Eric Spears

“You are mediocre,” the colonel said, glaring at Eric. “Common, plain, average, ordinary, unexceptional, monotonous, boring, unvaried, dreary, dull, tiresome, and completely mediocre.”

Eric stood at attention in the Colonel’s office, his eyes locked on the display behind the colonel. It was a scene of deep space, Eric wasn’t sure what constellation it was, maybe it was from Han space. The Colonel had the same dark eyebrows, sharp nose, short brown hair that was almost black and piercing eyes that Eric did. Side by side one would quickly notice the family resemblance. Most people would assumed they were brothers since the Colonel preferred to keep a younger appearance, but they would be mistaken. Looking into the Colonel’s eyes the looker would be quick to turn away. There was death there. Hard decisions had turned his gaze into a weapon that most people would not stand against. Eric’s eyes still held their innocence despite over two decades in the peace time Marines.

“I’m sorry sir,” Eric said, doing his best to hide how devastating the colonel was being.

“As my nephew I expect great things from you,” the Colonel continued, sitting down as he stared up at Eric.

“Yes sir,” Eric said, it seemed to be the safest response.

“When your father died I tried to fill his shoes,” the Colonel said. “Those were big shoes to fill. Apparently I failed.”

Eric remained silent. Why couldn’t his uncle get to the point? He loved his uncle but sometimes his uncle was too much of a Marine officer, and if Eric had to guess he would say his uncle liked to talk. Either that or his uncle didn’t think he was getting through to Eric and more words might. Other people had told Eric that his war hero uncle was a man of few words. Maybe he just saved them to browbeat Eric with.

The colonel was silent for a long time as he turned his gaze to the display on his desk. Eric couldn’t see what it said but the colonel had not dismissed him or taken off his jacket to indicate informality.

“Your grandfather is not happy either,” the Colonel said looking back up at Eric.

Maybe the colonel didn’t see Eric wince. Maybe. Had the Colonel been reading a message from General Spears?

“I’m sorry,” the Colonel said more softly. “I don’t know what I can do differently.”

Remaining silent, Eric thought of and discarded several responses. Perhaps silence was the best option. First the sledge hammer to knock him off balance, then a story about how the great hero Colonel Spears had failed in a critical mission to raise his young nephew as a productive member of Republic society. Lay on the guilt in multiple layers.

“It is hard to excel when we are at war, but there is no real fighting,” the Colonel said. “For Marines at any rate. This cold war is difficult to deal with I know.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said. That sounded safe enough. The Colonel was not giving him an out, he was just setting him up for a fall.

“You have been a Marine for almost twenty five years,” the Colonel said glancing at his screen. Eric wanted to roll his eyes. The Colonel knew that, had been trying to guide his career since before he enlisted. “Fifteen years in the Fleet Marine Force, ten with Fleet Security Force aboard the Goshhawk and Falcon, then five years aboard Station Marine Security Force on the Lee Point.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said. The Colonel knew this. Was it necessary to drag it out?

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” the Colonel said. “Common.”

Eric remained silent.

“We have been at war for several years,” the Colonel said. “A cold war agreed, but still a war.”

So far it had only been fleet operations. The Union of Enlightenment sent raiders to launch missiles at the Leonis Republic facilities and the Leonis Republic had done the same. Everything at long range and outside of home systems. The last UE’s who tried a serious attack had been hunted down and destroyed before they could escape. Three cruisers, when the UE probably had over a hundred of them. The UE’s were also raiding Republic ships that traveled to others empires for trade. The most recent ship they had captured had been the Hopalong, a merchant ship. The execution of the crew had been televised. The UE had claimed all the crew were spies and saboteurs. Enemy combatants that did not wear a uniform and as such could be executed as spies. The Union of Enlightenment demanded the Leonis Republic capitulate and pay tribute, or surrender.

The Union of Enlightenment wanted a fight. After the Han War the Leonis Republic did not.

“The Reaper has been re-activated,” the Colonel finally said, his voice monotone. Eric didn’t know if his uncle was happy, or sad.

Eric dared to glance at his uncle. His uncle had been the senior Marine aboard the LRS Reaper at the time and the LRS Reaper had been instrumental in forcing the Han Empire to sue for peace. His uncle rarely spoke of it and never provided details.

“Major Paternoster will command the Marine detachment aboard the Reaper,” the Colonel said.

“Are they allowing volunteers sir?” Eric asked.

“Yes,” the Colonel said, his eyes narrowing as his eyes locked on Eric again. “But you aren’t qualified. I will also block any of your attempts.”

Eric maintained discipline, hoping his surprise did not show. Why?

“I don’t want you aboard the Reaper,” the Colonel said. “Besides, I doubt you can get the proper certifications in time.”

“Sir, you just told me how mediocre I am, then you told me that I cannot excel without real combat,” Eric said and took a deep breath. There were times his uncle refused to get to the point. “What does the colonel recommend?”

The Colonel sighed.

“I’ll send you a couple certifications to acquire,” Colonel Spears said. “Ace them and I can get you a berth on another ship heading toward UE space.”

“We are sending another ship, sir?” Eric asked.

“That is classified,” the Colonel said. “You don’t know about it. I never said anything about that. You are just jumping to conclusions. Don’t do that.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said, now curious. Another deep space raider like the Reaper?

“There is a lot I’m not telling you,” the Colonel said. “Don’t speculate with your buddies. I mean that. This is classified and I will rip your lungs out if I hear you breathed a hint of this anywhere.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said. He didn’t have buddies to speculate with. He was new to Charlie company, first battalion, fourteenth regiment. He had never fit in and now, after over twenty years, Eric realized he never would.

“There is also talk about bringing the enlisted ranks back and expanding my Marine Corps,” the Colonel said. Which was another surprise.

“We have been at war for almost five years and now they are talking about expanding, sir?” Eric asked. Right now there were only three types of enlisted ranks and they tended to be flexible. Modern Marine operations were less about teamwork than in previous times. Leonis Republic Marine operations tended to be very specialized and the officers would have a pool of Marines and assign them to different tasks. One operation might require more shooters but other operations might require more drone operators. Most Marine units had designated senior Marines and then regular commandos. Recruits were first tour Marines. The only reason for ranks these days was administrative, if that.

“The Han war lasted twenty one years,” the Colonel said. “The Republic doesn’t want to fight another long war. This tit for tat with the UE’s is only going to escalate. It has not been announced publicly but the UE has also declared war on the Confederacy.”

“Are they crazy sir?” Eric asked. Was the UE stupid enough to fight two wars? The Confederacy wasn’t known for having an effective military but they could still field one.

The Colonel shook his head.

“They might be desperate,” the Colonel said. “They need an enemy pushing them hard. The Intel weenies think it is because their culture needs an outlet. Their citizens are nothing more than slaves. Keeping people scared and working for survival is one of the best ways to control a people. The UE has other problems as well, social problems, every world, every colony is experiencing social unrest. Like socialist states throughout history, the Union of Enlightenment is failing and that scares their ruling elites, pushing them to make stupid choices. Other elites see this as a great chance to start looting and accumulating power and resources.”

“But to start two wars, sir?” Eric said.

The colonel grimaced.

“They are also talking about manifest destiny,” the Colonel said. “Garbage about their destiny to free the slaves of the Confederacy mega-corporations and the corporations of the Leonis Republic.”

Eric did his best to remain silent and not roll his eyes. It wasn’t easy.

“The Leonis Republic does not want to play,” the Colonel said. “We learned many lessons during the Han war, and after. We need to get to the punch line of the joke of a war sooner rather than later.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said.

“Do you want to be mediocre?” the Colonel asked.

“No sir,” Eric said.

“You could have retired with full honors after twenty years,” the Colonel said.

“Yes sir,” Eric said. It was a sore spot with him.

“Why haven’t you?” the Colonel asked. “Are you going to wait until forced retirement at forty?”

“No sir,” Eric said. They had not spoken about it but Eric thought it had been obvious.

“You think you can earn cadre status?” the Colonel asked, an edge in his voice.

“Yes sir,” Eric said. He mostly believed it. Standing here, looking at the Colonel made that goal seem far away.

“You are too average,” the Colonel said. “I wouldn’t recommend you.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said, his uncle was good at kicking below the belt.

“Neither would General Spears,” the Colonel said bringing Eric’s grandfather into it.

This time Eric wasn’t able to mask his wince and from the corner of his eyes he saw the Colonel’s eyes squint as he looked more closely at Eric. The Colonel had noticed.

The Colonel leaned back in his chair.

“You spend too much time trying to adhere to regulations,” the Colonel said. “Any bumbling moron can learn and spout regulations and doctrine. Most commanders prefer mediocre and normal because that is predictable.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said. Which wasn’t fair. Tradition, regulations and doctrine were the hallmark of the Marines. Marines who didn’t follow doctrine, Marines who thought outside the box, were discouraged. The Leonis Republic Marines had a very long, very proud, very illustrious history. All the tactics and techniques were battle tested and proven. Professionals were predictable but the world was full of amateurs and the Leonis Republic Marine Corps was one of the most professional forces known.

“Do you remember your history of the seventeen and eighteen hundreds?” the Colonel asked.

“Yes sir,” Eric said, although he wasn’t sure what the Colonel was after.

“The armies of that time were locked into tradition,” the Colonel said. “They wore bright uniforms, they drilled constantly, battles were like chess games,” the Colonel said. Eric remained silent. He didn’t want to argue with the Colonel.

“Those professional armies could generally slaughter anyone less professional in a fight,” the Colonel said. “Discipline and training was obvious and telling.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said.

“They got their asses kicked by a bunch of colonials,” the Colonel said. “Rednecks who hit and ran, didn’t play by the rules.”

Eric didn’t want to argue, the Colonel had some point to make.

“The colonials put together an army,” the Colonel said. “They fought some set piece battles. The got mauled more often than not. They won militarily, but not because of their superior skill and training.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said. He would have to go back and check.

“My point is this,” the Colonel said. “All throughout history people train to fight the last war. We can’t afford to do that. The Leonis Republic is gearing up to fight the last war against the Han. We are going to send raiders at the Union of Enlightenment though. We aren’t going to play their game, but they aren’t idiots. They watched our war with the Han. They know what is coming. War is an election where the enemy gets a vote too. We can’t be predictable. The Union of Enlightenment is over five billion human beings. They have one fully terraformed world and are terraforming others. The Leonis Republic is under six hundred million. We are outnumbered hundreds to one. Not as bad as the Han Empire, but the Union of Enlightenment thinks they can win, otherwise they wouldn’t pick a fight. Time really is on their side. They are gearing up their industry. Given time they will overrun us and grind us down. For every ship we lose, they can lose a hundred. We will run out long before they do.”

“But we beat the Han sir,” Eric said. They had outnumbered the Republic even worse.

The Colonel nodded and stared at Eric.

“The Union of Enlightenment is different,” the Colonel said.

“How sir?” Eric asked. What was the Colonel talking about?

A cloud passed over the Colonel’s face.

“That is classified,” the Colonel said. “Maybe in time when you become cadre. Right now I can’t tell you, but the Union of Enlightenment is different. They aren’t behaving logically, or they are not paying attention.”

The Colonel cut himself off and glared at Eric.

“Your job is to get ready,” the Colonel finally said. “The shit is going to hit the fan, probably in the next couple years and the best place for you is on a deep space hunter kicking the UE’s in the teeth. That is your new goal. Cadre or not.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said wondering what the Colonel had been about to say.

The colonel stood and took off his jacket, draping it over the back of his chair.

“At ease,” the Colonel said, reaching over and flipping off his view screen. “Sit down.”

Eric relaxed and sat. The Colonel was being informal now.

“Official bullshit aside,” the Colonel said. “I want you out of this system. Everything I tell you now remains highly classified. So super classified you will forget it the second I say it.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said staring at his uncle.

“Everything,” the Colonel said locking his eyes on Eric with a glare.

“Aye, aye sir,” Eric said.

The Colonel leaned back and Eric saw a notification that this VR chamber was secure, no recording was allowed.

“Major Moore was one of my Marines on the Reaper when we conducted operations against the Han,” the Colonel said. “She is good. Maybe more on the straight and narrow than I would like, but she has a lot of potential. If things go as planned you will be under her command.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said, curious. “What is going on Uncle Mike?”

“The Senate is finally figuring out the UE’s aren’t just beating their chest, they are starting to understand the UE means to stomp us flat,” the Colonel said. “The UE’s have to build up to it, get themselves psyched, but I think we are just phase one. An excuse to gear up for war. Once they have a massive juggernaut war machine they will conquer the Leonis Republic and move onto the Confederacy. By then they might just keep going. It wouldn’t surprise me if they have plans to take on the Han Empire.”

“Why?” Eric asked.

Colonel Spears rubbed his eyes.

“They are idiots,” the Colonel said. “They think they can. Hell, maybe they need war as a social outlet, something to focus their people on, to unite them and let them imprison and kill the non-conformers. When socialism begins to fail they need someone else to blame and if they don’t do something the Union of Enlightenment is going to implode. The government is supposed to be benevolent and take care of the people. When they fail it can’t be because the ideology is flawed and they always end up blaming someone else. They have too many demanding consumers, not enough producers.”

“What makes you think the UE’s can’t be defeated like the Han, uncle?” Eric asked. If the Colonel wouldn’t tell him officially, maybe unofficially?

The Colonel shook his head.

“That is so damned classified I can’t even hint at it,” the Colonel said. “But the UE’s are different. They have a very different outlook on life, on government, on everything. They have their five year, ten year and twenty year plans and they can’t see past their polished jack boots. If they can see reason we will teach them. If they can’t, we can only kill them?”

The Colonel stared at his blank monitor.

“How’s your mom?” the Colonel asked, catching Eric by surprise with the change of subject.

“Fine,” Eric said.

“Find a girl yet?” the Colonel asked.

“No sir,” Eric said. His uncle liked sore topics, sticking the knife into his guts wasn’t enough, his uncle had to twist. He never did things halfway. Not the great hero of the Han war.

“Still pining away for that Sarah chick?” the Colonel asked with a half grin. Twist, push in deeper. Jiggle it a little bit to watch Eric squirm.

“No sir,” Eric said. “Her name was Sonya.”

He knew her name although it had been many years. These days Eric was married to the Leonis Republic Marine Corps. There would be no woman like Sonya.

“She called you average too didn’t she?” the Colonel asked. Twist the knife again and add a groin kick.

He damned well knew it, Eric thought. Sonya had been his high school crush, the woman he had wanted to marry. It was stupid. She was ambitious and Eric just hadn’t been ambitious enough for her. He hadn’t heard from her in years, which was perhaps best.

“Well. Get those certifications I told you about,” the Colonel said. “I think I can get you a slot on the next mission. Competition will be high though. I can get you a chance, you need to make damned sure you have earned it. This is not the time to be average. I really want you on that second mission, which is why I’m breaching protocol and telling you.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said.

“And stop trying to be so damned typical,” his uncle said.

Eric raised an eyebrow at his uncle.

The Colonel waved a hand at him.

“Figure something out,” the Colonel said, dismissing Eric’s look. “I have other things to worry about.”

Eric frowned.

“How is your brother?” the Colonel asked.

“Sean has a job with EnviroZen,” Eric said. “Some deep space project. I haven’t gotten all the details, sir.”

The Colonel nodded and Eric suspected he already knew. The Colonel was never good with small talk and seemed to struggle with it sometimes. Of course he was better at it than Eric was.

“Have you spoke with him lately?” the Colonel asked.

Eric shook his head. He loved his brother but conversation just wasn’t on high on his to do list.

“Talk with him while you can,” the Colonel ordered. “He will be gone on a five year stint into deep space. Then, if you are lucky, you will be as well. Maybe a ten year mission.”

“What do you know, uncle Mike?” Eric asked.

“More than I can tell you,” the Colonel said with a frown. “Tell your brother and mother you love them every chance you get.”

“Yes sir,” Eric said.

“That’s an order,” the Colonel said with a smile. Eric smiled back.

“Are you coming to dinner tonight?” Eric asked. It was a dynasty dinner. Most of the Spears dynasty would be there and his mother was hosting it. Such events didn’t happen often. The last one had been about six years ago and Eric hadn’t been able to make it because he had been on deployment.

The Colonel glanced at the blank monitor and Eric could see he didn’t want to. He was as anti-social as Eric sometimes.

“Yes,” the Colonel said. “I might be late though.”