DREADNOUGHT 2165 by A.D. Bloom Page A

your
frickin' belly button that lets you do what you didn't think you
could do. It's hate sometimes. Or love. And you always gotta reach
down deep and pull it out and find a way to give more than you knew
you could because that's the job. That's the job because not only
do they always want more than you have to give, but once they
figure out you can give it once, they'll never stop asking you to
do it. Not until you're dead. Not until so much is shot and blown
off you they can't patch it up and send you out again."
    Ram nodded. "Uh-huh." He didn't think
she'd pull this 'don't you wish you were a
Marine' crap now – not now.
    "We overcome, Ram. That's what we do."
    "Too bad we're not Marines like you."
    "Hey, you stupid, button-neck,
Privateer POG, when I said 'we overcome', I wasn't talking about
Marines. I was talking about Hardway . I was talking about your crew. Adapt
and overcome and give more than they thought they could... that's
what they've done from day
one in this war. That's Hardway's tradition, Ram. Your people made it. And today, when you ask
them for more than they know how to give, they'll live up to that
tradition and they'll find a way. Whiny bitch."
    Ram let his breath out and nodded. "That was
a nice speech. Really."
    "Hang around Harry Cozen and you'll get the
knack," she said. "One more thing."
    "What?"
    "Us Staas Company Marines want our money
back. We lost a lot when you cheated in the last skirmish."
    "We didn't cheat."
    "What do you call giving your two fighter pilots cognitive
enhancements and not giving them to ours ?"
    Ram knew what she wanted him to say. And he
was trapped. Unless he wanted to concede that all the money they'd
won in the last Marines vs. Crew skirmish was undeserved, he had to
say it was fair play: "I call it winning," he said.
    "So," she said, "If you're going to keep the
money, then you might want to think about giving Lt. Flyboy a
break. J. 'Jordo' Colt isn't the worst squadron leader I've
seen."
    "Well, you're definitely not getting your
money back," Ram said.
    "Then how about a new bet – a race to the
edge of the hull."
    "Are you giving Hardway odds?"
    "It's only fair we give Hardway odds." Lucy Elan grinned. "After all,
this is a job for Marines."
She winked at him.
    *****
    Jordo couldn't see the XO from where
he was, strapped down on the crash couch. He could hear him,
though. Everyone could hear him in their helmets. "All Ticks, all
boarding parties. This is Ram Devlin. We will drill the enemy hull
until the last moment. Then, we will set the Ticks' reactors to
self-destruct, assemble all remaining personnel around Tick #1, and
move under enemy fire to the top of this ship. On the far side of
the hull we will survive the detonations, shielded from the heat
and radiation." Ram paused. That was the easy part to say. The next
part was harder. "I know this isn't the mission you trained for. In
the final phase of this action, we'll be taking fire from three
sides. They may even close in behind us. Lucy Elan told me this is
a job only her Company Marines can do. I told her to put her money
where her mouth is. I bet every penny I had that Hardway 's people would
reach the other side of this hull before her Marines. I know you
won't let me down because I have seen the crew of this
ship rise above, time and time again to give more than you thought
you had to give. I have seen you do what nobody thought you
could. That is who you are
because that is what you
do. That is Hardway's tradition. You are the
ones that made it and you will not fail it. That is
all."

 
    Chapter
Twelve
     
    Five minutes after his big speech, the XO
stood over Jordo again, looking down at him. He said, "Can I trust
you with a rifle?"
    Jordo said, "I don't know if I'll hit
anything with it."
    "I need to know that if I untie you and give
you a rifle, you're not going to shoot at us."
    "Untie me," Jordo said. "I know who the
enemy is. I know who to fight."
    The 46 remaining marines formed themselves
into the