So what are these "Imperial Marines"?

The Imperial Marine Corp traces its heritage back to various marine units of pre-space Earth. Save for special operations units, they make up the sole ground component of the Imperial Armed Forces. There is no Imperial Army.

An Imperial Marine in action might look something like this.

We have ignition . . .

Hopefully.

What we have here is a failure to communicate . . . to steal a line from an old movie.

I haven't been working on this blog like I should have.

If you got here by accident . . . Welcome! Stay a bit . . . look around. Follow the links for more info on "Gehenna Station" or on my latest novel, "Pawn's Gambit".

If you intended to arrive here . . . Welcome Twice!!

"Gehenna Station" is still available on Amazon, both in print and as a Kindle book. It can also be purchased from the publisher, Lulu.com.

In the coming months, I'll be reworking my basic web page at www.jrhume.com and spending time pushing my new novel. I will also try to return here to update the site and discuss the future of "Gehenna Station" and one or more possible follow-on tales of the Imperial Marines.

Check back!

I'm still here . . . .

I've been around, cleaning house, updating links, etc.

Gehenna Station is still available at Lulu.com and on Amazon. It is also available on Amazon as a Kindle book. Check it out, Kindle-heads!

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"Gunny, where is the Navy? You mentioned a frigate stationed somewhere close by."

"The simple answer is -- I don't know. If they're around, they should have detected any arriving ships. At the very least they would investigate lapses in communications with Stanley. I have to believe there are no naval forces in the system."

"Lovely." Cord closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep and forget the whole mess. Things got more complicated at every turn. "What about the bastards who sent us here? Could they get Navy units reassigned?"

"I've been wondering the same thing, sir. They have the ability to fool the Navy personnel system into thinking us Marines are working in regular assignments. Somehow they manage to eliminate mid-grade officers and senior NCOs without drawing unwanted attention." The droid paused. "I think they'd be able to cause the reassignment of a frigate or two."

"So the Navy's out of the picture. That leaves us."

"We've built a crazy hypothesis based on a dying man's words and gut intuition, L-T. Is any of it true?"

"Some of the details are probably wrong, but I'd stake my life that the basics are true."

Gunny lit his cigar and blew a streamer of smoke at the map. "You are betting your life, sir. And all our lives."

"What are we going to do, Gunny? We can't surrender."

"No. The Quog might release the civilians, but they'd shove me into a recycler. You and the others would end up in the vats."

"So we go back to Gehenna and pick up the others. Then -- well, I'm not sure what we do after that."

"We start being real Marines again. Change has come, L-T. The people who put us here are out of the picture -- or at least they won't be in control at Stanley. It will be an all-Quog show. Any cooperation with humans would have to be kept secret." He hesitated. "Even money says the invasion forces might not even be aware of it."

Cord glanced at the map. "You're right. Foot sloggers never know what's going on." He grinned. "A wise NCO told me that. So how do we get to Stanley? What do we do when we get there? There's only seven of us, Gunny."

"Seven Marines, sir. Marines."

"There are a lot of raptors between here and there."

"Not so many. Once we get into the mountains, their numbers drop off. And damn few are ever found north of the mountains, except in high summer. They have no reason to live up there. The grasslands supply all the meat they need."

"Damn." Cord nodded. "That's a long walk. But it's worth a try."

"Sheol to that! Don't say try, sir! We'll do it. If raptors get in the way we'll kill them, just like always. When we get to Stanley, we'll burn those jumped-up stumps. Damned if we won't!"

"You got a plan, Gunny?"

"Not me, sir. That's your job. You make a plan and I'll kick ass until it gets done."

Sergeant Radix and the Raptor

Radix watched the three newbies. They were thinking now. Fear was good. A man who didn't fear a deadly enemy was a danger to all. But to survive, they had to think. If raptors didn't think, they did something damn close to it. And they were sneaky.

"Other than their legs, raptors have two vulnerable spots. The brain, located at the back of the skull and the heart, deep inside the chest. A head shot is possible, but only from the side. Or, from close range. But be careful around a downed raptor. They'll lie quiet and sucker you in close."

The android drew his sidearm and stepped toward the raptor. One yellow eye popped open. Radix aimed and fired before any of the men could react. He stepped to the left and fired again. Scaled hide quivered. The eye drooped shut.

"Like that," he said, holstering his pistol.

The bunker was only a few meters ahead . . .

Cord clawed at his handgun.

A raptor lurched out of the dusty dark and knocked him flat.

Blood splattered. The animal screamed in agony. One eye swung below a ruined socket. Gunny and Cord fired togetherinto the lower part of the head, aiming for the brain. Cord switched to the chest, firing three more times before the raptor lurched back and slumped to one side. It made a single bubbling sigh and died.

Using the creature's head as a prop, Cord hauled himself to his knees.

Corporal Bolt stalked out of the dust and dragged the lieutenant upright. "You okay, L-T? Where's Gunny?"

"You're standing on my leg, you klutz!" Bolt hopped back and the android stood up.

"Sorry, Gunny. I thought it was part of the raptor."

"I lost my carbine," mumbled Cord. He stared at Gunny, blinking. His chest and arm hurt and he was certain he'd pissed his pants. The air stank of cinnamon.

Gunny grabbed his arm. "You'll be all right, Lieutenant. Find your weapon. There may be others out there."

Bolt laughed -- a strange and welcome sound in the bloody dusk. "They'll wait. Those gonzos are too smart to tangle with Marines with fresh meat just lying here for the taking."