Penalski and his Marines had not changed their minds about rejoining their unit at Twentynine Palms. The Cessna had taken minor damage but was up to making the short return trip, for which its fuel was ample. They also had enough space aboard to take four casualties who would otherwise have had to be moved by road. Dan and Cliff drove with a couple of Air Force ground crew and two Marines riding shotgun to refill a bowser at the fueling point on the far side of the airfield for the Rustler. While volunteers from among those who were due to leave in the Samson—now pushed up beyond 400 people—risked intermittently falling gravel to clear debris from the main runway, the remainder of Keene and Cavan’s groups held an impromptu conference inside the smaller hangar.
There was some dissent among Mitch’s force. General Ullman had offered them a clearance into the Cheyenne Mountain refuge, and Mitch’s second-in-command, a Captain Furle, felt they should take it. Since there were no fixed orders to return East, and it was far from certain that there was anywhere organized for them to return to even if they made it, their first priority should be to get the men to safety while the opportunity was there. Although Mitch hadn’t gone into details with the men as to why they were talking about going to Texas and Mexico, Furle gathered it was some private business of Keene’s and didn’t think it should be their affair—certainly not something to be risking lives over. They should put down first at Peterson Base near Colorado Springs where the Samson was heading, Furle argued, and anyone who wanted to do Keene a favor could carry on from there.
“The problem with that is that we might not get past Peterson,” Mitch replied. “We didn’t exactly come by this piece of equipment in a way that you’d call official. Some brass there might just take it into his head to decide that it’s government property with better things it could be doing, and impound it.”
“And he might have a point there, right enough, too,” Furle agreed, not giving an inch. And maybe Furle had a point too, Keene had to admit as he stood listening. Normally, he would have been surprised at such discord within an elite fighting unit of this kind. But Cavan had mentioned that not all of these men had trained together in the way that creates trust and cohesion. It was a scratch force, thrown together at a moment’s notice from whoever had been available.
Mitch stepped to the center of the group, his hands raised for attention. He was tall and broad, with solid, square-jawed, handsome features topped by a mane of black, wavy hair. Keene saw him as confident and capable, but with something of a flamboyant streak that put him in his element before a crowd. Good leader material and a natural as a showman, easily pictured as a performer or media personality if he had applied himself to it. But there was a lot of the adventurer there too, which perhaps went some way to explaining how he had ended up in an irregular military unit—and perhaps why he had agreed to go along with the Texas escapade.
“Guys, strictly, Terry is correct,” he began. “What we did the other night was without official orders. A matter of pure initiative. But as a force, we’ve always taken pride in our ability to act independently when the need is there, right? That’s what we’ve all trained for, what our reputation is built on. And there’s no question that what we accomplished was fully in accord with top national priority. The President—your commander-in-chief—was personally concerned that the Kronians were returned safely to their ship, and that was what we helped him do.”
He turned, appealing to all of them. “One, maybe a couple of hours longer than we’d take anyway. That’s all that’s being asked, guys. How long did it take us to make it here to Vandenberg from Washington? This time we’re talking about four states, that’s all. Half the distance we did the other night. We drop down into Texas, pick up a few people, shuttle them across the border—and then it’s on up to Atlanta for dinner. Only the difference is that you’ll be able to enjoy your dinners better from knowing that we finished the job.”