Sol Strike (Battlegroup Z Book 3) Daniel Gibbs (readict books .TXT) đ
- Author: Daniel Gibbs
Book online «Sol Strike (Battlegroup Z Book 3) Daniel Gibbs (readict books .TXT) đ». Author Daniel Gibbs
âOver here, Spencer,â Nishimura called out, waving him over to a table near the windows with a prime view of the void.
As he made his way through the lightly trafficked areaâthe Zvika Greengold didnât have many Marine officersâJustin took in the square-jawed men and women around him. Unlike regular line CDF soldiers, the Marines maintained far higher personal grooming standards. I donât think I wouldâve survived TCMC bootcamp. He came to a stop next to the seated major. âCaptain Justin Spencer reports as ordered, sir.â
âHa-ha. Very funny,â Nishimura quirked an eyebrow and gestured to the empty chair. âHave a seat. I took the liberty of ordering you a full breakfast. Bacon, eggs, toast, and oatmeal.â
Justin slid into the chair, eyes widening. âYouâve still got those? We ran out of bacon and eggs weeks ago.â
Nishimuraâs eyes twinkled. âMarine quartermasters are wily beasts. I wouldnât be surprised if they hadnât snuck a few chickens aboard.â
âIâm sorry I was beating up the equipment, Major. Itâs been a rough few months.â
âYou made that obvious.â Nishimura took a sip of coffee. âMy only reason for asking you here is to lend an ear. I know from personal experience how hard it is to open up to those around me, and combat is a difficult thing.â He shrugged. âFrankly, shooting someone up close and personal is even harder than blowing their fighter or bomber out of the void. At least you donât have to see them die.â
His words stung a bit, and Justin felt rebuked, perhaps not entirely unfairly. âMajor, it may surprise you to learn this, but Iâve shot and killed an enemy soldier. When I stole the fighter from that League cruiser.â He stared off into the distance. âSo Iâm quite familiar with the feeling of watching someone die.â
âAh. I didnât realize.â Nishimura sucked in a breath. âI suppose the point Iâm trying to make is youâre not alone.â
âI feel alone.â The words tumbled out of Justinâs mouth before he could stop them. âUtterly and completely alone.â
Before more could be said, a mess steward appeared and dropped off two plates heaped with food. Once the man had withdrawn, Nishimura bowed his head and put his hands together. âDear Lord, we thank you for this meal we are about to receive. Bless it to us in Jesusâs name. Amen.â
Justin picked up his fork and speared one of the eggs before using a piece of toast to soak up the yolk. He bit into it and smiled. âThat tastes awesome, Major.â After chewing and swallowing, he said, âI donât recall you praying over the food the last time we ate together.â
âIs that your way of asking, âWhat changed?ââ
âYeah.â Justin frowned. âIâve noticed a lot of my friends seemingly retreating into their religious beliefs over the last few months.â
âI canât speak for them, but as for meâŠâNishimura set his fork down, as if what he was about to say required full concentration. âOn the freighter we captured, I met a woman who, despite living under a communist dictatorship, kept her faith. Incredibly, in talking to her, I discovered her entire family was Christian, and they hid it from the authorities. If found out, all faced reeducation camps, torture, or death.â
âHow do you know she was telling the truth?â The idea seemed foreign to Justin. Why would someone risk everything over faith or a belief that couldnât be proven?
âSpencer, as God is my witness, everything that came out of her mouth was the gospel truth.â Nishimura pursed his lips and shook his head. âItâs made me do some hard introspection for the last few weeks. Youâre looking at a man who didnât get to church much and felt like having to get up early on Sunday was an imposition on his rest time. I could sit here and list dozens of ways I havenât lived up to or shown what I believe through my actions.â
Justin sat mutely as the Marine continued, pondering his words. As he played them over in his mind, a question emerged. He was willing to risk his life in fighting for the freedoms and ideals of the Terran Coalition. So why is it so difficult to accept that someone would risk their life and liberty for faith?
âBut thatâs not the biggest thing Iâve had to confront.â Nishimura set his jaw. âI went into the fight wanting to kill everyone on that ship. Frankly, I was pissed off Colonel Tehrani had ordered the use of stun rounds. From my perspective, the only good Leaguer was a dead Leaguer after what those bastards pulled on us at Canaan.â He sucked in a breath. âIâve had to admit to myself there are decent people in the League, and itâs wrong for me to hate them.â
Justin took a few moments to process the entirety of what Nishimura had said. A light bulb turned on in his mind. âIf we donât hate them, how can we be okay with killing them? I thought the entire point was to dehumanize the enemy so theyâre easy to kill.â
âI suppose thatâs the easy way out,â Nishimura replied. âThough Iâd submit to you after reflection, the far healthier way to go about it is to count the costs and keep perspective in fighting the enemy. So we donât become just like them.â
âThis is some deep discussion for breakfast.â
âHey, thatâs what you get for coming to Marine country. Weâre not only sharp uniforms and gleaming rifle drills.â Nishimuraâs deep laugh seemed to fill the air. âNow, whatâs eating you?â
Justin took another bite and swallowed. âIf I were to try to put a finger on it, Iâd say I felt empty inside. Which I realize sounds stupid.â
âNot at all. All of us feel the same way at some point. Thatâs what the shrinks are there for and the support groups when we get home. At
Comments (0)