The Reaper Plague Read Online Free PDF Page A

a
disgrace to the uniform like you has decided he’s smarter
than they are . Right?”
    Grusky gobbled, then snapped to attention and
faced left toward the troops. “Platoon, atten-shun!” He performed a
creditable about-face and stood waiting, obviously expecting her to
step in front of him and formally take charge.
    Instead, she stalked through the ranks,
looking them up and down. There were some dirty and wrinkled
uniforms, accoutrements out of place or incorrectly worn, cables –
loose threads – hanging from pockets or button-holes, untucked
laces – in short, a shoddy group with just a few standouts who
cared about their appearance.
    Finishing her once-over, she marched back up
to face Grusky, who saluted sharply, proper military ceremony for
giving and taking charge. She paused a moment, just enough to
emphasize her displeasure, then returned the salute. He moved out
to take his place to the formation's right, facing her.
    She drew a deep breath and pitched her voice
to project. “I am Master Sergeant Repeth, United States Marine
Corps. I am sure you all think I am a hardass by now, and you are
correct. You people look like shit, and as long as you people look
like shit you will act like shit and you will be shit on my
shit list. The sooner you get your sorry act together, the sooner
you will get off my shit list. Until then, until you earn
your way off my shit list, it is my explicit and stated
intention to kick your sorry asses until you start looking
and acting like United States military personnel and not a
miscellaneous collection of confused and worthless ragbags.”
    She began to pace, warming to her topic. “Now
some of you are thinking to yourselves, ‘MY uniform is pressed. MY
boots are impeccable. I’m just fine, thank you!’ But as far as I am
concerned, that’s a reprehensible and selfish attitude. ‘To those
whom much is given, much will be required.’ That means you will
look after your fellow troops, be they Army, Navy, Air Force or
Marines, male or female, gay or straight, Eden or normal, Christian
or Muslim or Buddhist or Jew or whatever other belief system they
hold because I don’t give one flying rat’s buttocks, you are all
the same now. You are the Fourth Platoon, First Military Police
Company, Second Joint Civil Operations Battalion, and I own your asses from now on, and I don’t like my things reflecting badly on me.”
    Repeth passed to the side of the formation,
looking for any laughing, anyone who was bold or foolish enough to
try to make light of the situation. She saw no one, so she went
on.
    “ Some of you might be
wondering why you don’t have an officer in command of this platoon.
I could rightly say it’s because you don’t deserve an officer, but
the truth is we don’t have enough. Until the academies and schools
start producing shiny new butterbars, we will have shortages
because many officers are tainted. They all had to join the
Unionist Party and swear allegiance to the Triumvirate, and now
they all have to be interviewed and vetted for readmission to the real United States military. So until such time as we obtain
one of those exalted personages, I am in charge . If you want
to get technical, the company commander, Captain LeBrun, is
dual-hatted as the platoon leader, but as far as you are concerned,
he might as well be on the moon, and I am your new goddess of war
for this mission.
    She walked around the formation to stand in
front of them once again. Though they were already hanging on every
word, she thought she saw that declaration prompt even greater
attentiveness. “That’s what I said, our mission . We have one
week to get ready. We are taking back what’s ours – reclaiming
lawless territory in the United States. Between the nuclear strikes
and the alien plagues, there are large parts of our country that
have simply ceased to function. These zones are inhabited by
frightened and infected people. Some are sick with radiation
exposure. Some have