Time/Date Error (Damned of the 2/19th-Book Six) - Done

More Weakness

Grafenwöhr
US Army Training Area
Training Site 22
2/19th Company Area
West Germany
30 October, 1987
0500 Hours

The tent flaps rustled as Private Chalkman pushed her way into the tent, another tube held in her hands. I could see the stickers on it from where I was standing on the other side of the table, my fists pressed against the surface. To my right was Chief Henley, staring at the map of the Group Area, sitting on the cot was Nagle.

"More scans, Chief, these are from USAREUR Headquarters," Chalkman said.

Henley looked up, his eyes red, dark circles around them. "Give 'em," he growled, holding out his hand. I noted that he was too tired, too stressed, to even insult her as she handed the tube over to him. "Now get your overly large ass out of here, you fucking Mid-west ape."

Chalkman just shrugged, did an about face, and got.

Chief Henley used his thumbnail to pop the seals. I saw one of them read "TS/SCI [BROOMSTICK]" on them. He popped open the container and shook the films out onto the table, the films unrolling and still smelling that odd smell of toner.

Nagle got up off of the cot and moved over to the table. Henley looked at her, sneered, and went back to unrolling the films. Nagle looked at me and I looked down at the scans.

To be honest, I was more than a little pissed off at her and her goddamn attitude lately. Her and "Jerry" both.

"Christ, look at that," Henley said, tapping where the motorpool had been. It was nothing but a smoke filled pit. He put the magnifying glass over it and we could see the ambient temperatures of it. Hundreds of degrees, consistent with burning fuel.

"You told him extreme prejudice," I said.

"I don't need any smart mouthed bullshit out of you, Texas," Henley snarled. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"Let me see that," I said, holding my hand out for the magnifying glass. "Something... odd..."

The scans were time-stamped at 0400 Hours, The fires were mostly burned out. Still, I took the magnifying glass and checked the Chow Hall.

Two holes in the roof, opening it to the elements.

Echoes of 1985.

Back to the motor pool. The building was gone, the snow around it melted by the intense heat. The conex was exposed, the nearer vehicles exposed. It looked like at least two of the vehicles had caught on fire and burned down.

The detail was amazing. Henley had mentioned that some of the sats were in Low Earth Orbit, new ones, high-definition cameras with lenses measured in feet ground to specifications that were impossible as little as five years ago. LASER etchings and smoothing. High precision.

I was finding myself agreeing with him that we were going to be obsolete soon.

Good, let fucking robots fight World War 3 while I drank beer on the ranch.

"What do you see, Texas?" Henley asked me as I looked closer at the scan.

"Bodies. Too many to be from Ant," I told him. "Plus, look, it looks, odd..."

He took the offered magnifying glass, bending forward and looking closer. "Chains. Too many for any normal purpose. They look like threads, but they're there. Lots of skeletons. Lots of bodies."

He looked up. "You were right, Texas," he said, his voice thick with something.

"What do you mean?" Nagle asked, frowning.

"Stillwater found a horror show at the motor pool," I told her.

"What?" She asked, frowning.

"The Rear-D troops were out of food. We've got chains hanging from the supports and too many bodies, what the fuck do you think he found, you slaw jawed half-witted bovine?" Henley growled at her. "What did you expect, for this year to be another walk in the park?"