Synopsis

“I love being a Marine but there are days…We may have a lot of the same problems in 2122 we did a hundred years ago but back then the Gul brothers weren’t paying lots to see my head on a spike! Not that I was born yet but that’s not the point! So I’m a pretty good shot and Rick is even better. Did I ask daddy Gul and his boys to go on a rampage? No, I didn’t! But now we have to leave the planet and go to the New Hope colony where the locals like to eat people!”  – Staff Sergeant Susan ‘Molly’ Bennett, USMC

The story of the alien Rift invasion of the New Hope Colony begins on Earth in 2122 when all too familiar problems and events cause a chain reaction that will have repercussions on two worlds. Fleeing for their lives and to protect his family Navy, Lieutenant Paul “Rick” O’Brien and Marine Staff Sergeant Susan Mollison “Molly” Bennett will have to board a starship for the long voyage to Earth’s first extrasolar colony under new identities. There they will join the Colonial Rangers, the international military force designed to protect the colonists from the planet’s ferocious predators, not to deter an alien invasion.

The female-loving Logistics officer O’Brien and superb marksman and the courageous Marine recon squad leader form an unbreakable bond forged under fire that will serve them well as events unfold around them. The circumstances that send them to the New Hope Colony will also have a profound effect on the other members of the O’Brien/Cassidy family and especially Rick’s daughter Ciara as well as on the colony where they find refuge.

‘FIERCE GIRLS’ introduces the lead characters and covers the events that force O’Brien and Bennett to leave Earth. Then as Lieutenant Commander Rick ‘Cassidy’ and Gunnery Sergeant Molly ‘Pickford’ the story will deal with their first months at the New Hope Colony. It also introduces the key members of Rick’s family, their embrace of Molly Bennett, and the repercussions on their own lives.

The Fierce Girls At War series beginning with ‘Fierce Girls’ is not simply about the bonds between the characters. It is about women who are smart, brave, quick thinking, resilient and who are good leaders. They are steady under fire, they are problem solvers and they are resourceful and creative thinkers. They feel fear when circumstances are frightening but they don’t panic. They are not dependent on their male counterparts and more often than not they outshine them. They feel lust and love but are not driven by either (most of the time). Many of them are experienced, competent soldiers while others are young students dropped into a perilous situation from which no one is coming to rescue them. Some of them are bound by bonds of family but by no means are they all. Book One ‘Fierce Girls’ introduces the main characters –Gunnery Sergeant ‘Molly’ Pickford, Lieutenant Commander ‘Rick’ Cassidy, his daughter Ciara and other members of his family, and Captain Naomi MacCaffrey, a Canadian officer captured by extremists and rescued by Molly in the African jungles. They must find it in themselves to fight battles against other humans before the coming desperate struggle against an alien invasion of Earth’s first colony in space that will arise in the following books of the series. Those books will show these women and others take the lead in fighting for the life of the colony.

Excerpt

Setting: Cassidy/O’Brien residence in Yonkers, New York/US Consulate in Douala, Cameroon February 2122

Bridget O’Brien, the 22-year-old sister of Lieutenant Paul ‘Rick’ O’Brien is home for the weekend studying for her final exams when the household artificial intelligence, Robby, alerts her that something has happened involving her brother at the US Consulate in Cameroon. Hassan Gul, the world’s most wanted terrorist, and his men have attacked the consulate and a live feed from a reporter there for a diplomatic reception is being shown worldwide. The Consul’s three daughters have been captured and are being held outside the surrounded building. Bridget is watching the scene unfold before her eyes.

Chapter 6

The Consul’s Daughters

New York

The playback resumed; seconds later a voice called from outside the consulate building and the picture shifted back to a group outside where a man had been forced to his knees in front of the three Kaslowski girls, “Marines! This is Hassan Gul! I want all US Marine personnel to come out of the building. If you do as I have ordered we will not harm the civilians inside. If you do not I will kill these pretty young girls one at a time and then we will destroy the building and everyone in it! I give you two minutes to comply but in one minute I will kill this man!”

The reporter quickly focused again on Rick and the blonde sergeant again. She said to him, “Shit! What do you think we should do, Lieutenant? If we go out there they’ll just kill us. They’ll probably kill everyone else anyway.”

Bridget watched as a strained looking Rick peeked outside. The camera was focused on the men holding the three girls by their necks with guns to their heads and the man who had been made to kneel down in front of them.

There was a shot and screams from the girls. A stunned Bridget saw the man fall to the ground dead. Hassan Gul called out again, “You now have one minute!”

“Lieutenant?” the young female sergeant asked Rick urgently as the camera swung back to them.

Her brother looked at the young Marine and with a mirthless smile asked, “Sergeant Bennett, are you a good shot with that side arm?”

The young Marine looked at him blankly and replied, “Expert rating last qual, why?”

Rick looked around the room and said, “See that painting on the wall? Right eye.” Bridget watched perplexed as he suddenly lifted the pistol and barely looking fired once at a something out of sight. The camera swung around and zoomed in on a large portrait of the President. It was at least twenty feet away from where Rick was hunched down; the bullet had penetrated the pupil of the right eye. “I need you to trust me,” he said.

What the hell are you up to, Rick? Nice shot though.

Before the sergeant could answer Rick O’Brien returned to the window and called out to the men below, “Wait! We’re coming out! Please give us a moment to pray!”

“Pray?” asked a confused Staff Sergeant Bennett.

Pray? What the…?

“Don’t worry about it,” he answered with a feral grin.

Don’t worry about it? Yeah, sure.

The voice from outside sounded again, “You are very brave Marines. I grant you two minutes to pray then you must come out! What was that shot I heard?”

“It was someone who disagreed with the decision. Thank you! We’ll be out in two minutes,” Rick called back.

The blonde staff sergeant looked at O’Brien in interest. “What do you want to do, Lieutenant? Help is on the way but two minutes isn’t long enough for the cavalry to get here.”

Rick gave her a crooked little smile and said, “I know, they’ll never give us that much time. Now tell your guys to stay out of sight by the windows and be ready. And tell them to make sure they protect their ears; it’s going to get real loud. And you come with me.” Bridget’s only brother got up and started for the stairs leading down to the main floor entrance, waving the young NCO to follow as she spoke over her comm to what remained of her squad. Rick was talking to someone on his own comm badge but Bridget couldn’t hear what he was saying. The two hurried down the stairs with the newsman in their wake.

Bridget felt tears running down her face. They’re going to kill you, you idiot! What are you doing? I don’t want to see you die today! Oh my god, Ciara!

“What are we doing, Lieutenant?” the unusually calm-looking young woman asked Rick O’Brien matter-of-factly when they reached the main entryway.

Bridget cringed at what she heard next.

Rick replied, “Staff Sergeant Bennett, we, you and me, are going to open the door and walk right out there and shoot them dead, rescue the girls and get back inside. That’s all.”

“That’s all, huh?”

That’s all, huh? Idiot!

“Yeah, pretty much. Ten seconds after we step outside there is going to be a noise that hopefully will distract them long enough for us to pop ‘em all.”

“Hopefully pop ‘em all, huh? And the guns, where do we hide them?”

            Are you crazy, Rick? The oldest O’Brien sister thought incredulously.

“We don’t. We’ll have our hands up in the air, holding them by the barrel. On ten you step right and fire, I’ll step left. You shoot the two on the right, I’ll take the two on the left, and I’ll race you for the one in the middle. Your guys shoot everybody else.”

“Sounds easy enough,” the young sergeant answered with an edge of sarcasm in her voice. “If this works they may lock us both up for being crazy.”

“I wouldn’t mind a nice restful vacation somewhere after this.”

“You’re nuts, you know that, right?”

You got that right, sister!

The reporter kept recording as the American Consul approached them. They were just inside the front door where Winona Kaslowski stood ashen-faced and terrified for her daughters. “Lieutenant, you’re really going out there? They’ll kill you both.”

“Maybe, ma’am. Then again, maybe not. Don’t give up on us just yet. Everybody stay away from the front door. Oh, and you might want to cover your ears.” O’Brien looked at the surprisingly calm-looking Bennett and asked her, “Are you ready to kill some bad guys?”

“Ready? You must be kidding.” Taking a deep breath the Marine said with a defiant grin, “Fine! Let’s do this!”

“We still have twenty seconds. Let’s just check our weapons one more time, shall we? I wouldn’t want to find out too late that I’m out of ammo.”

“Sure, why not?”

The camera bounced violently again as the newsman raced up to the third floor and ran over to the nearest window where one of the Marines stood ready. “You better put these on,” the corporal said and handed him a spare set of earplugs that he hurriedly put on.

Bridget felt tears running down her cheeks, certain that her brother was about to die right in front of her. The situation was suicidal. The picture stabilized as the reporter focused on the area outside the main entrance to the building. Rick, wearing a Marine’s armored vest and a combat helmet was already outside with his hands raised, a pistol held by the barrel in his left hand. Staff Sergeant Susan ‘Molly’ Bennett was right behind him.

Hassan Gul, his two sons and two of his followers were holding the three girls forty feet from the front door. Thirty of his men were covering them, watching the building for any sign of subterfuge. The pair walked forward at a casual pace until Gul ordered them to stop and drop their weapons. Bridget’s heart was pounding and she fought herself not to look away. The two began to lower their weapons when suddenly as one they stepped to either side of the walkway just as a terrific electronic screaming was heard coming out of every speaker on the grounds. Bridget had to cover her ears before Robby adjusted the volume to a bearable level.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

The horrible, excruciating sound caused Hassan Gul and every one of his men to cringe and reach reflexively for their ears to protect them, causing them to lift the guns away from the heads of the three girls for a split second. Bridget watched stunned as her brother and Bennett calmly shot down Hassan Gul, his two sons and the two mercenaries standing behind the girls.

The Marines on the third floor then began firing on Gul’s distracted men. O’Brien and Bennett ran forward, grabbed the three girls by the arms and dragged them back into the building. Three seconds after everyone was back inside the noise suddenly cut off. From the time they’d first stepped outside it had taken less than twenty seconds. Some of Gul’s men begin to get up but the awful noise began again and the Marines resumed picking off their almost helpless targets. Ten seconds later the noise ended again but this time Gul’s men who were now trapped inside the compound made no effort to rise. Those who’d been near one of the breaches in the wall had already run away or been shot down trying to get out.

Amazed and relieved Bridget abruptly realized that she’d stood up with her mouth wide open in shock and she sat down again quickly. The audio had gone quiet then she noticed that the firing had stopped. The camera panned around the area in front of the consulate building and she saw that a few of Gul’s men were lying face down with their fingers laced behind their necks, probably hoping that they’d be allowed to surrender. She watched as Rick and the blonde Marine appeared outside again and walked over to the body of Hassan Gul. The reporter had zoomed in on them and must have increased his audio pickup to maximum because she could hear them talking.

“I don’t suppose we get to keep the reward, do you?” Rick joked.

Oh my god, so typical! Bridget thought in relieved amusement.

“Fat chance of that. Look at these two, Lieutenant. I think these two are Gul’s spawn.”

“I think you’re right. So, I got Gul senior and that knucklehead next to him, you got Gul junior there and that ugly bastard and I think we have to share credit for the other Gul junior.”

“What do you mean share? I shot him, not you,” Bennett said sounding somewhat bemused.

“Look again, blondie. You shot him in the right eye, while mine went right through his mouth and out the other side. He had to still be standing for both.”

God Rick, you are so predictable! When have I heard this kind of conversation before?

Susan ‘Molly’ Bennett shrugged then turned and grinned at her brother, “Very well then, Lieutenant O’Brien, we share credit for this asshole, but I’d already bagged two Guls before I came here so I’m still ahead, so there!”

Oh My God! It’s HER! It’s HER!

“Really? That was you? Wow! I’d heard about that. I was hoping to meet you eventually. My daughter is a big fan of yours. That was nice work there. And you look really cute in a combat helmet too. You know, I think I love you. Er, and just in time, here comes the cavalry,” he said pointing to the two anti-grav shuttles full of troops headed directly towards them.

Did he really just say that? Oh my god! He’s hitting on her NOW?

The attractive blonde Bennett gave Rick a lopsided grin as she shook her head and said, “I think we’re going to be on the news tonight.” She looked back and pointed up at the news reporter who had recorded every second of the action from his perch on the third floor.

Rick sighed and said, “Oh, that could be a problem later.”

“Well, I guess we should have shot him first. Now it’s too late. Let’s go back inside, Lieutenant. I need a drink.”

“You’re not the only one.” The playback continued but Rick and the young sergeant were no longer in sight.

Oh My God! “Robby! Give me locations on my sisters, my mom, Ciara and Melanie McCord right now!” The playback halted again.

“Mistress Deadly Gunfire is at work at the Police Academy range as usual. Miss Pretty Bird is in her dorm room at school, where I would suppose that she is preparing for her final exams although given her recent activities she may be having morning sex with her current boyfriend…”

“Cut the commentary, Robby,” she told the AI in annoyance.

“Very well. Miss Candy Lips is at her morning Chinese language class. Young Missy Keer is at her school. This is her beginning algebra period I believe. Mistress Melanie is at her office at the nano-botics lab.”

Bridget came to a decision and told the AI, “Robby, I want you to call Ciara’s school. Tell them that there is a family emergency. I’m on the way to pick her up now. I’ll be there in the next ten minutes.”

“Of course. Ahem. You may wish to address your wardrobe or lack thereof,” Robby crooned with just a hint of amusement.

Her mind racing Bridget had been pulling on her shoes as she was talking and intending to head out the door as soon as the AI acknowledged her instruction when she realized that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Her towel had fallen to the floor when she had stood up abruptly.

“Shit!”

“Indeed. Shall I attempt to contact anyone else at this time?”

Bridget ran up the stairs to her bedroom and began dressing as fast as she could. “Yes, call my mother, Nicole and Chloe. Tell them about the video and let them know that I’m going to fetch Ciara. I don’t want her seeing this until she’s with us. It will be everywhere within hours if not sooner. And put me through to Melanie. I need to let her know what’s going on.”

“Very well. The school has been contacted and Young Missy Keer will be waiting when you arrive.”

“Good.” Bridget was out the door and on her way to get Ciara.

###

Within minutes of the end of the battle a perplexed Rick O’Brien saw Staff Sergeant Bennett being hustled into a Marine anti-grav shuttle that took off and headed back to the Mount St Helens. Bennett had given him a little wave as she stepped into the shuttle but he hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye. He had no way to know it but Bennett would be on her way back to the States hours before he stepped aboard his ship again.

Rick saw the reporter walking towards him with the American consul and her three daughters and sighed wryly. He thought about Ciara and hoped that she wouldn’t see the news until after his mom and sisters had a chance to look at it and know that he’d come out of it in one piece. Then he thought back to the conversation he’d had with her a couple of weeks earlier when she’d told him about the ‘brave Marine lady’ who had saved all those people. Ciara had known that her unit was going to be embarking on her daddy’s ship soon and she’d begged him to meet her. He’d certainly done that! Ciara desperately wanted to meet the young Marine and now he was certain that she was going to go crazy after seeing the two of them together.

Oh boy! I’m never going to hear the end of this. If I’m lucky I have a few hours before they all see it. Oh well, here come the girls and their mom. I may as well enjoy the attention. At least they have a reason to hero worship me. I just wish my hands would stop shaking. ‘Rick’ O’Brien had a feeling that not everyone was to going be thrilled with what he and the pretty Bennett had just done. He had no idea just how not thrilled some people were.

About the Author

Mike Adams was born in Brooklyn and raised in Staten Island, NY. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Wagner College and an MBA from San Diego State University. He is a retired US Navy Supply Corps (Logistics) officer, former small business owner, and part-time substitute teacher. He has visited 6 continents and 36 countries, speaks Spanish, some German, a little Italian and less French. He currently lives in Chula Vista, CA with his wife Chris.

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