|
"Hey, Rish." I beckoned over the Marine.
"I'm Rin," he said scowling.
"Yeah, whatever. Take a look at this." I'd taken point again. Maiga
had intel of another infantry unit in this general area and needed
someone with a clue to track them.
Rin looked at the patch of ground I pointed out. "What?"
"Boot print, part of one anyway," I said. "See there?" He still
looked baffled and shook his head.
"I don't see it." He got out a scanner and started testing the air.
I rolled my eyes. Damn Marines relied too heavily on technology if
you ask me. Use a scanner too much and you forget how to use your
eyes and nose and ears.
I heard Maiga come up behind us and smirked to see Rin jump when she
spoke.
"Found something?"
"Yes, Captain." Rin showed her his scanner readouts. "Humans
definitely passed here around six hours ago."
"Excellent." She looked at me. I didn't bother mentioning the boot
print. She probably wouldn't be able to see it either. "Lead on,
Rin." She glanced over her shoulder as the rest of the party
appeared through the trees and spoke to me quietly. "Jadeth, keep an
eye on him."
Call me the babysitter. I set off in the wake of the jarhead and his
box of lights. The rest followed.
"Keep up Tesla!" Maiga shouted back at them. "Ilyan, keep him
moving, for fuck's sake. It's nearly dark."
Bossy cow. Yeah, Tesla's slow. So's Ilyan actually, though he
doesn't whine as much as Tesla. But what the hell does Maiga expect
of them? Desk jockeys don't turn into hardened vets overnight. Poor
bastards were footsore and worn out.
"I think we should make camp now," I said. "Before it gets too dark.
We're not finding these grunts tonight."
"Good idea, Sergeant!" Tesla agreed with me enthusiastically.
"And they'll be that much farther away tomorrow," Maiga said
scowling at me.
"Maiga." Ilyan walked up to her and spoke so softly I had to strain
to hear him. "Tes is tired, so am I. We need to rest."
She didn't look happy about it, glared around at everyone and
treated me to an extra special dirty look. Last time I'd had that
look from an officer I'd been beasted for the rest of the day. Well
she couldn't do that to me here. I'll admit to enjoying giving her
the backchat knowing she can't do a damn thing about it. Ilyan wants
me here, and though she likes to throw her weight around, I know
he's the one actually in charge.
"Okay," she said finally. "Let's get off this track and set up camp.
Jadeth, you'll patrol the perimeter."
"Sounds like my dream come true, ma'am." ~/~/~ We
got off the trail and erected the tents, made dinner. Once everyone
bedded down Maiga took the first watch in camp. As I patrolled the
perimeter I noticed Tesla had stayed up talking to her, their heads
close as they sat by the fire.
By the time Vim relieved me, Tesla had gone into his tent and Maiga
sat staring into the fire, alone. She didn't speak to me as I came
back into camp and got my head down, falling asleep quickly.
The eagle soared and I ran through the long grass, racing it. And
heard…
I woke with a gasp. Always did before the dream went any further.
Can't go there again. I sat up shivering, wanting to move closer to
the fire. Jia sat up on watch now and her smile chased away some of
the chill.
"Are you okay, Sergeant?"
"Fine, sweetheart." I grinned back and winked at her. She looked
away blushing and smiling some more. Oh yeah, I'm in there. The
female star ship officers, they're real ladies. And a real lady
likes a bit of rough, doesn't she? Maybe when we get some place with
a roof and most importantly, beds, Jia and me can spend a little
time getting to know each other better.
Then I shivered again, parts of the dream still clinging to me. No.
Not any part of the dream. Things I didn't dare to dream. ~/~/~
Late the next afternoon we found the infantry unit, bivouacked in a
clearing in the woods. Their officer had talked to some other
officer who said they should listen to Ilyan, so we got a cautious
welcome, some food and told to make it quick.
Ilyan must have rehearsed that speech of his a lot, gave it near
word for word the same as the first time I heard it. The grunts
looked unimpressed to start with. But it's my experience that
nothing short of a tank crewed by naked women makes a grunt look
impressed.
I was listening to Ilyan, taking it all in again, when Maiga elbowed
me in the ribs.
"Pay attention," she whispered. Well that's rich. She didn't seem to
be listening to him at all.
"I am!" I shot back at her.
"Not to him, stupid. Keep an eye on the crowd."
Stupid? I'd remember that one. The crowd? Why did I want to pay
attention to them? I frowned at her not understanding.
"Security," she hissed. "Help me out here, Jadeth, for fuck's sake."
Hell, she's right. Much as I hate to admit it. High Command must be
trying to track down Ilyan. Who knows where they might have one of
their special ops boys or girls. I started paying more attention to
the situation than to Ilyan. I looked around the crowd of grunts,
looking for someone my gut told me didn't belong. Or even someone
who belonged but looked like they had a little plan they were about
to execute. Execute, hmm, not the best choice of words.
I edged away and started to stroll inconspicuously around the
audience, establishing a perimeter. Some of them glanced at me, but
most were riveted on Ilyan now. I watched them, watched their
movement, and watched every hand that reached for something.
Reaching for a candy bar, reaching for a quick scratch, or reaching
for a weapon? How fast could I get to someone on the other side of
the crowd if I saw them draw? Not fast enough. We needed someone on
the other side and someone on the back.
I tensed as one of the soldiers shouted something out, but then
relaxed. Just a question. Ilyan had finished his speech and invited
questions. I stood and half listened to him, but mostly I watched
the crowd.
After the Q&A, things broke up. A bunch of grunts surrounded Ilyan,
and I tensed up again, but saw Maiga at his side, so that looked
okay. Some of the others talked to Tesla and to the other officers
of the weirdo squad, firing more questions at them. I kept my
distance, keeping an eye on the whole scene.
A grunt wandered up to me and nodded. He got out a hip flask and
took a drink. He looked about forty, skin tanned brown by the sun of
who knows how many worlds. His face wore a burnt in expression of
total cynicism and his arm wore sergeant's stripes. I still had my
stripes showing. I'd thought about ripping them off, like the rest
of Ilyan's group. Not an easy thing to do though. I'd worked bloody
hard for those.
The other sergeant passed me the flask and I drank, rum burning my
throat. I hadn't been rascally drunk for at least a month, wished I
could change that tonight, but guessed not.
"This nutter on the level then?"
"Yeah," I said. "I think so."
"Why'd you think so?"
He wasn't asking me about the evidence. He'd already heard that
hadn't he? And he'd ask one of the officers if that's what he
wanted. I knew what he was asking me.
"Gut feeling."
He nodded. Sergeants had years of training in thinking with their
guts. I trusted mine more than my brain at times. He nodded, took
another swig at his flask, and walked away.
Had what I said made a difference to him? Ilyan figured I'm useful
for talking to blokes like that. Had I done my job? We'd see I
suppose.
~/~/~
I don't know how many units Ilyan had seen before I tagged up with
him, but it must have been a few as the next day he decided it was
time to move on. Our next destination Ayokidishi. Suits me. I like
the Okis. They may look like something you'd find at the bottom of a
pond and hit with a stick, but they knew how to party. A lot of
their planet is desert now, not swamp as it had been centuries ago,
so now they had become the galaxy's experts on the subject of cold
drinks. How we'd get there I didn't know, but the officers could
sort it out. I'd go where they told me. Well, where Ilyan told me.
Maiga could stuff it.
So we headed for the nearest spaceport, reaching it a couple of days
later. Soldiers filled the streets, humans and lizards, looking like
they'd come to check out some new and exciting drinks they'd heard
about. We didn't get a second glance while we sought out a place to
sleep, eventually checking into a small hotel. Lizard run, but
catering to humans.
Ilyan must have sneaked his money away when he left Earth because he
paid for rooms for all of us. A shared one for him and Maiga and
another share for Rish and Tanashi. I wondered who else might be
paired up as he specified the arrangements to the clerk, but the
rest of us got a room each.
My first priority in that room involved a lot of hot water and soap.
I must have stayed in the shower for at least an hour. Just stayed
under it for the sheer pleasure, long after I got clean. Finally I
shut it off and lay on the bed dozing for a while, until someone
knocked at my door.
I got up and wrapped a towel around my waist. I had no clothes to
put on. The staff had taken them all away to wash and the lizards
hadn't yet twigged on to the idea of providing bathrobes.
Ilyan stood at the door, in clean clothes, hair washed and still
damp at the ends. He looked startled by my near nakedness and his
eyes widened, perhaps at some of the scars I had. There's one across
my left side that scares the crap out of most people. A doc once
said it looked like someone tried to take out my kidney with a
potato peeler. Funny thing is I didn't even get that one in combat.
"Ah, Jadeth," he said, pulling himself together. "I just wanted to
check everything is satisfactory."
"Satisfactory? Oh, the room. Yeah, I guess. Come in." I opened the
door all the way and he walked in, looking around.
"I know it's rather basic," he said, sounding apologetic. "But I
thought we should keep a low profile."
"It's fine," I said. "Better than a lot of places I've slept."
Low profile is good though. We had to be careful, him and Tesla
being wanted men and the rest of the squad deserters. Me too, I
suppose. Strange to think of that. I've been AWOL a couple of times,
but never imagined I'd become an actual deserter.
"Are you okay?" Ilyan asked. "I knocked a couple of times earlier.
Were you sleeping?"
"Been in the shower." I jerked a thumb at the bathroom. "First one
for ten days, thought I'd make the most of it." I sat down on the
bed and he took a seat in a small armchair.
"I know what you mean." He sounded heartfelt. Then he frowned and
looked around, wrinkling his nose. "Is that horrible smell coming
from outside?" He glanced at the closed window.
"Ah, no." I grinned. "That's my boots."
"Oh! I'm sorry." He looked mortified and I had to laugh.
"Don't worry. I know the stink'd knock over a camel."
"I'm sure the hotel staff could take them and -"
"No," I said, maybe a bit too quick. "I, uh, I don't let the boots
out of my sight."
He stared at me, and then he grinned. "And I thought a soldier's
weapon was his best friend."
I leant back on one elbow arranging the towel so he didn't get a
view of my personal "weapon".
"Nah, me and a new rifle can get to know each other in a day, but me
and those boots go back years." It's true. Once you broke in a good
pair of boots you had to hang onto them. They'd see you through
anything.
"Well, I'll leave you alone," he said standing up. "I'll get some
food brought up to the rooms soon."
He seemed more in his element here, in even a "rather basic" hotel
room. Civilization, proper food, showers, beds. That's his world,
not hiking through the wilderness. Yet he gave all that up.
"We'll get on our way tomorrow. Jia and Vimal are working on finding
us transport to Ayok."
"Okay."
"Goodnight, Jad." He strode to the door. I sat up suddenly.
"Where are you?" I asked. "Which room? Um, for security," I finished
lamely. He stopped, hand on the door handle, looked at me.
"Two doors down," he said after a moment, pointing to the left. He
smiled. "Don't worry about me. Maiga will make sure I'm okay." Then
he frowned. "Actually, well Tesla is next door here, between us. If
anything happened… well, like I said, Maiga would take care of me.
Can you look out for Tes?"
"Um, sure," I said, though couldn't imagine that Tesla would do
anything but hide under the bed. "I'll see he's safe." Did Ilyan
know about the cosy little chat Tesla and Maiga had by the fire a
couple of nights ago? I wondered.
"Thank you, Jadeth." He smiled at me. "I know I can rely on you."
Chapter 6
"Our best chance is this troop transport heading to Ayokidishi,"
Vimal explained, as we left the hotel in the morning. "Maiga's set
up fake ID details. We're a special unit accompanying," he nodded at
Ilyan and Tesla, "on an intelligence mission. Classified, of course,
so no-one can ask us any questions about it."
"Well done, Vim," Ilyan said. Vimal actually blushed at the praise.
So damn young.
"Well, Jia did a lot of it." He glanced at her with a shy smile and
she smiled back. She's not much older than him. Shit, if those two
paired off that left me a choice of Rin or Tesla. Marvellous.
With a few hours to kill before the shuttle to the transport left,
we headed to a market, for a quick shopping spree. The large number
of Earth troops on the planet meant we found as many stores and
stalls catering to humans as to the native Muaan Qacia.
We split up, though didn't stray too far from each other. I searched
around and picked up some essentials. I really wanted a new Snapper
of course, but I had no chance of finding a military spec one here.
At least not with the money I had. I'd wait till the transport ship,
felt sure I could snaffle myself one there.
Someone approached too close behind me as I rummaged in some bins on
a garment stall. I spun around ready to strike, but it was only
Ilyan. I relaxed as he backed off, looking alarmed.
"Sorry," I said. "Gotta watch yourself around here. Thieves
everywhere."
He looked around at the bustling crowd.
"Of course. Can I talk to you a moment, Jadeth?"
We wandered over to a stall selling hot coffee and little cakes. He
bought us small cups of their strongest java along with a couple of
cakes each. I looked around, searching for Maiga. She's meant to be
keeping an eye on him, isn't she? Anything could happen in a crowd
like this. Anybody could get close to him. I spotted her by a stall,
talking to Tesla. Should've known.
"I need to toughen up," Ilyan said.
I turned back to him, watched him eat one of the cakes in small
bites and chase it down with a sip of coffee, holding the tiny
handle of the cup between his thumb and finger. He may have a point.
Still I said, "Toughen up?" with my eyebrows raised as if not sure
what he could possibly mean.
"It's important I talk to the troops on the front line. I want them
to see how committed I am, that I'm prepared to suffer the same
hardships as them. But a day's hiking leaves me exhausted, and
that's without even carrying a pack the size of that thing you have
on your back right now."
"You do okay," I said, meaning it. "You don't complain all the time
like..." I didn't finish.
"I slow the group down. We both do, Tesla and I. We need training,
and we need pushing." He smiled wryly. "I've told Maiga to push me
like she would anyone else, but... Well our personal relationship
means that's not really going to happen."
That surprised me, frankly. She seemed pretty damn pushy to me. If
what I'd seen so far is her holding back what the hell is she like
with someone she's not shagging? I glanced over at her and Tesla
again. Holding back with him too?
"And it's not only the hiking," Ilyan went on, handing his cup back
to the vendor, along with a coin for a refill. "I should be able to
fight. I can't rely on others to protect me all of the time. I need
to be able to defend myself, with weapons, or unarmed."
"Didn't you have any basic training at all?" I asked surprised. Was
reading the only thing he'd done at school?
"Of course. But a very long time ago, I'm afraid. And I never kept
in practice." He looked at me, with a serious expression. "Jad, you
can teach me these things. And you can push me and make me work and
get fit."
I frowned. Training wasn't really my bag. But he needed to know
these things, or else he could be a sitting duck.
"I'll do what I can." I promised him.
"Tesla too."
I suppressed a groan. Great. At least Ilyan wanted to work. Weasel
boy would complain even more if I started ordering him around.
"Can we start right away?" Ilyan said, bringing my attention back to
him.
"Huh?" I said. "Well what do you suggest?"
"Let's swap packs."
I stared at him. Did he have the smallest clue what this thing
weighed?
"Are you mad?"
"That's something that's occurred to me," he said. "Come on, let me
try."
"It'll hurt you."
"Let me try," he persisted.
"Masochist." I grinned suddenly, seeing the funny side. We stepped
off the thoroughfare, away from the smell of coffee and cinnamon,
into a cold and damp little alleyway and each of us slid our packs
off our shoulders. His looked about half the size of mine and when
he handed it to me it felt like less than half the weight. I held it
with one hand while he had to grab mine with both his hands and
looked alarmed.
"Ah, this might have been a bad idea." He strained even to lift the
pack.
"Too late to change your mind," I said, smiling, teasing. I slipped
his pack onto my shoulders easily. "Ah yes, I like yours much
better. Here…" I took my pack from his hands. "Turn around." He
obeyed and slipped his arms though the shoulder straps when I held
the pack up. When I let go and the weight settled on him I had to
put my hands out to stop him stumbling backwards.
"Shit!" He gasped. "I think my arms are going to fall off!"
I laughed as he turned around looking outraged.
"We make men and women carry this weight into combat?" He shook his
head. "Insane."
"You get used to it." I found the sternum strap that fastened around
the body. It was caught up behind his back and my hand brushed his
ribs as I retrieved it. Not a spare gram of fat on him, I noticed. I
put that down to the effect of poor food and too little of it the
last three months, as much as to the extra exercise. I fastened the
strap securely.
"That keeps it from sliding around," I said. I adjusted the shoulder
straps, moved the padded sections to the right places. "These go
over the bones, stops it chafing."
"I never knew carrying a pack was so technical," he muttered, with a
quirky look. He looked down at the sternum strap and then winced.
"My hair is caught under it!"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't be such a girl." I said and then added,
mock sternly. "And get a haircut, soldier."
He saluted me, grinning.
"Sir, yes, sir."
"That's the worst salute I ever saw," I said, not entirely kidding.
Ilyan looked past me and smiled. I turned to see Maiga standing
watching us.
"My dear," Ilyan said to her. "I have new respect for you and all
soldiers, that you can carry what appears to be a house on your
back."
"What's this in aid of?" She asked, coming up to us. Ilyan hitched
up the pack and winced as the weight settled again. "You'll hurt
yourself. Take it off." She glared at me. I just looked back at her
with my blankest expression, the one reserved specially for
officers. "Take it off him," she told me.
"No," Ilyan said. "It's fine."
I could see from the strain in his face that he was in pain. But he
said no. He said it's fine.
"FIGMO." I said to Maiga and walked off feeling her eyes trying to
burn the back of my head off.
"What does that mean?" I heard Ilyan ask as the two of them walked
after me.
"Never mind," she said, tightly.
"GMO is 'got my orders'," I called back. I looked over my shoulder
and smirked. "I'll let you work out what the F and the I stand for."
Chapter
7
I'll give Maiga her due; she'd faked up good IDs for us that took us
first onto the shuttle, then the transport. We met minimal security
on both.
Minimal like. "You human?" "Yep." "Welcome aboard." Well why not?
We're all humans. We're all on the same side.
Though the transport could carry thousands of troops, this run held
only a few hundred. But the cargo holds were full to bursting of
hardware, from small arms to tanks. Even the unused barrack rooms
had been converted to temporary storage.
The chief blanket stacker allocated us a couple of small barracks
room, one for the men, one for the women, and gave us some tables
and chairs so we could pretty much live there. Ilyan wanted to get
out and talk to the troops aboard. But Maiga said we should lie low
for a couple of days at least and check it out first. Seemed
sensible. Our faked orders about an intelligence mission guaranteed
our privacy too. Nobody liked to mess with field intelligence
operatives. If you upset them they just looked at you real hard,
committing your face to memory and made a note of your name. Most
grunts would prefer being shot.
Maiga didn't look pleased at splitting up from Ilyan when we got to
our accommodation. She gave me a look and beckoned me over. I took
my sweet time strolling across to her. She didn't mince words.
"You're pissing me off, Sergeant, a hell of a lot. But Ilyan likes
you and I think he'll listen to you. Even when he won't listen to
any of the others."
I'm pissing her off huh? Nice. "Why would he listen to me?" I asked,
slow-burning defiance in my tone.
"Because you're experienced. Because you know how to stay alive.
Keep him in that room and take care of him." She glanced around,
making sure no-one else could hear, and then she bent closer to me.
"If anything happens to Ilyan when you're on guard then I will
personally cut your balls off, you understand me?"
She made her point pretty clear. Marines carry a slender, rather
elegant, combat knife. I'd no strong urge to see it close up.
"I think I'm following you, ma'am."
She stalked off into the women's barracks and I strode into the
men's. The other men had chosen their cots and started unpacking
their gear.
"Ilyan," I said, making him look up at me. "You want that cot on the
end, by the wall." I pointed at it. He frowned at me and stood up.
"I don't think I do, thank you, Sergeant," he said, haughtily. The
others stared at me.
Damn, I'd got a little too cheeky. Giving Maiga so much lip must
have gone to my head. I'd started strutting around like a full bird
colonel. I took a breath, trying to let some of the air out of my
head. Then I put on my special "telling an officer what to do while
making him think it's his idea" tone.
"It's more secure. Then I can take the cot next to it. Tesla should
have that one." I pointed at a cot in the opposite corner. "And Rish
or Rin can take the one next to it." The two Marines at least looked
intimidating.
Including Tesla in the arrangements worked. Ilyan's haughty look
softened and he glanced around at the cots.
"Good idea, Sergeant." He started gathering up the gear he'd
unpacked. I followed him and dumped my pack on the end of the cot
beside his. Vimal had started to unpack there and he glanced up at
me nervously as he packed up his kit. I resisted the urge to tell
him to hurry, waited patiently until he stood up.
"Thanks, kid," I said, smiling at him. I sat down and started to
unpack my gear. ~/~/~ I woke in the morning to the
very unlikely sight of Ilyan and Tesla doing push ups. I just lay
for a while watching them and trying not to laugh. Tesla moaned and
complained. Ilyan kept up a stream of encouraging chatter while not
managing any more reps than his mate.
Good to see them show willing, but you know push ups aren't really
push ups unless you're doing them outside at oh four hundred hours,
in the rain or snow, with two NCOs screaming insults and
contradictory orders into each ear. Shame I couldn't reproduce that
here. Well maybe a good thing actually, if I wanted to keep Ilyan
alive.
I got up off my cot, scratching my belly.
"How many's that, lads?"
"Oh, good morning, Jadeth," Ilyan said, looking up at me. "Um,
twenty two… three."
"Twenty four." Tesla gasped out.
"No breakfast until you get to fifty."
"What?" Tesla flopped to the deck and looked up at me. "What the
hell are you --?"
"Did you hear me tell you to stop?"
The expression on my face must have scared the pants of him, because
he levered himself up again with a groan.
"Hey, Vim, um, Vimal." I tried to be a bit less cocky. It's hard
when you're in a room full of blokes you can take down with one hand
behind your back. "Keep an eye on them while I shower. Don't let
them slack off."
I had little hope that the boy would crack the whip on them, but
someone had to keep count, because Tesla would count each push up as
five if I read him right.
I found the bathrooms and took my time in the shower. We had two
weeks on this ship. With intense work I could at least make a start
on getting those two into shape. We'd have good food to eat so that
would help. Get plenty of protein into the pair of them. So fitness
training, some hand to hand. Weapons training might be more
difficult. There'd be a practice range around somewhere, but using
that could fall under the heading of drawing attention. It would
look odd. If Ilyan and Tesla were meant to be field intelligence
agents, like our fake orders claimed, then they'd already have
weapons training.
Okay, I'd leave the guns till we got planet side and stick with the
physical stuff for now. And I decided I'd hand Tesla off to one of
the others. Rish and Rin were both in top shape, and they didn't
seem to think much of Tesla, so I think I could get them to push
him.
I'd concentrate on Ilyan.
~/~/~ I made sure the spooks did their fifty push ups
before I let them have breakfast. Tesla glowered at me the whole
meal and Ilyan didn't exactly look at me like he wanted to have my
babies. But I didn't let that bother me. If a man doesn't hate you
while you're training him then you're not pushing hard enough.
The girls joined us for breakfast, Maiga still casting me the evil
eye. After we ate I put on the most diplomatic tone that I could
manage and suggested that Rish and Rin took Tesla for a run. We
might as well take advantage of the miles of corridor on this ship.
Tesla moaned, but Ilyan just looked at him and nodded.
"Tanashi, Jia and Vimal are going to do some recon," Maiga said.
"And I'm going to stroll around and see what useful items I can pick
up."
"I want a new Snapper." I reminded her.
"Do you have a colour preference?" She snarked and Jia giggled. "And
your plans, Sergeant?"
"I'm going to give Ilyan a little refresher in those unarmed combat
skills he's forgotten all about." I grinned evilly at him.
"Oh dear," Ilyan said, suddenly looking very worried indeed. ~/~/~
Once the others pushed off Ilyan and me shoved all the cots and the
table out of the way and arranged the mattresses from the cots on
the deck, as crash mats.
"Right, boss." I sat on a chair and took off my boots, then stood up
and pulled my shirt over my head. "Shoes off, shirt off. Let's see
what you've got."
Looking nervously at my scars again he slipped off the soft shoes he
wore and, kind of shyly, took off his shirt, loosening the short
placket of buttons then pulling it over his head. He dropped the
shirt and wrapped his arms around himself as if he felt cold.
Though he was as skinny as a rake, like I'd figured, his arms and
shoulders had a bit of lean muscle, if not much bulk. Good abs,
stomach flat and taut. Okay, I had enough to work with, not too bad
a place to start. He needed bulking up and he needed strength and
stamina, but I could get him there.
Right now though, unarmed combat.
"Come here." I had him follow me onto our improvised crash mats and
I looked him over critically. "Right, you're a tall man, but skinny
and light. That means you've got a high centre of gravity, so you're
vulnerable to being taken off your feet. Hold your arms out, towards
me."
He did as I told him and I nodded.
"Good, you've got a long reach. Your best chance is speed, and in
staying back and wearing your man down. You wait for him to get
winded, and then go in for a quick decisive finish. You get too
close then you're dead meat. You get knocked down then you're dead
meat." He listened intently, taking it all in. "So in that case the
first thing you need to learn is how to break out of a hold,
standing or on the ground."
I approached him and he backed up a step, nervous. Instinct I
guessed. He's taller, but I'm significantly heavier. His instincts
told him to get away from me. Good. Instincts are a soldier's
friends.
But he regained control and a defiant look appeared on his face. I
smiled, a bit feral, and then closed on him fast and grabbed him
around the waist. I hooked a leg out from under him and took him
down to the mat. He gasped as we landed. I kept my weight off him,
just held him down with my arms.
"Lesson number one. Somebody big can also be fast."
"So I see." His voice sounded pained and I frowned. Did he hurt
himself already? I'd been careful not to actually slam him.
Something occurred to me. Oh bugger, he really had forgotten
everything he'd ever been taught.
"Ilyan, you do know how to fall don't you? So you don't get hurt I
mean?"
"I knew I'd forgotten something," he said ruefully.
Great. I sat up, letting him go. He sat up, rubbing his back.
I passed a hand across my face, rubbed my eyes. "We're really going
to have to start with the nursery stuff, huh?"
"I'm afraid so."
I got up and pulled him up after me.
"Right, let's try that same manoeuvre, but this time you throw me
and I'll show you how to land without getting hurt."
I had to demo it three times before I felt satisfied he had the
gist. By the third he'd started moving very nicely when it came to
hooking out my leg. With me co-operating of course. No way could he
throw me against my will.
As I landed on my back the third time, slapping the mat to take the
impact, he leant over, trying to pin me as I had pinned him. He'd
soon learn you didn't pin a man heavier than you. You went for a
fast killing blow, because you can't keep him on the ground any
other way. But for now I indulged him, told him where to put his
hands.
"Good, that's it." His too soft hands felt ridiculous on my skin,
made it hard to remember we were practicing fighting here. I didn't
need to fight a man like this, I could swat him aside.
"Jadeth?"
I looked up into his questioning face. His long blond hair fell
forward as he bent over me. Should have tied that back. In fact he
should cut it. Long hair gives the enemy a handhold.
"What's next, Jadeth?"
Next? Buggered if I knew. I saw the truth clear suddenly. I couldn't
teach this man to defend himself against even a badly trained
soldier, never mind a good one. I could indulge him with some basic
holds and throws. Let him think he had some idea what he was doing.
But to get him in even basic fighting shape would take a year at
least. And High Command would come after him long before then, I
knew. Long before then.
Well they'd have to get past me when they did.
"You know," I said, surprised at how hoarse my voice sounded. "Maiga
could have been teaching you this stuff."
He grinned then, sat up and I thought he was going to stand, but he
suddenly straddled me. I gasped with surprise and resisted the
instinct to buck him off at once.
"We tried," Ilyan said. "Maiga and me." He bent forward, put his
hands down flat on the mat on either side of my arms. "But picture
yourself as me and me as Maiga. Now tell me…" he bent closer, till
the ends of his hair actually brushed my neck and chest. His voice
went low and throaty. "Do you think in these circumstances you'd
manage to finish the training session?"
I gulped. "I, um, see your point, Boss."
He laughed and rolled off me, onto his back, still laughing, one
hand flat on his belly.
"Much less distracting with you, Jad. Much less distracting."
"That's good," I said, looking up at the ceiling lights.
I needed a drink.
Chapter
8
That night we ate dinner while sharing out the nice haul of goodies
the others had picked up while they checked out the ship. Tanashi
had snagged a bunch of medical supplies. Maiga had picked up lots of
good stuff, including a Snapper for me.
"And I thought only grunts suffered from Shiny Kit Syndrome," I
said, examining the gadget carefully. A newer model than my old one.
Nice. "Thanks, Captain."
She actually gave me a friendly smile. "Don't get this one smashed."
"Sure." I winked at her. "Next time there's some shrapnel heading my
way I'll try to shield the Snapper with my body."
Ilyan, sitting beside me drinking tea, laughed and then groaned.
Tesla sat on Ilyan's other side, with his head down on his folded
arms, taking no interest in the shiny things.
"The sergeant been giving you two a good workout?" Maiga asked them.
"If by good you mean 'brutal to the point of sadism', then yes,"
Ilyan said, rubbing his side. Tesla just moaned. Him and the Marines
had come back in to the barracks room after his run and the five of
us hit it hard the rest of the day. The two spooks were wiped out
and even Rish and Rin seemed tired. I'll admit to looking forward to
some kip too.
But tomorrow we'd do it all over again. Harder.
~/~/~ Dreams. Not of blue or green sky. Dreams of
urgent flesh and darkness and hunger. And I woke up drenched in
sweat, too hot to rest.
Damn, but these barracks rooms needed better ventilation, I could
hardly breath. The sounds of the other men sleeping seemed
unbearably loud. Snoring, muttering or just bloody breathing. I sat
up and glanced over at Ilyan's bed. He slept on his back, his face
relaxed, almost smiling, his long hair disarranged on the pillow.
Across the room Tesla slept with the covers pulled over his head.
I jumped, startled, as I realised Rish was awake, looking at me. I
guess my movement woke him. Maybe those Marine boys are sharper than
I give them credit for. I nodded at him and he lay down again. I
rose and pulled some fatigues out of the box under my cot, slipped
them on quick. The cold floor against my feet felt good, so I left
off socks and shoes and padded out of the room.
I decided to take a walk, just around the block of barracks rooms.
The corridors were cooler, almost breezy, I could get a breath. And
then maybe a shower, a cold shower, because when I say 'hot' I don't
just mean the temperature.
I found Jia out in the corridor. Of course Maiga had ordered a guard
be set, must be Jia's stint. Okay this could be interesting.
"Hey," I said, wandering up to her.
"Hi, Jadeth." She smiled. She really was tasty. Thick, black hair,
brown eyes with long lashes and her mouth... Her close fitting star
ship officer's uniform showed off a curvy figure that she carried
off nicely despite only being about five two.
I stood quite close to her, put my hand on the wall, and leaned
casual-like.
"Maiga got you pulling the graveyard shift?"
"Yeah." She smiled ruefully. "She thought she'd let all you men
sleep, since you've been doing all that PT today. So just us girls
on watch tonight."
"If I'd known that I'd have stayed up all night myself." I winked at
her and she blushed.
"You need your rest." She looked up at me, kind of shy, but I felt
still sure I got a vibe from her. I bent forward and raised my hand,
to cup her cheek. My lips rested briefly on hers, but she pulled
away.
"Don't."
"What's wrong?" I moved my hand so it stroked her bare upper arm.
Soft. Smooth. Warm. "I thought you liked me, honey?"
"I… I think you're, um, attractive," she admitted. "In a sort of,
well, different kind of way." Hah, the rough and ready, that's what
she wanted, just like I thought. My head filled with sensations from
my dream again. Flesh, straining for satisfaction.
"What's the problem then?" I moved closer and she pressed back
against the wall. A tiny morsel of fear showed in her eyes. "I fancy
you, you fancy me," I said. "Where's the complication?"
"Thing is, me and Vimal, we're sort of --"
"Vim?" I laughed out loud. I moved my hand from her arm and ran my
fingers around the edging of the neck of her shirt. My fingers
trailed across soft skin as my hand moved. I watched my own hand,
didn't look into her face. "You need a real man, not a boy," I told
her.
"Don't," she whispered again.
I looked at her face and now I could see real fear there. She knew
my strength. Knew I could take what I wanted, if I wanted to. But I
didn't want to. Never been that sort. Not saying I can't get a bit
insistent at times. But force? Nah, not me.
Besides which Maiga would slice off my balls, fry them in garlic and
make me eat them.
So I stepped back and saw her sigh and relax.
"Okay, princess." I suddenly had an image of her in one of those old
times frocks, all silk and lace. A princess in a tower. Yeah I guess
she needed more a knight in shining armour sort. Vim could maybe fit
the bill. He's in training for it anyway. I smiled. "Well you know
where I am if you want a little fun with someone who has to shave
every day."
I turned away. Now I really needed that cold shower. ~/~/~
Between the two of us, Maiga and me managed to keep Ilyan bottled up
for a week. I wore him out during the day. She kept him occupied in
the evening. And no, not the kind of occupation I'd tried with Jia.
I doubt he had the energy. But in the end Ilyan decided he'd had
enough of it.
A week into the trip we were sat around the table in our room,
playing a few hands of poker. I noticed Jia and Vim giving each
other darting glances and smiles. Hell, I'd probably improved the
boy's chances no end. She'd apparently decided to make some moves on
him. Maybe looking for a protector from the big bad grunt.
"I'm going to talk to some of the troops on this ship," Ilyan
announced.
"No," Maiga said, not even looking at him.
"Why not?" He asked. I felt disappointed that he didn't pile on the
same haughty tone that he'd used when I'd told him where to sleep.
"Because we can't get off this ship," Maiga explained. She had a
good point. It wasn't like in the wilds when we could drop by a
unit, tell them about the prophecy and be long gone before anyone
could report Ilyan's presence. A ship was different. Like Maiga
said, we couldn't get off. Still she could have explained that to
him in private, not put him down in front of the rest of us.
"Nevertheless," Ilyan said. He tossed a poker chip into the pot.
"Raise twenty."
"Ilyan --"
"Maiga, I'm doing this. If I wanted to stay safe I wouldn't be here
at all. I'm starting tonight."
Rin called and we laid down our cards. Ilyan had a full house, Maiga
had two pair. He smiled gently at her and raked in the pot.
"I'm sorry, Maiga."
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