Sergeant (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

to his men.

Alexander

Chapter 2
    “You ready for this shit?” Sams whispered out of the side of his mouth to Ryck.
    “Quiet in the ranks,” Lieutenant Nidishchii’ hissed, shutting Sams up.
    The entire battalion was formed up in front of the nine of them: Capt Davis, the lieutenant, Lieutenant Lauer from Second Platoon, SSgt Hecs, Sams, Ryck, Lips Holleran, and Fab Groton, one of the squad leaders from Second.
    The PA system was not working well. With galactic travel a long accepted fact of life, Ryck thought a simple PA system should not be beyond their capabilities. At least the battalion adjutant was able to project his voice.
    “Personnel to be recognized, front and center . . . march!” he called out, his command clearly reaching them in back of the formation.
    “Detail, right face,” Capt Davis ordered. “Forward, march.”
    The eight Marines marched to the far right side of the formation, in back of H & S Company, then performed a column left and marched up alongside the formation. They conducted another column left after clearing the battalion, marching along its front to the center before halting.
    “Detail, right, face. Present, arms!” the captain ordered.
    Nine Marines saluted the three men in front of them. One of the men was the battalion commander. The second was none other than Major General Praeter, the division commanding general. The third was a Général Denis Bellerose, a Legion three-star. Général Bellerose was short, wiry man. His grayish dress uniform was understated despite the colorful medals on his chest, but the scrambled eggs adorning his kepi was pretty impressive. Ryck tried to keep his eyes locked forward, but he kept looking at the legionnaire through the corner of his eyes. He’d read the general’s bio on the ceremony program, and it was pretty impressive. He’d served in seemingly most Legion conflicts over the last 30 years, commanding everything from a platoon to a division.
    The fact that the Legion had sent a three star to Alexander for the presentation was a message in and of itself. With the current tension between Greater France and the Federation, the Legion was showing that civilian leaders aside, there was a brotherhood of warriors. The cynic in Sams kept insisting to Ryck and Popo that the French were just trying to win over the Marines for political purposes.
    The three officers returned the salute and the captain brought them to order arms. There was a pause, then the adjutant’s voice rang out .
    “ The Commandant de la Légion Étrangère , Général Alain Plessey, takes pleasure in authorizing the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieurs with bronze star to the following United Federation Marines for service in Tylaria on the planet Soreau on June 14, 366 Standard Reckoning:
    “Captain Prentice K. Davis.”
    Ryck had been told that the award was the equivalent to a Federation Battle Commendation Second Class. If a Marines was awarded a BC, even a Third Class, a citation describing the action was read before presenting the medal. Not so with the TOE, which was the nickname of the French medal. Each recipient was mentioned by name in the battle dispatch, but not to the detail as in a Federation award citation.
    A Legion lieutenant stepped up and presented the medal in a platinum box to the general as the flag officer stepped up to the captain. He pinned the white and red medal to the captain’s dress blue blouse. As he stepped back, Capt Davis saluted, which the general returned. The French general took a step to his right to stand in front of SSgt Hecs while General Praeter slid in front of the captain.
    “First Lieutenant Robert Lauer,” the adjutant called out as the same procedure was followed to pin on the medal.
    “Second Lieutenant Bertrand Nidishchii’,” “Staff Sergeant Hector L. Phantawisangtong,” “Sergeant Fabio Groton,” and “Sergeant Bobbi Samuelson” followed. Ryck had to keep from sniggering at Sams’ real