Six, Ten and Eleven, three rounds FHE in the hole, execute," Becky yelled.

I jumped up and pumped three rounds into the hole in the house. I was down on the ground before my first round exploded. Nine rounds went in that house at three different angles, when I peeked over the cruiser the front of the house was a pile of rubble. The back of the house was still standing, as was the roof. There were ten dazed and wounded men standing, sitting or lying on the floor. I stood, aiming my pulse rifle at them; the rest of the squad did the same. Slowly, as they came out of their daze, they raised their hands over their heads.

"Echo One to all units, drag their asses out of there."

I walked around the cruiser up to the nearest man who was standing with his hands over his head and put the barrel of my pulse rifle to his temple. He flinched as the hard metal touched his skin. Becky was at my side pulling the man's hands behind his back and putting some quick-cuffs around his wrists.

"Ok, Chris, I've got him," she said.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. A local cop came forward and took him from Becky. We found the jerk we were supposed to pick up with half his head blown away. He had been the one in the window when I opened fire. The local police took the rest into custody. The body of our pick up was left where it was for the cleanup crew. As we climbed back in the transport to go home, I thought 'All in all it had been a good day, no one was hurt and we accomplished our mission. God, I was proud to be a walker troop. And I was damn proud to be in Echo Squad.'

* * * Becky Latham

I was sitting in Admiral David's office waiting for him to debrief Jolene and me. I had a glass of ice water sitting untouched on the table between us. Jolene was slumped in her chair. It had been a long day, but it was mission accomplished. What the repercussions would be, I had little interest. I only cared what Admiral David thought, nothing more, nothing less.

"Don't get up, ladies," said Admiral David when he came into his office. He hurried around his desk and sat. He threw the folder he had brought with him down on the desk and leaned back in his chair. His eyes were on us the whole time and I could not determine his mood from the look on his face.

I reached for my water and took a drink. Jolene did the same. The Admiral sat; his gaze was no longer on us, staring at the ceiling of his office. He eventually shook his head and opened the folder in front of him. He started to read, every so often looking up at us without expression on his face. Ten minutes we sat this way in complete silence. Then Admiral Jones came in without being announced. He grabbed a chair along the wall, pulled it over beside mine, and sat.

"Jonesy, you're late," said Admiral David.

"I'm sorry, Shor, but there were a few things that had to be taken care of before I could get away."

"Well, you can tell me about that later. Ladies, excellent job, as good as could be expected under the circumstances. Wouldn't you agree, Jonesy?"

"Yes, very good job."

"I have here in front of me, recommendations for awards of valor for several of your people, Chief Latham, but I am afraid that because of the nature of the operation, they will be withheld for the time being. You can, however, tell the following people that I praised their exemplary work, Christine Shonner, Samuel Westerboc, Simon Eckles and you, Jolene Ackers. Chief Latham, you have my personal admiration for a job well done.

"Furthermore, you and your squad will have a one week leave starting tomorrow. Then after that, each team will receive in rotation another two weeks off. I wish I could do more, but I really do need you and your squad here until Chief Jones is released for duty. Now, I believe Admiral Jones has a few items he would like to discuss with you." Admiral David scowled at Admiral Jones, causing Admiral Jones to clear his throat before he started.

"Chief Latham, I just wanted to congratulate you and the rest of the squad on a job well done. There is just one more item that needs to be cleared up." He hesitated, looking at Admiral David who shook his head 'no'. Admiral Jones ignored him and continued. "My sources tracked an interstellar call by Trooper Shonner to Earth some sixteen hours ago. We then tracked two more calls from Earth to Pacifica just four and a half hours ago. It is our contention that she called someone to warn them of the coming raid."

"That's not possible, Admiral Jones, I've known Chris for quite some time and she is not a traitor."

"Complete bullshit," shouted Jolene. Admiral David laughed at Jolene's outburst.

"I told you, Jonesy."

"Shor, have her shown in."

"It's your funeral, Jonesy. All it will take is one word, just one word."

"Show her in, Shor."

Admiral David pressed a button on his com-unit. Seconds later Christine entered, walked up to the Admirals desk and saluted. He returned her salute.

"At ease, Trooper. It's your show, Jones."

"Trooper Shonner, is it true you placed an interstellar call to Earth sixteen hours ago?"

"Yes, sir."

"With whom did you discuss the upcoming operations?"

"No one, sir."

"Then what was your call about?"

"I called a friend."

"About what?"

"It's personal, sir."

"Not anymore, it's not."

"Chief, you know I would never do anything to..." Chris started turning to look at me.

"I know, Chris, but you are going to have to answer the Admiral."

"I called to see if my brother was still on Earth. I was afraid that he might have gotten mixed up with those fuck ups from New York. I called to make sure he was safe."

"Admiral, if I might ask you a question?"

"Of course, Chief."

"Did the two calls from Earth originate from the same location that trooper Shonner called?"

"No, but we figured that person would prefer not to use their own comm-unit."

"Chris, who did you call?"

"I called my Grandmother. She's eighty-five years old and doesn't leave her apartment."

Admiral Jones almost looked crestfallen. Admiral David was laughing so hard he had tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I told you, Jonesy, but you wouldn't listen. Before you go throwing around accusations, you might want to read her personnel file." Admiral David threw a file at Admiral Jones, who caught it deftly. Admiral Jones placed the folder on Admiral David's desk before he rose. "Sit down, Jones. We're not finished yet. You owe someone an apology. In fact, you owe them all an apology."

"Is that an order, Admiral?"

"No, you know I can't order you to, but you would be very wise not to disappoint me, Admiral." Admiral Jones sat back down and was silent for a few seconds.

"Trooper Shonner, Chris, I would like to express my sincerest apology for doubting your loyalty to the Federation. Chief Latham, I am truly sorry for doubting one of your troopers. Second Akers, I hope you will also accept my apology."

"Apology accepted, Admiral," Chris said, standing at attention.

"I don't know if I want to accept his apology," I told Admiral David.

"It's at your discretion, Chief," replied Admiral David.

"Aye, sir."

"Aye, sir," Jolene said. We all stood mute after that.

"Chief Latham, you and your troopers are dismissed," Admiral David told me. I stood and saluted him. He stood and saluted me back. I turned and left his office, followed by Jolene and Chris.

* * * Jolene Akers

I was still steaming inside about what Admiral Jones had thought about Chris. The unmitigated gall of the man to think that a loyal trooper like Chris would jeopardize the lives of her squad mates was unconscionable. I followed Becky with my arm around Chris' shoulder.

"How is your brother, Chris?" I asked her.

"He was the one I killed in the last house. He always was the bad one of the family." Holy shit, I was stunned. I let go of her shoulder and halted there in the hall. Chris turned and grabbed my hand, pulling me along. I couldn't believe how unmoved she was by it all. I was so stunned that I don't remember the rest of the walk to our barracks.

"Tell me about your brother, Chris," I whispered in her ear as we sat together on my bed.

She immediately broke down and started to cry, tears streaming down her soft cheeks. Leaning in, I kissed each tear as it rolled across her delicate skin. She eventually quieted down and was able to speak.

"Oh, God, I'm going to miss him," she cried in anguish. "But I told the little jerk to get out of the city and go live with mom and dad, but would he listen to his big sister? No. The little shit went and joined the worst gang in New York just to spite me.

"My Grandmother told me he was on Pacifica. When I saw the last name on the list, I knew he was. His last name is different from mine since he's my half brother. He was a bad seed, to begin with. I loved him, but I hated what he had become.

"The gang he was in...they were one of the rape gangs that trolled the city at night looking for unsuspecting women. He was a rapist and a murderer. He was bad, I'm glad I was the one to kill him."

She again broke into a crying jag. She turned her face into the pillow and screamed out her pain. I just held her close. She cried and cried until the tears would come no more. Every once in a while, she would scream into her pillow to release the pain and sorrow she felt in her soul.

Eventually, she calmed down and hugged me to her. We lay there for a long time, not moving, clinging to each other for comfort, I lay my head down on the pillow next to her and before I knew it I was asleep.

10.5.0093/8

* * * Becky Latham

I was sitting by his bedside as Michelle administered the wakeup antidote. All the equipment was gone. Max lay in a regular hospital bed covered by a thin sheet and blanket. He was slow to come out of the drug-induced sleep. For the last fifty-six hours, muscle toner machines had been working on Max. Michelle was standing over him, stethoscope pressed to his chest. I held his hand in both of mine.

"Wha..." Max started to say.

"Don't try to talk yet. Here, drink this," Michelle said, placing a straw to his lips. Max gently sucked the liquid into his mouth until Michelle pulled it away. "You can talk now if you feel up to it."

"How long this time?"

"Ten days," Michelle answered.

"Anymore?"

Michelle laughed at his question. Then bent down and kissed his cheek. "No, no more. You're awake for good now, or at least until you fall asleep naturally."

"Good. When can I get out of here?"

"Soon, soon. Just as soon as we make sure you're back to normal."

"I was never normal in the first place."

"Max! You are perfectly normal to us," I said.

"Becky, dear, I have never been normal."

"Okay, have it your way."

"So, how goes cadet training?"

"You'll have to read about it. Michelle and I have to be on the training ground in fifteen minutes."

"Really? You can't stay for awhile?"

"Sorry, no, we can't. But we will be back tonight to cheer you up and regale you with our tales of training." I smiled at my love.