Hunter, Warrior, Commander

by Andrew Maclure

  “I am sorry Colonel. Attacking you was unforgivable.”

  Colonel B’erren Tek stood up. “I don’t remember you attacking me Sah Lee. I’m sure it never happened.” She gave Sah Lee a small smile, patted her shoulder and returned to her seat. “As I was saying, no one wanted you here Sah Lee. If we needed more troops right now, we would draw on our reserve force of people who have left the army but agreed to come back if we need them. They are already trained and are familiar with our structure and the way we work, but we don’t take suggestions from one of the People lightly. You are lucky to be here. I am the People’s Liaison officer for the army and I know Ker Din Ser Forn well, and I hold him in high regard. He is rarely wrong in his assessment of people, so maybe you will prove us lucky to have you. Now, the Council of Generals have decided that a small unarmed token force will be adequate, you will be part of it. The presence of the peacekeeping force should prevent any more outbreaks of violence. This assignment should be peaceful, but I can't guarantee that. Your unit will be unarmed, apart from your personal weapons, which you will only use as a last resort. I will be coming with you, but I’ll stay in orbit. The Generals do not consider this mission requires a Colonel on the ground. Any questions?”

  “Yes Colonel. Why are you briefing me? You can’t be briefing everyone who is going on this mission.”

  The Colonel leaned back in her seat. “I’m briefing you, Sah Lee, because as part of my duties as Liaison officer for the People, Ker Din Ser Forn has asked me to keep him up to date with your progress, and for my opinion of you.”

  “So, he’s still spying on me, is he?” Sah said bitterly.

  “He told me you are not fond of him. You attacked him the first time you met him. Let me see, you also attacked Corporal Touren when you first met her and Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak when you first met him. And of course, you attacked me when you first met me.” She smiled. “I can see a pattern forming here Sah Lee. That’s a habit you are going to have to break. If you happen to feel the urge to attack any of the General’s, fight it down. They are less forgiving than some of us and I can assure you that the consequence of attacking any of them, whatever the provocation, will end with you being put out of an airlock without a space suit regardless of army regulations. Ker Din Ser Forn’s interest in you will not protect you from the Generals. Do you understand?”

  “Yes Sir.” she answered.

  “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. If you have any more question’s, message me today and I’ll try to arrange a meeting. We are traveling to Orn, that’s the name of the colony we’re going to, on a battle cruiser. Once we’re on there, you won’t have access to me. If any of your fellow soldiers see you talking to me it will adversely affect your relationships with them. You’ll meet up with Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak on the battle cruiser. He’ll brief you and the rest of your unit on the details of the mission. Everything you need will be provided on the battle cruiser, you need to take nothing with you apart from the clothes you are wearing and your personal weapon. Use today to practice unarmed and close combat fighting. You have a golem?”

  “Yes, I’ve used it a few times.”

  “Good. Instruct your AI to push you to your limits. That’s all now Private. Dismissed.”

  Sah Lee left the Colonel's office and walked to the gravity tube in deep thought.

  Chapter Forty Six

  Departure

  Sah Lee felt exhausted by the time she left the practice area. She had been fighting with her golem all day. Her AI had, of course, heard what the Colonel said and used the golem to attack her relentlessly, repeating moves time after time until she countered them perfectly.

  She went straight into the wet room to shower as soon as she got back to her quarters. As she came out, Touren came in. “I hear you’re going on the peacekeeping mission to Orn.”

  “Yes. Does everybody know?”

  “Not many people are interested. Peacekeeping is boring, but at least it’ll get you into the field. Is Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak going too?”

  “Yes, I’ll be in his unit.”

  “You’ll see some action then. When he gets moody, and he is now, he could start a fight in an empty room. How is your close combat training going?”

  “I don’t know. The Sergeant and my golem always beat me. Just when I think I’m getting good, they do something different and I end up flat on my back again.”

  “That’s the job of your golem and you won’t ever beat Si’ir Monnen Dak. He is very big and strong for a sentient mammal and he has been fighting all his life. He won’t say how old he is, but he has been in a lot of armies.”

  “Really? I thought people always went back to their previous army if they wanted to fight again. You did. Why has he been with so many?”

  “Sometimes he leaves because there’s not enough action but mostly he’s thrown out for assaulting a superior officer. This army is pretty good with him, one or other of the Colonels always notice when he gets a bit twitchy after not seeing action for a while and find something for him to do. That’s why he’s going on this mission, and as he’s been training you, you’re going with him. As it’s your last night on board, do you want to go to a bar tonight?”

  Sah Lee smiled. “Yes, and ask Ranesh if she’d like to join us. I’d like her to meet my new friend.”

  “You have a friend? You surprise me. But are you sure? I didn’t think the two of you got on.”

  “I think we’ll have a better understanding when she’s met my friend.” Sah Lee said, looking forward to Ranesh threatening her while the Krendor, Kar Fen, was standing over her. “I’ll message him now.”

  “Your friend is a male? You said you didn’t like males!”

  “This one is different.” Sah Lee replied.

  “Oh no he’s not. All males are the same.”

  “You’ll see.” Sah Lee said and told her AI to send Kar Fen a message. The answer came back almost immediately. “I am on an exercise down on Betzel for the next four days. Let me know next time.”

  “I’ve changed my mind!” Sah Lee blurted out. “I’m tired, I’m going to bed now.” She swiftly left the room.

  Touren gave her a puzzled look as she left.

  The following morning Sah Lee followed her AI’s directions to the lander dock. She located Si’ir Monnen Dak and walked over to him. “Hello Si’ir Monn.” she smiled.

  “Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak to you, Private.” he snapped back. “Get on board. Your kit is on there, your AI will show you where it is. Get your armor on and sit down.”

  Sah Lee jumped to attention. “Yes Sir!” but he had turned his back on her to growl at another soldier.

  She boarded the lander and picked up the backpack, pulse weapon and body armor indicated by her AI. “There is space at the back for you to get your body armor on. I have bonded with your weapon and your field armor. When you’re ready, I’ll show you your allocated seat. You’ll stay in the lander until the battle cruiser goes into orbit and won’t leave it until you land on Orn.” her AI told her.

  As she walked down the aisle to the back of the lander struggling to hold her weapon, armor and backpack, she managed to hit almost everybody already seated with her weapon on her right or her helmet on her left. She heard a lot of swear words that didn’t have direct translations in her own language. When she reached the back of the lander she pulled on the body armor and her AI told her how to clip her weapon to the side of her backpack. “On your way to your seat, carry your backpack in front of you and hold your helmet above it. That way you won’t hit anyone, and you may reach your seat alive.”

  When she reached her allocated seat, as indicated by her AI, she sat next to the soldier already seated by the window, careful not to hit it with her helmet. She noticed that it was a mammal with mottled skin, a flat nose and small piercing eyes. Its long hair was pulled back tightly and knotted. “Hello, I’m…”

  The soldier turned and interrupted “Are you the rookie?”

  “Yes, I�
��m…”

  “Sit down and shut up.” the soldier said and turned to look out the window.

  “This is a good start.” she thought.

  After a few minutes when all the seats were occupied, the door slid shut and straps extruded from the seat and secured her. She felt the lander judder as it lifted off, then swing around and accelerate out of the dock. She was on her way to her first assignments a soldier.

  Chapter Forty Seven

  Arrival on Orn

  The lander approached Orn at an angle to get into an equatorial orbit. After circling the planet twice, it entered the atmosphere for a steady descent. Peering past the soldier in the window seat next to her she could see a blue ocean sparkling in the sunlight with wispy white clouds strewn across it. A series of islands came into view, getting progressively bigger until she saw a huge area of green land come into view. As they approached and got lower, she could see the green resolve into a dense canopy of trees of varying shades. The lander slowed as a cleared area came into Sah Lee’s restricted view, then she saw a large paved area that had three landers parked on it. Each had a group of soldiers clustered around it. The lander slowed to a stop, hovered above the ground for a few moments, then gently dropped to the ground. As the restraining straps retracted back into the seats, the soldier next to Sah Lee stood. “Come on rookie, get a move on.”

  Sah Lee grasped her bag and helmet and hurriedly stood up. In her rush to get out of her companion’s way, she tripped over her own feet and fell into the gangway, almost knocking over the soldier going past. As it regained its footing, it reached down and helped Sah Lee up. “Steady on soldier. You’re the rookie, aren’t you?”

  “Yes Sir. Private Sah Lee.”

  “I’m not a Sir.” The soldier pushed Sah Lee in the back to move her along in the line shuffling out of the lander. “I heard what the soldier said to you. I guess that’s why you jumped up in a panic. I’ll give you a lesson in military etiquette. Unless it’s a superior officer, if anyone tells you to get a move on or hurry up, the correct response is ‘fuck you soldier, I’ll do it in my own time.’ Got it?”

  “Yeah. You sure?”

  “Yup. Now get a move on!”

  Without turning her head, Sah Lee replied “Fuck you soldier, I’ll do it in my own time.”

  The soldier behind her laughed and slapped her on the back. “That’s better. You sound like a soldier now.”

  Sah Lee felt like she’d just been given her first real lesson in soldiering.

  She filed off the lander with the other troops and looked around. The landing area’s paving was uneven and dusty with weeds creeping out of the many cracks in the surface. Scrubby bushes surrounded most of the paved area, some with odd bits of rubbish caught up in their lower branches. A thin veil of gray cloud covered the sky, with a bright patch showing the position of the sun. It was hot and humid; the air was still. The spicy scent of the bushes mingled with the characteristic stale smell of the interior of the lander.

  As she stepped off the lander ramp, Sah Lee spotted Si’ir Monn and joined the surrounding group. The soldiers from one of the other landers joined them. She had only just found a place to stand when the soldier who sat next to her on the shuttle shoved her out of the way and took her place. Remembering what she had been told on the lander on the way off, she grasped the soldier’s arm, spun it round and punched it as hard as she could in the eye. It staggered back and clasped its hand over its eye. “You’ve fucking blinded me!” It shouted. The surrounding soldiers started to laugh and moved back to make a space.

  “Think yourself lucky your head is still on your shoulders. Don’t push me around soldier, or I’ll put out both your eyes.”

  A medic, a large centipede like creature, pushed through the crowd. “I knew the first casualty would be from a friendly. And I was pretty sure it would be you, Fauren Ess. I’ve half a mind to recommend you for an interpersonal relationships course!” There was more laughter and cheers as the medic led the injured Fauren Ess away.

  Si’ir Monn’s voice rang out. “You’ve all seen our rookie, Private Sah Lee, in action. I have spent many days training her in unarmed and close combat, so I’d advise you not to piss her off. I don’t want to lose any more to the medics. This is a peacekeeping mission, so there should be no fighting, except within our ranks, and I don’t want to see any more of that. We have one CO on this mission, Major Erret San Mer. Those of you who know him will know he is pretty hands off and he’s leaving the day to day operations to me and Sergeant Dorsh Ab Morg. We're containing the separatists, Sergeant Dorsh Ab Morg’s unit are stationed with the loyalists. If there is any coming together between the two parties, our job is to keep them from fighting. Do not, under any circumstances, engage with Sergeant Dorsh Ab Morg’s unit. If any of you do, I will shoot you. Is that clear?”

  A chorus of ‘Yes Sir!’ came from the soldiers.

  “Avoid, if at all possible from engaging with the locals. You may get provoked, but act like the professionals you are. They are civilians, unarmed and un-armored. Your job is to stand your ground. If you are at risk of injury use minimal force to restrain your assailant. Clear?”

  Another chorus of ‘Yes Sir!’ came from the soldiers.

  “A rescue and retrieval unit with hospital facilities will arrive shortly to support the field medics. A heavy lander with synthesizers, wet and dry rooms and some civilized beds is also on its way. You will share the beds and use them in rotation. You’ll get a schedule on the mission comm link telling you when it’s your turn. When you’re not sleeping in the lander you’ll do what you would in any mission, you’ll sleep when you can where you can. Follow me. Private Sah Lee, Corporal Ren Deel with me!”

  Sah Lee hurried through the throng of soldiers to catch up with Si’ir Monn. “What’s the mission comm link?” she asked her AI.

  “It lets the members of the mission talk to each other, That mostly means getting your orders. As a private you won’t have much to communicate, unless you need help. I have connected to it. You can choose to talk to individuals or groups. If you need it, tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”

  Sah Lee reached Si’ir Monn at the same time as a tall, stockily built avian with short black glossy feathers entirely covering its face and swept back over its head. It had a short, wide beak with a sharp hook at the end.

  “Sah Lee, this is Corporal Ren Deel. He’ll be your immediate superior during this mission. Do what he says and don’t attack him.”

  “Yes Sir!” she answered.

  Turning to the avian and trying to walk quickly to attention, she said “Hello, I’m Private Sah Lee, Sir.”

  “We’ve met, briefly.” he replied.

  As soon as he spoke, Sah Lee recognized his voice as the soldier behind her on the lander. “Oh, it’s you! I mean, it’s you, Sir.”

  “Don’t ‘Sir’ me. You call me Corp or Corporal when we’re on duty, Ren when we’re not. Do I call you Sah or Lee?”

  “My name is Sah Lee Sir. I mean, Corp. My people use both parts of our names at all times.”

  “Sah Lee it is then. Stick close to me Private Sah Lee. Hopefully this mission will just be a lot of standing around, but you’ll learn from me how to interact with your fellow soldiers and officers. You dealt with Fauren Ess well. He’s an obnoxious bastard and not even a good soldier, but he manages not do anything that will get himself thrown out. He’s got a real nasty streak, so watch your back when he’s around. He knows you’ve got no friends here yet, so he’ll see you as vulnerable.”

  “I think the Sergeant is a sort of friend.”

  “I think you may be right. I'll be your friend too Sah Lee, as long as you don’t piss me off, but you need to make more friends. You’ve not mixed much since you’ve joined up. Now keep your eyes open. These may be civilians, it doesn’t mean they’re friendly.”

  Chapter Forty Eight

  Peace Keeping

  A peace keeping force has every right to expect to go into a peaceful
situation. History shows they are usually disappointed.

  The drones that Si’ir Monn sent ahead of them relayed video of the area of the city occupied by the separatists. It looked normal from a distance. Closer inspection showed a defensive line of buildings that had their doors and windows reinforced. There were devices scattered around that looked superficially like bits of rubble or rubbish but were anti-personnel explosive devices with smart sensors. Some shots were fired at the drones from concealed shooters, but none were hit.

  Si’ir Monn called a halt to his troops five hundred meters from the separatist’s position and called up a fleet of mine removal drones from the heavy lander. Then he deployed groups of soldiers in a line the length of the separatist's defenses with instructions to stay concealed and await orders. He kept Sah Lee and Corporal Ren Deel back.

  “Sergeant, I can understand you don’t want to put Sah Lee in the field when this might turn into a firefight, but why me?” Ren Deel asked

  “I’m going to break cover and walk out into the cleared area in front of their line to talk to them. I want you and Sah Lee beside me.”

  “OK,” Ren Deel said carefully, “you want an experienced soldier with you in case things go bad, but why are you putting the rookie in harm’s way.”

  Sah Lee scowled at him. She wasn’t fond of being called ‘the rookie’.

  “We’re wearing armor. I don’t think we’re going into harm’s way. You’re good with a KE weapon, she is scarily good with a pulse weapon. I think that covers it.”

  “She may be OK on a range, but how will she cope with targets shooting back?”

  “Sah Lee’s race are hunters, she’s an experienced hunter and has the temperament to go with it. You saw her back there. When you told her to answer troopers back, she kicked Fauren Ess’s ass! She is untested as a soldier, but she went through a tough time before she joined the army. She showed courage and resilience in a conflict situation and killed two armed and armored outcasts with just a hunting knife. She handled herself well in a bar fight on station too.” Si’ir Monn grinned. “She’ll be fine, and I don’t expect this to go bad anyway. They’re just a few hotheads with hunting rifles. Come on, everyone will be in position by the time we’ve moved to the building line.”