Free Casserine by Bernard Lee DeLeo Page B

them could last ten minutes outside of the normal gravity induced interior of their ships. He saluted smartly, and handed her a message packet. Adrian took it from him, as she returned his salute with a smile.
    “Hi Tim, I was hoping we’d get to see you on this trip. What’sthis?”
    The crew chief relaxed at Adrian’s easy manner. “General Risling handed it to me just before we took off, and said to make sure Jake .I mean Major Matthews received the packet. I was told to tell him to call the General, at the Major’s earliest convenience, after he gets a look at it. It’s good to see you too, Ma’am. We all wonder about you two a lot after the last attack. I wish we could do more to help the Major out when we fly in. It don’t seem right for us to be up here watching a Major doing grunt work we get paid to do.”
    “He looks forward to it all, Tim, so don’t worry about it. He still sees himself as a Sergeant, and I doubt that will ever change. Jake only wants to be a Major when he decides to give me orders.”
    Tim laughed appreciatively, having witnessed a few of Major Matthews’ attempts at pulling rank on his wife. “Just the same, Ma’am, I wish we could do more.”
    “Well, until they work the bugs out of the gravity suits,” Adrian noted, “the only way to work on Casserine is after a long stay here. Anyhow Tim, we appreciate the extra stuff you all smuggle in here for us.”
    “It’s the least we can do,” Tim replied quickly. “Have you met our new Commander, Major Stedman? She said she wanted to meet you and the Major.”
    “She met me when I came aboard,” Adrian replied, remembering the tall, lanky brunette, who greeted her when Adrian came on board with her research discs. “She seems to like a more hands on approach. She went over the supply sheets with me personally. She’s not hard to look at either, but I guess you noticed that,” Adrian kidded.
    “Major Stedman runs a tight ship, Ma’am, and I don’t know what you mean, Ma’am,” Tim deadpanned, going along with the joke.
    “I think you do, Mister,” Adrian smiled. “Hey, how does Risling like his first star?”
    “The General’s a lot like Jake, Ma’am. He never seems to change from what I’ve seen. Something’s up though back at the base. The Earth Command Space Corps flagship ported a few weeks ago, and they had closed door meetings during his entire visit. General Risling, and his Chief of Staff, looked pretty grim after the ship’s commander left.”
    “I hope it has nothing to do with Casserine. Jake likes this place more than the home he grew up in,” Adrian replied thoughtfully.
    “Don’t you ever go a little stir crazy here, Lieutenant?” Tim asked. “I mean we all thought the Major was a little nuts for volunteering for this place year after year, but you seem a little more…ah…”
    “Social?”
    ‘Tea,” Tim agreed, nodding his head. “You always come on board for long periods when we come in and say hello to everyone. It’s only been since you arrived at Casserine that the Major even comes up to see us. He seems to enjoy the visit when you make him come, but I doubt he’d do much more than wave otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, he always did keep in touch.”
    “He’s not as closed up as you think, Tim,” Adrian laughed. “Jake enjoys the dinners on board during your visits. The war on Omaha Mining Colony did something to his social skills. I think he likes the vast openness of Casserine, and it’s been growing on me too. If not for our contact with the ships and base, I might go a little nuts.”
    “You and the Major are coming to dinner tonight, aren’t you?”
    “Major Stedman made it official,” Adrian answered. “Jake and I are expected. She seemed a little put out about it though.”
    “She doesn’t care much for the enlisted and officers all dining together when we visit here,” Tim explained. “I guess when Captain Malcolm explained about Jake’s insistence on dining