[sachmo]

Battle Scars

Sedgwick was a camp town. It had sprung up virtually overnight once the shipyard and spaceport had opened up on Correlia. The naval personnel and civilian ship crews needed a place to spend their pay, and enterprising colonists had quickly moved into the area, opening up shops, restaurants, bar, and hotels. Sedgwick didn’t have much in the way of culture, or education, or much of anything besides establishments for people who had spent a long time in space to spend all of their hard-earned cash. Since the Battle of Correlia, the town had boomed. Before the Ukra-Tal had smashed their fleet against the defenses of the planet and the Remorhaz Navy, many of the locals had worried about the future. Since most of the commercial flights were restricted, business had slowed to a trickle. The navy crews were on high alert, and almost always on duty. The future of Sedgwick had looked bleak for the first few months of 2411. That all changed after the Battle of Correlia. The Remorhaz Navy had won a smashing victory. The system was opened again to commercial traffic, and the freighters came in droves. The bars were full again and the hotels had no vacancies. The local constable was earning his pay again breaking up fights between the roughnecks. Life was good for almost everyone.

For the survivors of the Battle of Correlia, life was not so good. Their lives had been changed forever. They had witnessed destruction on a massive scale. Many had lost friends in the fight. Most were still struggling with the changes that they were undergoing, and the inactivity only made it worse. Of the five surviving ships of the Iolo Defense Fleet, three were undergoing massive repairs and refitting, and that left the crews with a lot of free time. Free time to remember the dead, and to wake up in the night screaming.

Crewman Tim Fisk took a drink from his glass of whisky. He kept the drink at his lips for an extra pull, feeling the alcohol burn a path from his tongue to his stomach. Suddenly he remembered what he had been saying, and he knew he needed to say it quick, before he forgot again.
“BILL!! That was da guys name, Roge! His name wass Bill.”
Tim’s friend, Crewman Roger Yates, turned and looked at his buddy.
“Yeah Tim, I remember him. He was a good guy.”
Tim lifted his glass quickly into the air, spilling whisky and ice on the table in the process.
“To Bill! Best damn gunner’s mate ‘n da fleet”, he smiled and cast his gaze on Roger.
Roger lifted his glass. “To Bill”, he muttered and took a small sip of his own drink.
“Whas’ a matter, Roge? Aren’t ya thirsty”, Tim asked his friend.
Roger swirled his straw around in his drink a bit.
“I guess I’m not, Tim. One of us has to stay sober, or we’ll end up in the stockade, right?”
Tim burst into laughter.
“Good ol’ Roge. Always lookin’ out for everyone else. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be here, and that’s the truth.”
Tim reached out and grabbed a freighter captain who had the misfortune to be walking by at that moment.
“What do you want”, the freighter captain asked.
Tim pointed at Roger.
“See that guy over there? He saved my life.”
The freighter captain glanced at Roger, then back at Tim.
“He might get to do it again if you don’t take your hands off of me, son!”
Tim started laughing again.
“I don’ want any trouble, mister! Lemme tell ya the story, ok?”
The freighter captain sighed and folded his arms across his chest.
“Fine. It’s probably bull****, but fine. Tell your story.”
Roger flushed. “Tim, please, don’t tell the story. Just finish your drink and let’s go.”
Tim frowned and went to take another drink, not realizing that his glass was empty.
“Roge, I gotta tell it. I gotta let ev’ryone know what ya done for me, buddy!”
Tim looked at the freighter captain again.
“Me and Roge serve on Orion. You heard a’ her?”
The freighter captain nodded.
“Well, we was fightin’ the slugs, and was takin’ a poundin’. I was servin’ in the main battery, firin’ the big cannon, ya know?”
The freighter captain nodded again.
“An’way, the slugs”, which was the local slang for the Ukra-Tal, “were bLasting the crap out of us. We ca’ here the hull breech alarms goin’ off all over da place, but ya know we was firin’ the guns. Cap’n wanted us ta’ keep shootin’ the slugs till we couldn’t shoot no more.”
Tim paused, and stopped smiling before continuing.
“We hit a slug destroy’r, and she goes up. Next thing I know, the ship is buckin’ like crazy. Then we hear a noise like someone fryin’ eggs. Petty Officer Mirra starts yelling at us to strap in and prepare for depressurization, and then all hell breaks loose. We seen the slugs acid spitters on the training vids, and so we’ve seen wha they ca’ do, but we didn’t know. Not till then.”
Tim’s eyes grew huge as he replayed the battle in his mind.
“The acid burned thru ‘da hull and into the battery. Petty Officer Mirra was standin’ there, yellin’ at us to strap in, then he was covered in the acid. He looked sorda s’prised, cuz’ the back half of his body just sorta dissolved. He collapsed to the floor, and I can here screamin’ all around me. The acid is eatin’ thru my console, so I turn to run for da hatch. Ev’ryone still ‘live is runnin’ for the hatch. So I see Bill lyin’ on the floor, his leg looks busted. I pull him up and keep runnin’ for the hatch, but the acid is there, and it’s burnin’ all the guys. They didn’t even scream or nothin’.”
Tim stopped for a second, and reached up to wipe his eyes. Tears ran down his cheeks. Roger reached across the table and touched his friend on the arm.
“Tim, please stop. Ok?”
Tim seemed to come back from a far off place, and smiled at his friend.
“Stop? Roge, dis’ is da best part!”
Tim turned back to the freighter captain, who is watching him with his mouth wide.
“So I figure me and Bill ‘r done for, cuz the way out is gone, ya know? All those guys are dyin’ right in front a’ me, and I think we’re gonna buy the farm. Everywhere I look is dead bodies an’ acid…acid eatin’ everythin. Then I see the battery wall glowin’ white, and it melts, and there is my buddy Roge. He’s standing there with a cutter, waving at me and makin’ like he want’s me to hurry! So I grab hold a’ Bill, and I run as quick as I can for Roge. When I get ta him, he tells me we gotta hurry cuz the ship is gonna go. I try to tell him ta help me with Bill, but he just frowns and he tells me Bills dead. I look down, and sure ‘nuff, Bill ain’t got a lower half no more. I saved Bill’s top half! Roge saved me, and I save half a’ Bill!”
Suddenly Tim began to laugh again, hysterically this time, even as tears stream down his face.
Roger looked at the freighter captain and gave him a slight nod and then moved to collect his quickly fading friend.
The freighter captain stared at Roger and Bill for a few moments, then shook his head.
“Is all of that true, son?”
Roger nodded. “Unfortunately. Thanks for listening to him, by the way. The doc says if he talks about it, he can get over the shock quicker.”
The freighter captain nodded, still staring at the two sailors.
“It was my pleasure son. I’d heard stories about the battle, but…”
Roger nodded. “Yes sir, it was rough for all of us. I’m just glad it’s over.”
Tim began to cry in earnest now, reliving the horror that he had been thru.
The freighter captain looked at Tim. “It looks like it might not be over for quite a long time.”
He shook his head, and hooked one arm around Tim.
“Let me help you get your friend home. And don’t worry about your bill…I’ll get it.”
For the first time that night, Roger smiled.