You Forgot Poland

[Cassie Granger 0]

If I could find assurance to leave you behind,

I know my better half would fade.

And all my doubt is a staircase for you

Up and out of this maze.

The first step is the one you believe in;

The second one might be profound.

.

I’ll follow you down through the eye of the storm;

Don’t worry I’ll keep you warm.

I’ll follow you down while we’re passing through space;

Don’t care if we fall from grace,

I’ll follow you down.

 

 

 

 

You Forgot Poland

A Calestorm-Silver-Granger Log

 

The meeting ended on discord, with the skipper essentially saying, “If you don't like it, go back to the ship." Well, maybe not in so many words, but making the mission voluntary amounted to approximately the same thing.

 

Of their shore party’s joint protection detail, Yamanaka voiced her desire to volunteer first and Gage didn't look pleased as the numbers increased. Leaving LCPL Tasha Hammond, one of the team’s best field medics, tending to Lieutenant Belo, Gage motioned to Cass.

 

“What’re you doing, Cass?” he asked lowly, meeting her halfway.

 

“Putting the best option on the table, Sir,” she replied in the same confidential tone. “Figure the PD is already down the drain and if we don’t want to do any more damage, covert is the best option.” Her face still flushed with the adrenaline rush of the recent operation, finger tapping on the side of her Mk11.

 

Gage stared at her with an uneasy expression, evidently at a loss as he glanced between her gaze and twitchy finger. “So you’re volunteering, Cass?”

 

Head ticked to the side, Cass shifted uneasily and waited for a few to move out of earshot before meeting his gaze straight-on. “D’you catch their expressions during the briefing, Sir? Especially Souter, Daniels, and Hammond? They were fairly droolin’ over the prospect of action. Stepped across the line right away. Hell, Hammond’s 23, Souter’s just over 21, and Daniels...” she shook her head, “...they grabbed him fresh from secondary, gave him the fast-track short-course initiated after Vulcan. Not sayin’ he’s not capable, but he’s... he’s just 20.... I don’t agree with this... side mission... but if I don’t volunteer and the rest of the team does? I can’t let ‘em go without me.”

 

She glanced around, the damned if you do, damned if you don’t look clear. Her finger stilled and she relaxed her grip on the weapon as she took a firm stance, facing him once more.

 

“Sir, we both know it’s damn dicey putting anyone at risk without knowing the full story, and we sure as hell don’t know the full story here. That’s why I proposed covert, hoping we’d figure out what’s going on while we’re on the move.”

 

She gave a snort. “Am I afraid of dragons? No. Afraid of Count Luca and his cronies? Hell, no. Afraid of what this might turn into if we ever get back and the suits get hold of it? Damn right I am. We have serious mission creep here, and we both know how that turns out: too many lost, and courts martial for the survivors. Don’t especially relish the thought of us spending the rest of our lives in a dark hole.”

 

Having fixed his full attention on Cass and understanding her dilemma from the look on his face, Gage sighed and glanced toward Calestorm in apparent thought. He then lifted a finger and gestured for Cass to follow, his intentions undisguised as he approached their ambitious Captain for a private conversation. Whether she would be up to it remained to be seen, but at least they could try.

 

Cass followed, but kept a respectful distance, within earshot and speaking range if need be.

 

“Skipper,” Gage greeted, “you gotta minute?”

 

Calestorm turned her attention to the askee of the question. “Watcha got, Quick?”

 

“Need to discuss this side-mission, sir.”

 

The Captain silently acknowledged the request; they moved into a small office set off the main conference room; intended for guests, it was a perfect size. The entry door, made of a local wood and carved tastefully, was left slightly ajar, but no one would disturb them.

 

Always to the point, she didn’t hesitate. “Lay it on me, what’s on yer mind?”

 

“Well, sir, not gonna get another argument from me on the P-D; moot point, given they’ve had the tech for awhile,” Gage began and then fixed a grim look on Calestorm. “But with all due respect, skipper, we’re still strangers here. And you’ve known Phalen for what? The better part of 45 minutes? We’ve barely touched the sociopolitical landscape on this block, much less the planet.

 

“Say we’re wrong. What happens when we destabilize the region? Luca’s friends retaliate or the dictator next door that Luca held off for years moves in after we leave. Or, maybe, we’ve just removed the last thing standing between Phalen the Conqueror and the next Grayson Reich. How do we know today’s attack wasn’t the Doolittle Raid over Japan after Pearl Harbor?

 

“Consider your reaction if you’d stumbled into Yokohama that afternoon,” he continued unabated. “Forget what you know about World War II. Bombs’re dropping, ground shaking. You talk to frightened, propagandized Japanese that studied in grade school how US Commodore Perry forced his way into their country a hundred years earlier. Is it remotely possible that you’d believe the US was the aggressor?

 

“What makes you confident that we’re committing our forces to the right people or should be committing at all?”

 

Calestorm considered her response, looking from the CSEC to the Marine and back, before directing her answer to both officers but more so to Quick. “It ain’t a perfect situation, tactical or otherwise. Yes, we may very well be helping out the quote bad guys. But then again, if you do have a perfect situation, isn’t that a sign to run like hell?”

 

She blew a breath out through her nose and then continued. “I believe what Defender Phalen has told me. The Graysons are in need of help against Count Luca. We’re able to provide that help. That’s what we do.”

 

“Don’t have to beat the drum, sir,” Gage firmly but courteously returned. “I get it. Think everyone wants to give a damn; right the universe. But frankly, sir, you’re going off half-cocked. We’re off mission, bound for disaster; and you’ve put your crew in a bad spot, if not potentially alienated a lot of them. Shaken their faith in your decision-making paradigm. What would you do if no one supported you, sir; do it alone?

 

“No one wants to question you, but this isn’t why we came here. This isn’t our fight and there’ll be a price to pay if we get involved.”

 

“We’re not afraid to make sacrifices, skipper; it’s part of who we are. But whether we join you under orders or our personal cognizance, we’re liable for what happens here. We’ve an ethical duty to question the unlawful actions of our superiors and peers. We took oaths to uphold our laws and standing orders. To do the right thing morally and legally. What good’s an oath you can’t keep?” Gage shook his head, rubbing his chin.

 

“No, skipper, it’s more than that. Not just our careers and lives on the line: it’s their lives,” he said, pointing at the window. “They didn’t sign up for this. We incite a greater conflict with Luca and there will be casualties; not all of them ours. They’ll have to live with the result; not us. Don’t need us to make it worse with good intentions.

 

“And what happens at the next Grayson? Can we fix every socio-political mess? How many times will we try before things really get screwed up?” Gage shifted a few paces to the left as he shook his head again.

 

“Don’t expect a perfect situation, skipper. Expect my CO to use more than her gut. Expect a bit of objectivity and sound judgment and I’m not convinced I’m seeing it. With due respect, if we're gonna do this, committing on more than a 45-minute chat and a simple conviction would’ve been a good start.”

 

“As for me being in or out: I won’t abandon my team. We’ll provide overwatch ashore and get you out if it goes sideways. Just want to know one thing: Is it personal? We jumping in knowing next to nothing because they rained on your parade or conjured up some ghost from your past?”

 

Crash quieted, her gaze wandering to the medium-sized clear and stained glass office window ; after a few moments, she returned her attention to Silver.

 

“That backup’ll be ‘preciated. With regard to putting the crew on the spot? It’s their job. The decision to assist Grayson remains mine and I’ll ask for volunteers. I’ll make that decision perfectly clear should there be any Board of Inquiry from the Brass.”

 

“As for the Graysons themselves not asking for any of this....I’d say ‘It’s already here...’” she mentally revisited the image of the elder black dragon belching acid, then went on.

 

“Not that my personal background or quirks is really anyone’s business, I can say this: If I went around talking to all the ghosts from my past I’d either be flat out crazy by now or I’d be at the Leavenworth penal colony.” She quieted again, but didn’t elaborate on the cryptic statement and instead answered the main question with, “I trust the Defender. My gut reaction’ll have to be sufficient for everyone.”

 

“We’re staying for at least the next few weeks. We’ll be working with the Graysons, learning more about their culture, historical background, defenses and weakness. We can use that diplomacy as a cover to allow SEC and the MARDET to recon the outlying areas. We question the populace, gather Intel on what Count Luca - and the Graysons - have really been up to.”

 

Gage tipped his head with obvious resignation and some dismay. “Hope you’re damn sure about this, skipper. We may end up doing a lot more harm than good and once the ball’s rolling, we won’t be able to stop it.”

.

If I could find assurance to leave you behind,

I know my better half would fade.

I’ll follow you down.