Terran Marines (Ch. 04)

Terran Marines (Ch. 04)

Cpl Stephen and the Terran Marines are back for another installment. I have included a list of characters as there are a lot of names and it can sometimes get confusing. I've kept PFC Becky Johnson in this list as she does get mentioned towards the end of the story. She was killed in a previous chapter.

Dramatis Personae:

Corporal (Cpl) Claudius Stephen - 1st Fire Team (FT) leader

Lance Corporal (LCpl) Berts - 1st FT member

Private First Class (PFC) Hanaka Watanabe - 1st FT member

PFC Jose Ramirez - 1st FT member

Private First Class (PFC) Becky Johnson (deceased)

Cpl Jackie Bronson - 2nd FT leader (Fab Four)

LCpl Annie McMaster - 2nd FT member

LCpl Mary Jones - 2nd FT member

LCpl Jessica Vuong - 2nd FT member

Cpl Louis Lopez - 3rd FT leader

LCpl Cron - 3rd FT member

Sergeant (Sgt) Kronkit - 3rd Squad Leader

Sgt Bernard Durand - 2nd Sqd Ldr

Cpl Samuels

Sgt Janice Thomas - 1st Sqd Ldr

Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Kerwalski - Platoon Sergeant

First Lieutenant (1STLT) Joanna Hunter - Platoon Commander

Capt Samantha Tovington - Marine aerospace fighter pilot

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Corporal Stephen stepped quietly through one of the jungles on Quintel 3, moving behind his point, Private First Class Watanabe and her security, Lance Corporal Berts. The last member of his four-man fire team, PFC Jose Ramirez, followed behind him. The Marines were spread out with roughly 10 meters (30 feet) between each one. The rest of the squad followed Stephen and his team as they crept through the jungle, searching for their prey.

The Marines of 3rd Squad were on their second day of a three day patrol and an hour before, they had by chance cut the trail of a large body of men. The trail would have been easy to follow with the naked eye, but the combat helmets that the Marines wore quickly analyzed the prints and came up with an estimate of 31 people in the group with an 80% reliability analysis.

The Battle Comp also, uselessly in Stephen's mind, indicated a 68% chance that the group were part of the world's National Guard (NG) division that had rebelled against the Federation. The only large groups of people in the jungle were rebels and Marines. The recent fighting had scared off any other inhabitants so it was extremely unlikely that a large body of civilians were hiking through the war-torn jungle. Stephen checked his tactical display and there were no friendlies within 10 kilometers (km), or 6.2 miles, so this group had to be made up of rebels.

Four weeks ago, the Terran Marines had conducted an opposed drop from orbit and in two days of fierce fighting, they had broken the back of the rebellion and restored Federation control of the planet. Elements of the NG division had escaped and many had fled to the jungles surrounding the planet's capital city. The Marines had been hunting them down, whittling away at the survivors and forcing isolated elements to surrender or be destroyed. Stephen knew that talks were being held between the NG Division's leadership and the Federation, but they were stalled on punishments. The Federation couldn't let the rebel leadership surrender with just a slap on the wrist and the rebel leadership didn't want to be executed after turning themselves in. Stalemate.

Cpl Stephen really didn't care about the talks, he was just doing his job and hunting down rebels. He opened a comm channel to the 3rd Squad leader, Sergeant Kronkit.

"Hey, Sergeant. What about putting up a drone to see what's ahead of us? We're outnumbered here and it'd probably be a good idea to see how they're kitted out. Plus walking into an ambush would really suck." The Terran Marines had the best gear that Earth could design and afford, but the NG unit was also able to draw from the same tech pool. Their gear was probably a generation or so older than what the Marines carried, but it was still deadly. If they were well equipped and their gear looked good, then the Marines would have to be more cautious as getting ambushed by a larger force would ruin their day. The rebels didn't have a secure source of spare parts, so their gear probably wasn't fully functional, but it'd be a bad idea to plan on this making things easier for the Marines.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Let's bring it in on a flank. If they spot it, I don't want them to drop any surprises on the trail. I'll have it run an S-pattern."

Sgt Kronkit called a halt. The Marines immediately spread out and found a place that afforded them some cover and concealment. Within a few moments, the jungle was still and the Marines faded into the greenery. At an unheard command, LCpl Cron approached Sgt Kronkit, then turned his back and presented his backpack. Sgt Kronkit removed a small robotic drone from an exterior pocket, then gave LCpl Cron a gentle pat to send him back to his spot. Sgt Kronkit synced his battle comp with the drone, programming its flight pattern and setting it for maximum stealth. This would cut into the drone's endurance and speed, but remaining undetected was of primary concern.

Once the drone was away, it was time to provide another Situation Report, or SITREP, to LT Hunter, their platoon commander. He selected the platoon satellite communication channel, dictated a quick report, then squirted the recording up to the satellite. SATCOM was generally tough to detect as the transmission was highly directional and used very low power. The satellites had very sensitive receivers and could pick up a whisper from orbit.

Sgt Kronkit keyed the squad push, "Stephen, let's step off again, but angle us to the left of the trail and offset by about 50m (150 feet). Following directly behind these guys might be a mistake."

"Roger, understood."

"Squad, up! And... move out."

Stephen guided the squad pointman, PFC Watanabe, away from the trail until they were paralleling it as they followed the unknown body of men. He opened a window off to one side of his helmet's display so he could view the video take from the drone. The drone video wasn't great and was more of a slow slide show than video, but this was due to the drone transmitting the data in compressed bursts to try and avoid detection.

After 10 minutes, the video box began to flash to catch Stephen's attention. The drone had found the rebels and they were only 1km ahead of the Marines. A rash of icons began to speckle the tactical plot as the drone located individual NG soldiers. Sgt Kronkit selected a command and EMCOM SET flashed in each Marine's helmet with a short countdown. When it reached zero, the built-in radios in each helmet were shut off and the squad went to Emissions Control. Radio and radar emissions can be detected much further away than their actual useful range. The Marine's squad network utilized a very low powered radio, but a sensitive enough receiver could pick up the transmissions and reveal their presence. The combat helmets switched to audio transmissions, using a very high audio frequency to burst transmit essential data. The audio tones were pitched above human hearing and their volume was very very low. The data rate was not very high, but enough data could be transmitted to maintain everyone's awareness. The range was so low that a Marine in the middle of the squad would not be able to pick up these transmissions from a Marine at the front, thus a simple mesh network was used to tie everyone into the squad's tactical net.

The Marines were in their unpowered armor, which was more suited to long patrols through the jungles looking for rebels. Their powered armor was great for smashing the enemy, but subtle was not their forte and the suit's endurance would not allow for multi-day patrols. The heart of the unpowered armor was their helmet and the Battle Comp mounted high on the back of their body armor. The helmet made them look a little bug-eyed as various optical and electronic sensors adorned the crest. The body armor could be customized to the situation. With the Quintel 3 jungles being so hot and humid, the Marines only wore the chestplates and did without the arm, leg and groin pieces.

Each Marine carried a Mk56 Needle Rifle. Almost every other species' militaries used some sort of pulsed light or radiation for their battle rifles. Humanity still used a projectile weapon, but it was unlike any rifle from the 21st Century. The projectiles were thin needles of depleted duertonium that were given a plasma charge as they were accelerated down the rifle's barrel. A high rate of fire combined with a high pitched 'ZZZZZZ' that the weapon made led to the nickname 'Zip Gun'. The plasma charge would be expended when the round hit a target, adding blast and burn damage in addition to the kinetic damage from the needle. A short barrelled grenade launcher fed by a six-round magazine sat under the barrel. The sights on the rifle were tied into the tactical display in the helmet. Point the rifle and where the crosshairs pointed is where that first round would go. The rifle sights even contained a compact video camera that could be used to peer around corners.

The Marines were trying to move light, so they were not carrying any other heavy weaponry. If the need arose, they could call for artillery or even air support. The Federation dominated the planet and surrounding area, so they had the luxury of not having to carry everything with them plus unlimited ammunition, at least over the long run.

The video feed suddenly fuzzed out and Sgt Kronkit called over the audio net, "They've made the drone. Unless they shot it out of the air, it should be returning to our last position. We'll try to reacquire control as it passes near us. Keep an eye out for NG drones, they may try to backtrack and locate us with their own drones."

With the departure of the drone, the NG icons began to slowly blink, indicating that their positions were no longer confirmed. It could be assumed that the NG unit leader would be moving their people to avoid an artillery or airstrike. Sgt K had called for one as soon as the Marine's drone was spotted, but a delay on the batteries' end meant that the artillery rounds struck an empty spot in the jungle.

A few minutes later, the drone came within range and Sgt K took a calculated risk to send a control impulse to the drone and bring it back under control. While not terribly expensive, 3rd Squad only had a very limited number of the drones with them, which made them precious at this instance. Without them, the squad was limited to what they could see or what their sensors could pick up. Unfortunately, active sensors could be detected much further outside of their effective range. The Marine's helmets did not have a great set of passive sensors as only so much could be packed into them without making them too bulky or heavy.

Sgt Kronkit decided to launch a couple more drones to find the NG unit's location. With them alerted to the squad's presence and the use of drones, they'd be more alert, thus the additional drones. Stephen knew that they would be lucky to get one back. The drones went out and reported back that the NG soldiers were just over 500m away and closing fast. The Marines would be able to hear them shortly. After a moment of thought, Sgt K brought the three Corporals into a quick conference call.

"Here's what we're going to do. We're going to move the squad 100m further west and set an ambush along this line. With a little bit of luck we'll be able to smash their nearest flank and pin down the rest until fire support can whittle down their numbers. Here's where I want you to put your fireteams." He squirted out his plan and our tactical display was updated with our expected positions. Go ahead and lay them in while I set up our firesupport."

Cpl Stephen passed the tactical plan down to his three Marines, noting that his fireteam was on the left flank of the squad, closest to where the NG soldiers would approach. Stephen helped his Marines find suitable spots on the floor of the jungle. A place that provided both cover and concealment was ideal. In Marine terms, concealment was just that, a hiding spot that did not provide protection from direct or indirect fire. Cover was a position that provided protection from direct or indirect fire. A really good covered spot provided protection from both. A thick tree to hide behind or a large enough depression in the ground could provide both cover and concealment. Unfortunately, the area where they established their hasty ambush had little cover. Stephen made the best of it, placing the Marines in the best spots available. Berts was the last Marine at the end of the line, so he tweaked his position to cover their flank.

Within three minutes, the entire squad was down in their spots. Their helmets amplified the noise that the NG soldiers were making as they approached the Marine's positions. Their low-detection data network was at its lowest gain, transmitting simple tactical plot updates and text updates to the fireplan. Each Marine could have their face pressed into the jungle floor, but their helmet tactical plots kept them updated as to the enemy's positions as they were spotted by the tiny sensors that the Marines had strewn above their positions.

Cpl Stephen cursed to himself when he realized that the NG soldiers were spread out more than expected and would overlap his left flank. They would have to kick off the ambush before their main body came fully into the ambush zone. He shot off a short text message to Sgt Kronkit, NG r going 2 overlap my flank.

He received a terse Rgr in return.

A few tense minutes passed as the NG soldiers closed in on the Marine's ambush spot. The soldiers were spread out in a rough line, centered around their original track. Roughly half of their number, about 15 soldiers, would stray into or partially into the Marine's ambush zone, which was good. However, the remainder would be outside of the ambush zone and would be able to maneuver relatively freely. Stephen cursed to himself when he realized this fact.

A terse text message from Sergeant Kronkit popped up in Stephen's display. Standby to execute on my command. Airstrike inbound. Danger close.

This meant the Marines were to wait for Sgt K to initiate the ambush and that an airstrike was on the way, but the target was very very close to the Marines and they could be impacted by the aircraft munitions. To survive, it would be best for them to be prone on the ground to limit their exposure to the exploding bombs.

At that moment, one of the NG soldiers froze and he radioed a message to his fellow soldiers. The transmission was encrypted, so the Marines couldn't eavesdrop, but they knew that this meant they had been spotted. Before a response was radioed back, Sgt Kronkit opened the squad's push.

"Fire! Let 'em have it! Stephen, watch our left flank, don't let them get around you!"

As soon as their squad leader ordered them to open fire, every Marine opened up, the ZZZZZZ of their rifles breaking the jungle's silence. The explosions of grenades punctuated the rifle fire. For those behind a good piece of cover, they didn't need to expose their bodies, just their rifles. The rifle cameras passed the video to each Marine and where the targeting caret settled was where the rounds would go.

Stephen didn't have a good piece of terrain or tree to hide behind, so he rose to a knee as his helmet visor had icons splashed over the visual. Priority numbers, set by his battle comp, were placed next to each target. A flashing '1' hovered by a soldier that was beginning to shoot in Stephen's direction. As soon as his targeting caret landed on the soldier, Stephen stroked the firing stud on his rifle and three needles flashed downrange. The heavy metal of the needles easily punched through the armor that the soldier was wearing while the plasma charge they carried blew an arm off the soldier.

Another soldier became highlighted as the flashing '1' shifted. This soldier was prone and laying down accurate fire towards the Marines. He was silenced forever once Stephen laid his targeting caret over the soldier. The next target was a leader, pointing out targets for his men.

MOVE flashed in his helmet and Stephen took cover as a rash of fire washed over his position. As he moved, he absently noted that a Marine in the third fireteam had been wounded, their icon strobing urgently. He low-crawled to a different spot before scanning around with his rifle's camera.

His tactical display showed the NG soldiers starting to move around his left flank. Selecting his team's channel, he called out, "Berts, get ready to move and fall back. Team, prepare to lay down covering fire! Watanabe, grenades. Ramirez, max rate of fire, you have our right flank. I'll cover left.

"Standbye!"

He waited until their was a momentary lull in the fire, "Execute!"

Stephen rose to a kneeling position and began to lay down a heavy stream of fire towards the soldiers on his left. A string of explosions rippled across their short frontage as Watanabe's magazine of grenades were expended. Berts was up and moving immediately and he dropped back 5 meters (15 feet) before throwing himself prone and rolling to face the enemy.

Stephen dropped as return fire peppered his position. He cursed when enemy grenades fell around the squad's positions. Watanabe's icon flashed yellow and he heard her curse over the team push.

"Watanabe, you ok?"

"Fucking hell! Yes, but that fucking hurt." He spared a glance towards her position and saw a bloody streak of red across her left arm.

Another incessant icon flashed for his attention. Sgt Kronkit, their squad leader, had been wounded and was incapacitated. Leadership fell to him as the senior fire team leader. Fuck!

He toggled the squad push, "Sgt K is down, I'm assuming command. Berts has the first team."

He took a moment to study the squad's tactical situation. He didn't like what he saw. The squad was in danger of getting flanked on both ends and overwhelmed. The NG soldiers were acting and moving quickly, more so than normal. He thought, Crap, we either ran into a truly effective NG soldier or they have a retired Terran Army or Marine who joined their local NG unit.

Stephen called out over the squad push, "First, prepare to fall back 10 meters (30 feet) using team rushes. Second, Third, you are the base of fire for the movement. Max rate of fire!

"Standbye!

"Execute!"

Stephen surged to his feet and began to run back towards the other two fire teams as the three other Marines of 1st team leapt to their feet. He chanted to himself, I'm up, he sees me, I'm down. He threw himself down as a wave of fire swept over the Marines of the 1st Fire Team.

He heard Berts come over the team's push, "Individual rushes. Team order." Stephen flipped himself around and prepared to fire. "Go!"

Berts was up and running. When he threw himself down, Watanabe was up and dashing back. Stephen fired his zip rifle until a warning tone beeped in his ear. He automatically swapped out magazines and began to fire again. He serviced targets without thinking as an incoming comm call came over his radio.

A familiar, female voice came over the line. "Storm 3, Storm 3, this is Raven 4. I'm five minutes out from your position." Storm was the platoon call sign. Third Squad was Storm 3. Raven was the call sign for the Marine tactical air support.

Stephen smiled as he remembered Captain Samantha Tovington's English-accented voice, "Raven 4, squirting you our tactical picture. We're pinned down and need some support. Danger close."

She called back, "Hey stud! Great to hear your voice."

Stephen barely heard her reply when Berts told him to move again. While he was in charge of the squad, he was online with the rest of the Marines, not a few paces behind where he could control the action without becoming overwhelmed by the fight. Berts kept him moving to keep him from getting overrun by the soldiers while he 'fought' the squad. Once Stepehn was down, he checked the tactical picture and was satisfied for the moment. First and Second Teams were in a rough line while the Third Team was angled back and to their right. The NG soldiers facing them were in a rough line as well, although the ones on their right flank were starting to bend around to try and flank the third fireteam.

"Storm 3, birds away! Time to impact 15 seconds."

"Roger!"

Stephen switched to his squad push, "Incoming! Incoming! Everyone down!"

He followed his own command and hugged the deck. Three dial-a-yield explosive smart munitions fell silently through the sky. Each impacted the ground within a meter of their target as dirt, vegetation and body parts were flung into the sky. The explosions momentarily stunned the combatants, but knowing what was coming let the Marines shake off the effects quickest.

"Everyone up, max rate of fire!" called out Stephen.

The Marines rose to where they could see and sent a wave of needles and grenades into the soldier's positions. The Marines couldn't see much through the heavy dust, but their rounds found the occasional target. Any soldier that tried to fire back was immediately jumped by several Marines until the soldier fell silent, either dead or from hugging the ground.

"I'm coming around again, 30 seconds," called out Capt Tovington.

Stephen saw he had four munitions available and he took a moment to designate where he wanted the munitions to fall.

"Storm 3, birds away! Time to impact 10 seconds."

Stephen called out, "Incoming! Everyone down!"

Four more explosions rocked the area in front of the Marines.

The Marines were up and firing before the echoes of the explosions faded.

A call came over a standard, civilian rescue channel. "We're laying down our arms! We surrender! Request a cease fire!"

All the Marines heard the call and waited for Stephen's response. "Understood. Cease fire. Lay down your arms, remove your helmets and stand in place." Removing their helmets would reduce the soldier's ability to communicate and prevent any funny business.

Stephen swapped to the air support circuit, "They've called it. Cease fire. Thank you for your support ma'am! You saved our bacon!"

"You're welcome! See you back at base. Raven 4 out."

Stephen swapped back to his squad push, "Berts, your team is on overwatch. Lopez, round up the soldiers. Bronson, detail two Marines to care for our casualties and help Lopez."

Stephen didn't wait for their acknowledgement, but switched to the platoon channel. It was blinking impatiently as LT Hunter waited for an update. She had been monitoring the squad's tactical plot, but a verbal SITREP was always preferred.

"Storm 6, this is Storm 3."

"Go Storm 3." She didn't sound surprised to hear Stephen on the line as she knew from the tactical plot that Kronkit had been wounded and the squad's leadership had shifted. She probably had been listening to the squad's comms as well.

"Our engagement with an NG platoon is over, they've surrendered. We have several casualties that need medevac. NG casualties are unknown at this point."

"Understood, the reaction squad is 10 minutes out. The medevac birds are in trace. Good job, let me know if you need anything else."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Stephen doffed his helmet as he gratefully walked into the platoon's air conditioned Command Post (CP). The squad had their orders and were tending to their weapons, gear and then themselves.

For the fierceness of the fight, their casualties were thankfully light. No one had been killed and the most grievously wounded was Sgt Kronkit, who would take several weeks to recuperate from his wounds. All of the walking wounded had been treated and most would be back to full duty within a day or two.

LT Hunter met him at the door to the CP.

"Cpl Stephen, great job out there! You and your squad did really well. I'm sorry to hear about Sgt K, but it sounds like he'll be back in a few weeks. Until then, you officially have the squad."

Stephen nodded his thanks and understanding.

"I'd like to see you and your team leads in ten minutes for a quick after action hot wash. I'll expect the full report tomorrow morning. SSgt Kerwalski can help you with that."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Once the hot wash was complete, Stephen went to check on the squad. They were all busy cleaning their rifles and equipment. He drew some cleaning gear, found a spot and began to clean his rifle.

"Hey, Cpl Stephen."

"Yeah, Jones?" LCpl Mary Jones was part of the 2nd Fire Team under Cpl Bronson.

"Are we going to get a party after this mission? It's been a while."

"Sorry, Mary, but our mission is to clear out the insurgents. Individual patrols aren't considered a mission."

"Oh, damn."

"Why're you asking?"

She coyly smiled at Stephen, "Well, I've always wanted to try out a dick. Joanna's been bragging about yours and what I've been missing, so I want to know when the next opportunity might be."

Stephen stared at her with a slack jaw and she giggled at his expression. He was momentarily surprised at her forward behaviour, but after a moment he remembered he was talking to one of the Fab Four. The Fab Four were an all female fire team, which was very unusual in the Terran Marines. They had been together for over 18 months, which again was unusual due to the high casualty rates the Marines often experienced. The four did just about everything together - ate, partied and fought together. They were tight and Stephen remembered their last after-mission party with fondness. Mary had always expressed interest in getting together with him, but things just never worked out.

The Marines were known for a strict anti-fraternization rule, so a relationship between two Marines in the same chain of command, not to mention Stephen's higher rank and position over Jones (however temporary), was expressly forbidden. Not quite as well known was the traditional relaxation of these rules after a mission. The Marines were often sent on long voyages where high casualty missions were the norm. Reducing stress and mourning their dead were things that were often hard to do amidst the confining walls of a Terran cruiser. A carnal post-mission party was the response that the Marines developed over time and it was found that these parties significantly reduced emotional issues and contributed to higher readiness rates. Rank was not an obstacle during these parties, although officers and Staff Non-Commission Officers (SNCO), like LT Hunter and SSgt Kerwalski, often chose not to participate. No one was pressured into doing anything and Marines did not have to participate if they chose not to. The debauchery would last for the evening, then the fraternization rules would slam into place the next morning.

Stephen stuttered, "Err, well, I think the next post-mission party is scheduled in two weeks. The whole platoon is slated to rotate out of here for a week of R&R (rest & relaxation) before coming back here to start our patrol rotation again."

Mary Jones stood up, "Well, save me a spot on your dance card, Corporal. I'd like to get to know you better." She turned and walked away, putting an exaggerated sway into her hips that had Stephen shifting uncomfortably. She turned her head and caught him staring, then smirked when he jerked his eyes away.

LCpl Jessica Vuong, a card-carrying member of the Fab Four, and Watanabe laughed at Stephen when he was caught. He shot them an angry glare, but they just went back to work, smiling at each other the way two ladies will when laughing at a guy. Cpl Stephen just sighed and went back to cleaning his rifle.

Cpl Jack Bronson, leader of the Fab Four, sauntered over to him and sat down next to him.

"Hey Stephen, good job out there today."

"Thanks, Jackie. I appreciate it."

They chatted for a few moments, then Jackie brought up the real reason she had approached Stephen.

"Cladius," he stiffened at the use of his first name, but he was now somewhat used to Jackie using it. He just didn't like his first name and chose to go by his last name. "Mary likes you, but every time she has an opportunity to get with you, she chickens out. As you know, she's a confirmed lesbian, but she likes you and wants to give you a try. So the next time we have an opportunity, you may have to make the first move. Just please, go slowly and try not to hurt her."

"Jackie, you know me, I'd never do anything to hurt Mary or any of you. Unless you're slacking off when it comes to cleaning up your area!"

She laughed, "Never Mr Hardass!"

Third Squad had the next day off, then started a guard duty rotation, which was very boring for all of them. Cpl Stephen learned the in's and out's of being the Sergeant of the Guard and the headaches that came with the position. After guard duty the squad became the platoon's rapid reaction element. They had to be dressed and ready to fly out in 10 minutes to support another squad in contact. They could conduct training, sleep, get chow, watch a tri-V or play games, they were just on a strict 10 minute tether. It was easy duty, unless they got a call. Most of the wounded, except for Sgt K, returned to the squad, fully healed. The Terran Federation's regen facilities were very good and every Fed naval ship had a good, if often small, medical center, most staffed with a medical doctor. Their current base had a couple of docs and good equipment. The last part of the squad's rotation was back to patrolling. Depending on the mission, they might conduct local patrols that could be done in less than a day, to longer duration patrols up to three days.

The NG remnants in the area had been very quiet after the defeat of their platoon. LT Hunter decided that 3rd Squad would have to do a longer patrol to see where the insurgents had withdrawn to. She arranged for a drop ship to pick up the squad at the end of the third day, allowing them to go further out than normal. She also arranged a drop ship to sit on their local pad to support transporting the ready reaction squad, which would be 1st Squad.

Cpl Stephen received the patrol order from LT Hunter, then went and developed his own order for the squad. The squad's mission was to locate the insurgent forces for a follow-on attack. The squad would not be expected to assault a larger force, just locate it and pass on the information. With the mission parameters in mind, Stephen had to decide what gear the squad would need, how much and what type of ammunition, number of drones, plus food and water. He had to balance what was needed, what would be nice to have and how heavy everything would be. In the Quintel 3 jungle, water wasn't a problem as they would probably cross half a dozen streams each day. They had efficient decom water containers, so they could fill those on the go. Daily ration packs were tiny as a small cube would provide enough energy and nutrients for a hard day's activity. While the ration blocks weren't exactly tasty, they weren't nasty and they just left a lot to be desired when it came down to eating them. Thankfully, the appetite suppressors laced into the ration blocks kicked in quickly.

They had several types of drones available: reconnaissance, hunter/killer, home-on-jam and anti-drone drones. He decided to go heavy on the recon drones with just a smattering of hunter/killer drones. As their job was to find the insurgents, he figured that they wouldn't be getting too heavily engaged. If they were, he'd rely on fire support to get them out of a jam.

Finally, he went heavy on needles and grenades. The extra weight would be worth it if they did stumble onto larger enemy forces. You never knew when fire support would be tied up or unavailable.

The first day of the patrol was uneventful which allowed Stephen to get used to leading the squad in the field. Keeping an eye on 12 Marines was a lot more difficult than watching the three Marines in his fire team. Thankfully, he really only needed to keep track of the three fire team leaders, LCpl Berts (acting), Cpl Jackie Bronson and Cpl Louis Lopez. Instead of his normal spot behind the two point Marines, he took a spot between 2nd and 3rd fire teams to allow for better command and control. It was a delicate balance of providing enough guidance to get his idea across and not micro-managing the team leaders. Cpl Jackie Bronson, a good friend, helped by providing feedback on a private channel, shared by just the two of them. He appreciated her help and knew that her comments were meant to provide feedback and weren't complaints about his leadership.

The squad moved a little more cautiously the second day and towards the middle of the afternoon, they began to see signs of the NG soldiers, fresh tracks and occasional bits of trash. Stephen decided to find a place to lay up and observe the area so they wouldn't stumble into anything unpleasant. They found a slight depression that provided some concealment, then set out two two-Marine listening posts and seeded the area with remote sensors.

A couple of hours later, the sensors picked up a small snippet of audible conversation and some high frequency radio transmissions to our north. They could not have been any more than 600-700 meters away. Stephen radioed in the contact, then had the squad quietly pack up, retrieve the sensors, move out north after the contact.

Stephen sent out a low-power instruction to the Marines and the EMCOM icon became highlighted over the comm panel in their helmet display. He called out softly, "Hand and arm signals from here on out." He received a thumbs up from the three team leaders. He gave them a moment, then with a wave, he indicated that they should start moving.

After a kilometer, they picked up a trail. Stephen sent a drone up the trail, but it returned without seeing anything. He had the squad follow the trail, but not directly. He weaved to the left and right of the insurgent's trail, enough to keep track of it without following directly. He started to feel antsy, so he pushed Bert's team a little further forward of the rest of the squad. This was a calculated risk. If the team went too far forward, then they could be quickly overwhelmed without the rest of the squad being able to help. The team was a bit like bait - if they found or tripped an ambush, the rest of the squad would hopefully be out of the ambush zone and could quickly assist them. If the ambushers let Bert's team through, then they would be able to support the squad, hopefully from outside the ambush zone. This would give them more freedom to respond.

Stephen put up a quartet of drones, one recon drone to range just in front of Bert's team, the other recon drone to scout around the main body of the squad. He kept two hunter/killer drones hovering over the squad.

The shadows were starting to get long as the sun sank towards the horizon. The squad continued its quiet patrol. The recon drone hovering over the slowly moving squad issued an emergency alert and an enemy icon blossomed in every Marine's tactical display. The icon was on the right of the squad, less than five meters (15 feet) away.

Stephen immediately pivoted to face the NG soldier as he yelled, "AMBUSH RIGHT! ASSAULT THROUGH!" His helmet's battle comp automatically took this as an order and pushed the notification to everyone's tactical display. The two hunter/killer drones zipped towards the ambush. The first one impacted and killed the soldier that the recon drone had first identified. The second spotted an NG machine gun team and it exploded over both soldiers manning the gun, killing both of them.

Enemy fire flayed the 2nd and 3rd teams and yellow wounded icons started to flash in his helmet's personnel display, but he ignored it as he fired off a string of grenades up and down the enemy line, then began to run towards the enemy, firing as he went.

Cpl Jackie Bronson's team was to his left and Cpl Louis Lopez's team to his right. They were all moving and firing toward the ambushers. He saw LCpl Mary Jones blown backwards in a welter of blood and gore, but he couldn't stop to grieve as he was quickly amongst the NG soldiers.

A prone soldier twisted and held up a hand as if to stop Stephen, but Stephen put a needle into his head, then flinched away from the mess. There were too many soldiers, the situation was too fluid and dangerous to try and take a prisoner in the heat of the fight. He looked left and fired up the enemy line, killing two more soldiers who were firing at Bronson's team, which had almost reached the ambush line but had become pinned down. As he scanned for more targets, a portion of his mind kept track of the tactical picture. Bert's team were engaging the far end of the ambush, laying down a heavy base of fire which suppressed the ambusher's fire and allowed Bronson's team to move out of the ambush zone. Lopez's team had moved through the enemy fire, reached the ambushers and shot them where they lay.

A quartet of soldiers at the far end of the line jumped to their feet and attempted to flee. The Marines cut down three of them, but the fourth disappeared into the jungle.

The firing died away and Stephen took a quick look at the personnel status. Bert's team had come through almost unscathed. Lopez's team had one dead and one lightly wounded. Bronson's team had taken the brunt of the ambush. Mary was dead and the remainder of the Fab Four were wounded. LCpl Jessica Vuong was in a bad way with an abdominal wound, LCpl Annie McMaster had a leg wound and Cpl Jackie Bronson had a wounded arm, plus a couple of possible cracked ribs from impacts to her body armor.

Stephen had Bert's team set security while Lopez's team was responsible for first-aid, checking the NG soldiers and generally policing up the fight zone. Stephen called in the contact report to LT Hunter and requested an immediate medevac for the wounded. He was informed that the entire squad would be evacuated once the wounded were airlifted out.

Vuong and half of the wounded were flown out in the first CASEVAC bird. When the second aircraft arrived, Stephen gently picked up Mary's mangled body and walked her to the open hatch. He was heedless of her blood which dripped onto and stained his gear. He declined offers of assistance and climbed on board, gently laying Mary on an empty stretcher. He smoothed her hair, then drew a blanket over her still form. A tear ran down his cheek as he walked off the aircraft, passing the rest of the wounded Marines being loaded onboard the bird. He was met by Jackie and PFC Hanaka Watanabe, who gave him a hug.

There was time before the final bird arrived and Stephen supervised the cleanup of the scene. The memory packs from each of the soldier's battle comps were removed as well as some documents. Photos were taken of each face, or identification gathered from the bodies that had mangled features.

The last thing Stephen did before he boarded the transport was to set a beacon on the body and set it to transmit on an open frequency. The soldiers were Terrans and while he believed that they were misguided, they were defending their homes in the way that they thought best.

LT Hunter again greeted Stephen at the door to the CP. The flight back to the CP was the first time he had a moment to himself and he was lashed by self-doubt. Had he made the right choices? Could he have anticipated or spotted the ambush earlier? What had he done wrong?

LT Hunter could read the self-doubt and pain on his face. "Welcome back, Cpl Stephen. You and your squad did really well. Come on inside and let's talk about what happened. We'll do the after action hotwash a bit later." She quietly waved off SSgt Kerwalksi, the platoon sergeant, as she took Stephen into the CP's conference room. She shut the door, found a seat for Stephen and sat next to him. He was moving robotically and unthinkingly followed her wishes.

"Ok Claudius." He started at the use of his first name, like LT Hunter intended. "Let's go over what happened."

"Yes, ma'am." He launched into a recital of the mission while she guided the talk and worked through his thought processes leading up to each decision. She helped him realize that he had made the best decisions with the available information. There were perhaps things he could have done better, but they were facing a smart enemy who also had a say in the fight. Having the two H/K drones overhead probably saved the squad and kept casualties down when the hunter/killer took out the machinegun nest at the start of the fight. At the end of their discussion, Stephen felt better, but knew he'd be carrying some guilt with him for a long time.

They both rose and LT Hunter surprised Stephen again when she wrapped him up into a hug, despite his grungy and bloody gear and uniform.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she whispered into his ear. "Mary was a good Marine and a really sweet person. I know that she was carrying a torch for you and I think some of the feelings were reciprocated."

She pulled back to look him in the eye, cocking a questioning eyebrow. He nodded, "Yeah, she meant a lot to me as a good friend. I'm going to miss her terribly."

"I'm going to miss her as well, she had such a bright, infectious laugh. Ok, get going. I want to see you and your team leads in 15 minutes for the hotwash. Full afteraction report is due tomorrow."

Stephen turned to leave and LT Hunter gave him his final surprise of the day, a hard smack on the ass. He jumped and whirled around as she smirked at him.

"Damn, L-T, you've got quite the arm there. That stung!"

She just smiled and ushered him out.

The next day, LT Hunter brought 3rd Squad into the CP and directed them to watch the view screens. Many of the Marines were sporting bandages and other signs of their wounds.

"The intel weenies decrypted and extracted information from the NG's battle comp memory chips and were able to locate a likely location of the National Guard's base. Our parent company's ready platoon drew the mission and they are about three minutes out."

She pointed to the tactical map on another display. "An airstrike is about to go in, led by Capt Tovington."

Go Sam! Thought Stephen.

Capt Tovington's voice crackled over the CP's speakers, "Raven Flight, this is Raven 4. Attack pattern Bravo-5. Salvo your missiles on my command."

The four fighters of Raven flight approached a diamond icon on the screen which indicated their launch point. "Climb now!" The elevation indicator next to the fighters began to increase rapidly.

"Launch! Fox three! Fox three!" Capt Tovington commanded her flight to launch their munitions, then called out what type of missile she was launching. Fox-3 indicated an active sensor guided missile. The other three pilots called out their own missile launches and the Marines in the CP watched as eight missiles streaked to the target zone.

A bright flare washed out the main screen as roiling clouds of dust and smoke obscured the view. The camera switched to an infrared (IR) lens and the Marines could see numerous fires burning in the enemy camp, which was strewn with debris and body parts. Stephen watched as a gunship led two troop transports through the mayhem. The gunship was firing at unseen targets, clearing the way for the two transports, which streaked over the camp as its cargo of armored Marines fell from the bird's bellies. The powered armor fell, then braked on invisible anti-grav thrusters. Nothing could be seen on the visual screen, but the tactical screen was another matter. Forty plus Marines in powered armor spread out through the camp in pairs. As they came upon a target, the enemy icon would appear on the tactical display, then almost immediately change status to Deceased/Destroyed.

The Marine TACAIR was called upon a few times to reduce insurgent strong points, but within 45 minutes the shooting was over. The camp that the Marines had hit wasn't just any camp, but the main National Guard division camp with the senior surviving officers and staff. Their Commanding General died in a shootout with the Marines, but enough of the staff survived for the Marines to interrogate. Within another week, organized resistance had faded and there were only a small handful of holdouts trying to survive in the jungle.

The fate of the surviving officers and soldiers would be determined by Federation tribunals, but for all except the senior officers, these tribunals tended to be lenient if the survivors would pledge loyalty to the Federation.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sgt Kronkit returned to assume leadership of 3rd Squad and Cpl Stephen went back to running the squad's 1st fire team. Two weeks passed as the platoon had some clean-up duties, ran a few patrols looking for stragglers and generally prepared to leave Quintel 3. Gear and armor were packed in preparation for leaving. LCpl Jessica Vuong returned from medical, healed from her abdominal wound. The loss of Mary was still painful to Stephen, the Fab Four and the squad as a whole, but they were kept busy by LT Hunter and time slowly scabbed over the wound.

Soon enough, the platoon boarded the two drop boats waiting on them and made their way onto the TF McCain, the Navy cruiser that had originally brought them to Quintel 3. As they stepped off the boat, they saluted the Federation flag pinned to one bulkhead within the boat bay, and requested permission to come aboard. This was granted by a Navy Petty Officer who was manning the McCain's quarterdeck.

SSgt Kerwalski gathered all the Marines together.

"Marines, here's the plan of the day. Conduct pre-deployment maintenance on all weapons, armor and gear. Then stow such gear in their designated spaces. Once complete, stow your personal gear in your assigned berthing compartment. You have four hours to complete these tasks. Chow is at 1630 (4:30pm). We have been authorized to start our post-mission party once chow is complete." There was a cheer from the Marines. "Squad leaders, get your Marines moving, then come see me."

Sgt Kronkit caught Stephen, Bronson and Lopez by the eye. "You heard the man, turn to."

"Aye Sergeant!"

The chores were soon done and the Marines began to head to the showers to clean up and begin the festivities. Cpl Stephen was one of the last Marines in the armory, helping Watanabe with her gear.

"Cpl Stephen."

Stephen sprang to his feet to face LT Hunter. "Yes, ma'am? How can I help you?"

"I can't start to clean up until everyone is out of here. So put that together and turn it in." She made a shooing motion at the two Marines. "From experience, I know that you have it spotless."

Stephen laughed, "Yes, ma'am! We'll turn it in now." Watanabe finished assembling her rifle, then took it to the armory's window. The rifle was accepted and with a wave, Watanabe headed to the showers.

Stephen turned to see LT Hunter standing there, regarding him with a twisted smile.

"Ma'am? Is there anything else?"

She took a half-step towards him, "The Corps is always stingy with awards and I believe that you deserve some recognition for what you did. I reviewed the tactical tapes of your last two actions and what you did after you assumed command of the squad were direct reasons for your squad winning those fights."

Stephen could only stutter, "Err... ma'am?"

Hunter smiled at his confusion, "I think you deserve a reward for your actions. And I'm it!"

"Ma'am?"

"Claudius, the party has already started. Call me Joanna."

She closed the final foot between them and pulled a bemused Stephen into her arms. She reached up and pulled his head down. Their lips met with a passionate kiss, one that could only be found between those who had fought and bled together.

Stephen grabbed Joanna by both asscheeks and began to massage them through her uniform. She responded by rubbing her chest against him. When they broke for air, she smiled coyly at him and began to undo the front seam of his blouse. She shook her chest at him and Stephen took the hint, working on her uniform blouse. Both were discarded, followed by their trousers and undergarments.

Stephen stepped back and whistled. "Joanna. Ma'am, forgive me, but you are fuckin' hot!"

Joanna preened, cocking a hip and twisting about one leg. She performed a quick pirouette, giving him a look at her full body. She had two perfect rounded globes on her ass. Not too big, but perfectly formed from strenuous exercise and fieldwork. Her breasts were full and perky, with small areolas and small, but erect nipples. The fur covering her mons was neatly trimmed, exposing her shaven, full labia.

As he stared at her, he felt himself beginning to stiffen. Joanna closed the distance between them, pulling him down for another kiss while she fondled his cock to its full hardness.

"Hmmm, Stephen, you have a nice big cock and I'm looking forward to it filling me up!"

She backed him up to the edge of a bench, then gently pressed him down until he was laying on it, his feet straddling each side. She knelt between his knees, then took a loving lick of his crown, causing his breath to hitch. She engulfed his cock, swirling her tongue around his tip. She slowly took him deeper as he moaned in pleasure. She looked up his body, meeting his eyes. He promised himself to never forget the sight of his platoon commander sucking on his dick. She released his cock with a pop, then straddled his hips. She rested her labia on his straining member, then began to rub her lips up and down his length. Her breath caught as she stroked her clit on his crown.

Stephen arched his back, lifting the tip of his cock off of his abdomen. Joanna shifted up, his cockhead plowing through her slick lips. He found her entrance and she shifted to notch him inside of her. She slowly pushed back as he split her folds. Joanna's head dropped, her hair tickling Stephen's face as she concentrated on moving back and forth until he was fully seated inside her, her ass against his thighs.

"Finally," she murmured. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time!"

"Oh?" he murmured.

"Yes, ever since you waited until I disrobed after Quieztl 5, I've wanted your seed inside my pussy."

Joanna began to pick up her pace, raising and dropping her hips over him. Stephen could see where his cock appeared and disappeared into her hot, tight velvety tunnel. As she began to pant in arousal, Stephen reached between them to tweak her clit, rubbing it in time with their motion. As his need grew, he began to thrust up into her, meeting her downward drive. As she peaked, he gave her clit a light pinch and she came, screaming her pleasure. As she squeezed him with her internal muscles, he shot his seed into her womb.

She collapsed onto him, sweat pouring down her face.

"God damn, Claudius, that was good. I'm kicking myself right now for waiting so long. I'm claiming you for our next party as well!"

Stephen laughed, "Yes ma'am, I aim to serve!"

She shook her head at him. "Ok, I shouldn't keep you from the party. I know that Jackie and the remainder of the Fab Four want some time with you as well today." She slowly stood, his cock slipping out of her with a rude slurp.

Joanna helped him stand, then led him out of the armory and to the showers. She held his hand for a moment, but released it when they approached the shower room. Despite the party, formalities had to be observed.

Joanna proudly walked into the shower room, her and Stephen's mixed juices glistening on her thighs. A small string of semen coated her pubes, highlighting her swollen and flushed labia. It was obvious to the Marines watching her enter the showers that she had just been fucked and fucked well. The fuckee was just as obvious as Stephen strode into the showers right behind her, his cock coated with her juices.

No one said anything as they walked in, although a few Marines fist-bumped each other in the back of the showers. The showers were an open room with shower heads lining the bulkheads (walls on a Navy ship) and three upright posts down the middle with a cluster of three showerheads each.

A squeal of delight cut through the noise of the showers and the moans of Marines in the throes of passion. Captain Samantha Tovington raised her arms in welcome and descended on Joanna.

"Sam!" called out Joanna as they embraced. They moved arm and arm deeper into the showers.

Stephen could hear them talking. "I need a shower."

"I know! It looks like you need a good scrubbing, inside and out as some STUD left ya a little dirty."

They giggled as they found an unoccupied showerhead. Sam reached between Joanna's legs, pushing two fingers up into her. Joanna moaned as Sam scooped out a blob of semen, brought it up for inspection and then licked it off of her fingers.

Stephen was distracted when Jackie crashed into him, wrapping him up in a hug. She was followed by Jessica Vuong and Annie McMaster. They held one another for a few minutes, wrapped in their grief for the missing member of the Fab Four.

"She really liked you a lot, you know."

"Yeah, Mary was something special. I wish I could have gotten to know her as well as you guys did."

Jessica laughed, "Yeah, but all she could talk about was sampling your dick."

The four traded a few stories about Mary until they were all laughing.

Eventually, Jackie gave Stephen a gentle shove, "You need to get cleaned up. You smell of pussy juice and it didn't come from one of our's."

Stephen leaned forward and whispered, "It was a pretty damn fine pussy though. Hot, wet and moist."

"You cad! Now come on, get clean so we can have some more fun."

Stephen followed Jackie deeper into the shower, finding a spot near a bulkhead showerhead. He was surprised to see Sgt Janice Thomas, the 1st Squad Leader, in the middle of a shower space being made airtight by three other Marines. Another 1st Squad female was sandwiched between two standing Marines as they filled both of her nether holes. Between the two of them, they had almost half of the 1st Squad's male Marines occupied.

Annie pulled his attention back to the group by enveloping him in another hug and bringing him in for a soul searing kiss. As he kissed her, he could feel Jackie (it had to be Jackie by the size of her breasts) behind him, rubbing her titties on his back while she soaped up his cock and belly. Another set of hands joined in, rubbing soap on any available patch of skin. Annie stepped back, grabbed some shampoo and began to work it into his hair. Between the three girls, he was soon clean. He made sure that they were clean too, inside and out.

"I want your cock!" Jackie was shooting Stephen a sultry look that demanded, Fuck me now!

"Me too!" echoed Annie and Jessica.

Stephen never got further than, "How...?"

Jessica simply turned around, leaned forward, put two hands on the bulkhead (wall in Navy slang), then pushed her ass back towards Stephen. Her chest was almost horizontal, causing her breasts to dangle beneath her enticingly. She was of Vietnamese ancestry, standing shorter than the other ladies and her chest was likewise smaller, but Stephen appreciated the entire, tight package. She had spread her legs somewhat and her pussy peaked out between her firm ass cheeks. Jackie and Annie took the same position on either side of her.

"Fuck us!" called out Annie. She wiggled her ass at Stephen while running a finger through her slit. Stephen stepped behind Jessica and fisted his cock, running the tip through her moist labia. He snorted when Jackie reached over and pulled at one of Jessica's ass cheeks. Annie did the same on the other side and Jessica was spread, in all her glory, in front of him. Her prominent mound was splayed open, her inner lips on display surrounding her pink.

Stephen had to take a taste of the delectable morsel in front of him, so he took a knee behind Jessica and blew gently on her quim. Jessica wasn't expecting that and started in surprise. She sighed when he ran his tongue through her folds, then moaned when he circled her clit with his tongue. He worked her for a couple of minutes, only pausing when she began to push back and beg him to fuck her.

"No, no. Only good girls get to cum." Jessica shook her head 'No'. "Then you get punished!" The crack of his cupped hand on her ass was loud, cutting through the noise of the showers. She howled, mostly in surprise. Stephen smacked her other ass cheek, then shuffled behind Annie.

"Are you a good girl, Annie?" She frantically nodded her head.

"Yes, I'm a good girl."

"That's good because good girls don't do naughty, dirty things."

Stephen took a light lick across Annie's rosebud, causing her to clench her asscheeks in alarm.

"Stephen, not my..." she stuttered.

Stephen rimmed her crinkled hole, causing Annie to lapse into silence as she felt the unusual sensation overwhelm her.

"Oh! Stephen, you shouldn't..."

Stephen pushed his tongue into her ass and she fell silent again, unable to complete the thought as the unfamiliar, but oh so good feeling of something silky soft pushed into her ass. He lightly rubbed her clit and she started to buck under him. Sensing she was getting close, he backed off, causing her to moan in disappointment.

"Please, Stephen, I'm so close!"

He chuckled as he slid behind Jackie. Annie was still bitching, "Goddammit Stephen! Come back here and fuck me you dickhead! Fuckin' tease. I'm going to find another cock."

A nearby Marine heard her and took a hopeful step towards the group. She gave him a small shake of her head and he grinned back at her as he turned to look for another partner.

Stephen worked Jackie over with his tongue until she was mewling her pleasure. She cried out in disappointment when he left her hanging to slide behind Jessica.

"About time! Now stick your cock in me and fuck me! I've been a bad girl and you need to punish me!" Stephen smacked her ass with his cupped hand, then notched his tip at her entrance and began to push into her. Jessica arched her back as she felt him push into her tunnel. She thrust her hips back as Stephen sank his shaft deeply into her and she cried out in pleasure as she felt him touching her cervix. Taking her by the hips, he fucked her hard while Annie and Jackie turned to worked her over. Annie teased and gently tugged at her nipples while Jackie rubbed her clit, massaging its hood and running circles around it. Overwhelmed by all the different sensations, Jessica screamed as she came, shaking so strongly that Stephen's cock fell out of her cunt. She fell to her knees and then curled up against the wall, still shaking from the tremors running through her body.

A Marine called across the showers, "Goddamn Stephen, that's the way to give it to her!"

Stephen waved to the Marine over his shoulder, then moved behind Annie, who had resumed her 'fuck me' position. She looked over her shoulder at him and wiggled her ass, "Come on, big boy! I want that cock! I want what you gave Jessica!"

She reached back and pulled her ass cheeks apart, exposing herself like Jessica had been exposed, a hint of her hole peeking through her glistening folds. Still slick with Jessica's juices, he slowly sunk his cock into her warm, enticing center. She hummed to herself as he filled her, grunting softly when he bottomed out.

"Oh yeah, lover, now fuck me!" Stephen obliged her, his hips smacking into her ass with each stroke. They were both surprised when Jackie went to her knees below Annie and began to lick at the junction where Stephen's cock pierced Annie's pussy. They both gasped in shock at the sensation and Stephen stopped stroking for a moment while he savored the feeling of Jackie's tongue on his shaft and balls. Annie started to thrust back at him in frustration, not wanting him to stop. He took the hint and began to piston into her again. Annie loved the dual sensation of a hard cock plundering her pussy and a girl's tongue working her clit like only a girl could eat pussy. Her arousal rapidly built and she was soon crying out in rapture, quivering through the orgasm that sent waves of pleasure through her entire body. Her knees weak, Stephen slipped out of her still quivering tunnel as she knelt in front of Jackie. They began to kiss deeply as Stephen watched. They finally broke for air and Annie moved to cuddle up next to Jessica and they both watched Jackie stand and embrace Stephen.

"Hey big boy, it's my turn now. I want what you gave Annie and Jessica, pound my pussy and make me a quivering wreck." She went in for a deep kiss and rubbed her mons against his ragingly hard cock. "I don't know how you've kept from blowing your load in either Jessica or Annie, but I want it. I want you to fill me up!"

"Hmmm, that I can do and I can pound your pussy all night long." He looked over her shoulder at Annie and Jessica, who were still cuddled together, leaning against the shower wall. "But I'm gonna need some help from you two. As much as I'd like to take full credit, I know that y'all have been the ones to help bring each other to those knee rattling orgasms."

Jessica looked at Annie, "Oh yeah, we'll help you fuck her. I want to see her cumming hard around your cock."

Jackie stepped back from Stephen, then turned and bent over, presenting her ass and pussy for his inspection as she put her hands on the shower wall. He took a moment to admire her firm, yet full ass in all its glory. He had fond memories of this ass and the few times he was able to plunder the pussy nestled between those glorious ass cheeks. He was regretful that he wasn't able to see this more often and for the fraternization rules that kept them from exploring an emotional relationship beyond their professional one. Off-duty they were good friends, but he had been keeping her at a certain arms distance and knew that she was doing the same. If something more were to develop between the two of them and leadership found out, they would face possible legal trouble and one of them would almost certainly get transferred out of the platoon and into an entirely different unit. (At that point, they'd be free to continue the relationship, but distance issues would always prove to be a problem.) He sighed to himself as the thoughts raced through his mind.

Jackie wiggled her ass at him impatiently, then looked over her shoulder to see him lost in thought. She surprised him when she stood and embraced him, "Hey Stephen, you were a million miles away. What's running through that thick head of yours?"

He smiled down at her, "Just thinking about 'what might be'."

She knew instinctively what he was thinking and she molded herself even closer to him and laid her head on his chest. He heard her whisper, "I know. I'd like something more too, but now isn't the time. When this tour is up, maybe we'll get stationed near each other and we can explore something deeper." A tear rolled down her cheek. Jessica and Annie knew that the two were sharing something beyond the orgy, but seeing their leader in distress, they both stood and wrapped themselves around Stephen and Jackie. The four stood there for a few minutes until Jackie brought Stephen's head down for another searing kiss.

"Ok ladies, enough of the maudlin shit. I want Claudius here," he grimaced when she used his first name, "to blow a huge load inside of me and I want the two of you to help him blow my mind."

There was a chorus of 'Ok's' as Jackie led Stephen out of the shower and into the attached locker room. She found an empty bench and pushed Stephen down, still dripping wet, to lay on his back. He smiled to himself, thinking of the encounter with LT Hunter where he was in the same position, on his back on a bench.

Annie knelt next to him and took his cock into her mouth. She almost immediately popped up, "I've never sucked on a dick that's been in all three of us before."

Stephen mouthed Four.

"Oh shit! I got some of the L-T's juices. That's fucking awesome!"

Jackie pulled her into a deep kiss, "Hmmm, that is a tasty concoction!"

Jessica just laughed at the two of them. When they looked at her expectantly and leaned forward for a kiss, she shook her head. "Yeah, that'll be a 'No' for me."

Jackie and Annie just shrugged. Annie went back to worshipping Stephen's erect member while Jackie settled her swollen, dripping sex onto his face. He obediently began to tease and lick at her crease, but she was too worked up and pressed her labia down onto his face. She was sitting in such a way that she could look down and make eye contact with Stephen.

Jackie placed her hands on either side of his head, then said, "I'm going to ride your face. I'm too worked up for that teasing shit you like to do, so I'm gonna rub my pussy all over your nose and chin and just fuck your face until I'm ready to sink down on your cock. Just stick your tongue out and I'll put it where I need it." And she did.

When she was ready, Jackie slid back until his cock split her folds, she rocked back and forth on it, using his tip to rub her little erect, center of delight. When Jackie began to whimper in pleasure, Annie took his cock and angled it slightly up and Jackie slid back a little more until he was completely docked inside her cunt. Jackie leaned forward to dangle her ample tits against Stephen's chest, then ground her mound against him.

"Gods yes, this feels good!" Stephen could only grunt in reply.

Jackie switched to sliding up and down Stephen's pole, grinding slightly on each downstroke. Jessica caressed her breasts, teasing and pinching Jackie's nipples. Annie had her right hand around the base of Stephen's cock, where it impaled Jackie. She had the hand laying flat to tease Jackie's folds every time she bottomed out on Stephen. Her other hand worked Jackie's clit. Jackie slammed herself down on Stephen and began to shake and cry out as her orgasm took her. Jessica pinched and pulled on both nipples, but it was Annie's right hand, brought up to spear Jackie's anus with a rigid finger, that sent Jackie to the moon. She screamed, then passed out on top of Stephen as he filled her womb with his seed.

"Goddamn!" exclaimed Sgt Thomas as she walked by the foursome. "I think you killed her. I think I might need to play with you all during our next party."

Stephen gently stroked Jackie's back until she roused. "Oh fuck. What happened?"

Annie laughed, "You passed out when you came! It was awesome. You screamed and shook and then lights out!"

Jackie just groaned.

"Ok, let's all get cleaned up and then we can get some rest."

The girls all agreed with Stephen and they all slowly made their way back to the showers, where the party was winding down. Once they were clean, they made their way back to their berthing spaces. Jessica and Annie waved to Stephen and Jackie as they peeled off to the general berthing area reserved for the non-rates (Marines below the rank of Corporal.) Jackie led Stephen by the hand to her four person berthing space she shared with three other Corporals. They both squeezed into the one person rack. It was a tight fit, but Jackie half-layed on Stephen and they made it work. He again idly stroked her back.

"Jackie?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She raised her head to look at him. "Why are you thanking me?"

"Oh, I don't know."

She humphed. "Guys. Now give."

He sighed, "Thank you for picking me up when Becky died and then taking me in."

Jackie shifted until she was leaning over him, arms supporting her while her hair and chest brushed up against him. "There's no need to thank me. You were hurting and we needed you to be functional. You're pretty much the backbone of the squad and you always get what needs to be done, done. Plus you treat your Marines and everyone else with respect and take the time to take care of those who need help. And you're just a good guy. Finally, you gotta nice cock and know how to use it!"

Stephen was blushing by this point and made a dismissing noise.

"Oh no you don't. You don't get to make light of this." Jackie leaned in to kiss Stephen. "If my pussy wasn't so sore from the pounding you gave me, I'd say thank you again.

"Just know that we all care for you and we've all got your back."

"Thanks, Jackie. That means a lot to me."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LT Joanna Hunter and Capt Samantha Tovington were cuddled in Tovington's state room. The bed wasn't any bigger than Jackie's, so they were intertwined on their sides and facing each other.

"So, Joanna... you and Cpl Stephen?"

"What? No!"

"Ha! I can feel you blushing in the dark. C'mon, you walked into the showers, your pussy swollen from the pounding he gave you while his cum dripped down your thighs. You were making a statement to everyone."

"No! I..."

Samantha laughed. "Deny it all you want. Maybe you didn't consciously mean to make a statement, but you sure as hell did."

"I.... shit."

Sam tapped Joanna on the nose, "Just be careful. These types of relationships never turn out well and there are almost always lots of tears in the end."

Joanna sighed, "I know. There's definitely an attraction there and I think he feels it too, but there aren't any feelings involved..."

"Yet."

"... and I won't let it grow stronger or go anywhere."

"Ok, good. I'll help keep you distracted."

Sam slithered a hand between them and down to the juncture of Joanna's thighs. She slipped a finger between them and found Joanna's lips, slippery with her arousal. She gently teased her clit, causing Joanna to moan and pump her hips.

As she moaned, she managed to say, "And he fucked you too... oh... and you... ugh... seemed to really enjoy it too!"

"He does have some talents! I can't wait to see what he does next."

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Cpl Stephen and the Terran Marines will return. I've run through my initial story plots and while I do have some ideas in mind (liberty on an exotic planet, ship to ship boarding action), I'd welcome any suggestions as to where you may want to see this go.

Comments, votes and feedback are always appreciated!