Cain's Land

by Robert Frezza

  “I honestly don't know. Probably not”

  “Probably not. Whether you believe it or not, there is a place for you here. Come back, when you are done. We Afrikaners are not very good at showing our emotions--”

  “Three wars on three planets, and the only dent in my skull is the one you put there.”

  She smiled and continued, “But none of us have forgotten the handsome soldiers with funny names. The picture of Babette is yours, and I have another one of the five of us for you. I am sure you can find room for them in your rucksack.”

  He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “All right”

  She stood and let him escort her to the door, in her red dress with green velvet trim.

  Tuesday (1174)

  JAN SNYMAN REVIEWED 1HE NEIGHBOR TASK GROUP. “THE UMPIRES’ results are in.” He turned to Company Sergeant Isaac Wanjau. “The envelope please.”

  Wanjau handed it to him.

  Snyman opened it with a flourish, “Coldewe states that some of you were inexcusably sloppy. The names of six individuals follow. You know who you are.” He examined his assembled company balefully as they finished giving their weapons a final cleaning before taking them aboard ship. “Isaac and I will speak to each of you in private but loving detail.”

  He waited for the hooting to stop. “Hans also gave me the devil for springing a U-shaped ambush, which he thought was gilding the lily just a bit. And oh, yes, be says you won. Go collect on your bets. Quiet for a minute! I see a hand. What is it. Toivo?” .

  Corporal Toivo Virkki carefully set down the cocking handle from his 7.7mm general-purpose machine gun. “Sir, suppose the Neighbors are hostile.”

  “Yes?”

  “Who do we shoot first. the Neighbors or the Imps?”

  “Mother Elena” Yelenov, Virkki section sergeant, smacked him on the back. “Neighbors, idiot! Business before pleasure.”

  ”You people are bad! You people are truly bad!” Snyman said, trying not to smile. He examined the time display on his wrist mount “I suppose this is as good a time as any to read you the riot act, as Colonel Hans callsit, on our relations with Major Aichi's company. In a word, beginning tomorrow, you will treat His Imperial Majesty's soldiers as friendly forces. I trust all of you remember what that means.”

  Virkki raised his hand again. “Sir, did you just say, 'starting tomorrow'?”

  Snyman smiled. “Major Aichi and I have agreed to let you exchange pent-up hostility in the bars tonight. I trust you to limit yourselves to abrasions and contusions. When you are finished here, you are free for the rest of the day.”

  As he walked away, be remarked to Wanjau. “Time them. Let’s see if we set a record.”

  Wednesday (1174)

  VERESHCHAGIN GREETED COLDEWE, “WHAT IS THAT?”

  Coldewe unwrapped the object he was carrying. “It’s the battalion crest” He rubbed it for luck. '“The battalion sergeant had a meeting--other ranks only, which is why I never heard about it--and they took a vote. The consensus was that it should come along. Sergei Okladnikov knows.”

  In place of battalion colors, the 1/35th Infantry Rifle Battalion had a battalion crest--a white salamander with green eyes and black spots on a black field The ancient wood on which it was

  mounted was still slightly radioactive.

  Vereshchagin took it from him and rewrapped it “Please convey my thanks to the battalion. Tell Battalion Sergeant Beregov that I am touched”

  “I'll do that”

  “This is perhaps a foolish question, but what does Sergei intend to use in its place?”

  “Do you remember the flag the Johannesburg ladies sewed for us that you were never able to get rid of? Well, Sergei says that his mother-in-law helped work on it, and since she's still years away from a nursing home, he figures he's pretty well stuck.” Coldewe shrugged “He says that if he can promote a battle and get it shot up a little, it won't look half bad. Of course, if he gets the thing anywhere near a battlefield, our people will make sure it gets shot up.”

  “How are final preparations coming?”

  “Semiputrid.” The circles under Coldewe's eyes bore witness to this. “Jan and I have agreed on a final list. Counting you and me, we have a grand total of just under two hundred people. Karaev is trying to make the freighter captains understand how to combat-load. He's not having luck, and there may be a few bodies on the deck plates before too long.”

  “I will intercede. How is Major Aichi?”

  “He's still agonizing over Mutaro's request for a platoon for embassy security.”

  “Which platoon would you rather he leave behind?”

  “His No. 3 platoon, although it’s almost a toss-up between No. 3 and No. 1.” Coldewe's expression was grim. “We had a twenty-kay route march last dight, and forty people fell out. I notice you had Mutaro ask for an officer of suitable rank to command the detachment, so I'm going to use that as an excuse to get rid of his executive officer as well.”

  “Does Major Aichi suspect who generated the request?” Vereshchagin asked.

  “If he does, I'll read him appropriate passages from the Bjarkarimur.We're going to be cutting corners on logistics as it is. We can't keep people in the icebox forever, and we can't afford to feed an extra forty people that I'm scared to use.” Coldewe's face brightened. “Maybe I can talk him into using this as an excuse to comb out some of the screwups in his other two platoons.”

  “Do that, please. What do your spies say about their morale?” Neighbor was six months ship time past Suid-Afrika, a planet already nine months ship time from Earth. Aichi's men had expected to return to Earth within a decade of leaving, with ample pay to compensate them for the difficulty of resuming lives in a world that aged while they were away. The expedition to Neighbor would destroy these expectations.

  Coldewe meditated a moment before replying. “Aichi's boys are good boys. They'll obey their orders, but they weren't asked to volunteer and they aren't tremendously keen about spending a few years eating reconstituted rice balls on a transport light years removed from wine, women, and song. Fortunately, some of the least well motivated manifested this by falling flat on their faces at about the fifteen-kilometer mark, which will make them easy to leave behind, but if I had to comb through Major Aichi's ranks for persons fit and enthusiastic, I might have trouble finding a foursome.”

  'They will do for our purposes,” Vereshchagin said, remembering the old Imperial forces and a mutiny or two. “I would neither ask for nor expect more.”

  “Well, I can and will ask more for them than they've been receiving. Did Aichi mention that Zuiho's captain had the ship on minimum spin on the trip over?”

  When bones are subjected to a low degree of stress—during periods of weightlessness--calcium and apatite deposition decrease. Although a number of drugs had been developed to retard bone demineralization during spaceflight, the best and cheapest remedy for the problem was to maintain enough spin to provide an illusion of weight, despite the inconvenience this imposed on ship captains. Ground commanders who failed to inconvenience ship captains had to deal with the consequences, Vereshchagin reflected mirthlessly, remembering a battalion on Odawara that had suffered a stunning 19-percent casualty rate--severe sprains and broken legs-during a routine parachute insertion.

  Coldewe shook his head finnly. “We two had a long chat, and Zuiho's captain repents of his evil ways, but you may want to look in on him.”

  “I will do that.” Vereshchagin began methodically repacking the rucksack and bergen that Gu had packed for him. “Did you two also discuss artificial hibernation?”

  “We have problems with artificial hibernation.” Coldewe drummed his fingertips on Vereshchagin's desk. “Zuiho's icebox consists of two 144-unit bays. Bad news is that one of the bays was mothballed eight years ago-the Imperial Navy hasn't been moving very many people around lately. Zuiho's people spent the trip over fixing it up, and they still have a long way to go. I
told Aoba and Hendrik Pienaar to send over what they have in the way of spare icebox circuitry over your signature, and I asked Meri Reinikka to go up there and roll up his sleeves.” .

  Reinikka was a civil engineer by trade and a combat engineer by avocation. “What does Meri know about artificial-hibernation units?” Vereshchagin asked.

  “Not a blessed thing,” Coldewe said cheerfully, “but Meri expects to nap in one of those units, and Zuiho's people don't.” Vereshchagin chuckled.

  “After they finish sprucing it up, we'll still need to check that bay unit by unit,” Coldewe continued, “so I don't expect to be able to use it for another two or three weeks.”

  “What do you propose?” Vereshchagin asked

  Coldewe passed across a list. “On D-plus-one, Aichi's first platoon, his biochem people, Jan's No. 1 platoon, aviation. the light attack crews, and third section of No. 9 go in the bay that’s working. When we have the other bay operational. we'll put in Aichi's second platoon, the rest of No. 9, the recon, and a few odd bodies like you and Piotr. That leaves the scientists and the intelligence detachment awake to plan for eventualities, our support detachment to keep them from making too much of a mess of the place, and me and Esko to keep them from killing each other.”

  ”I had planned on staying awake throughout,” Vereshchagin said.

  ”You are not getting any younger, Variag-sama. Consider it doctor's orders; I spoke to Natasha. She thinks that the enforced rest will do the parts of you that need it some good. You'll have two or three weeks to snap the scientists into line, and after that any tangles that I can't unsnarl can wait until we arrive.”

  “All right, Hans.” Vereshchagin scanned the list and scrawled his initials at the bottom. “How are things otherwise?”

  Coldewe made a pretense of consulting his notes. “Surprisingly well, actually. Simon has scientists lined up, and Bukhanov and Karaev are moving the mountains and the heavens to get the supply situation under control. That, of course, leaves me free to discuss another important matter with you, which is the sauna.”

  “Pardon me, Hans. My age must be catching up with me,” Vereshchagin found himself saying. “I thought you just said 'the sauna.'“

  Coldewe plunged ahead. 'The subject came up a few days ago--Valeska Remmar approached me, but I suspect she was put up to it.” He cleared his throat. “I did a quick straw poll, and the vote in favor of retrofitting a sauna to our assault transport was a whole bunch to nothing.”

  “Hans, are you suggesting that we build a sauna on board an assault transport?” A deceptive calm suffused Vereshchagin's voice. “This is not something that people usually do.”

  “It doesn't have to be anything too fancy, and after all, we're probably going to be cooped up on board her for a couple of years. You know how our people love their sauna” Coldewe reached over to the terminal and called up a three-dimensional diagram of Zuiho's interior. “I'm rather fond of it myself.”

  “Hans, we are extremely short of storage space as it is--”

  “That’s why I got Reinikka to work out the details.” He pointed to two storage rooms near Zuiho's outer skin. “We build it here-Mikhail found some real cedar panels to line the hot room, and insulating the cold room is no problem. Then we fill it up with food, and turn it on after we eat up what’s inside. If anyone can build it, Meri can.”

  Vereshchagin shut his eyes. “What did the vessel's captain say when you discussed the matter with him?”

  Coldewe pressed his index finger against his temple. “You may want to talk with him. He thinks I'm touched.”

  “I see,” Vereshchagin said, trying not to laugh.

  Esko Poikolainnen appeared. “Do you two have time to see Major Aichi?”

  “Now is as good a time as any,” Vereshchagin said

  Major Aichi entered and saluted. “Commissioner Vereshchagin, Colonel Coldewe, my company is prepared to reboard.” He hesitated. “Commissioner Mutaro has requested that I leave one platoon as an additional embassy guard detachment”

  Vereshchagin looked at Coldewe. “Can we spare them?”

  “I think so.” Coldewe nodded. “It will simplify logistics.”

  Aichi inhaled deeply. “Subject to your approval, I have selected my No. 3 platoon to remain. In accordance with Commissioner Mutaro's instructions, I will leave my executive officer in command of them. Also, unless you advise me against it, I wish to exchange personnel between platoons.”

  Unsuccessfully masking the astonishment on his face, Coldewe nodded in agreement. “I think that’s excellent.”

  Vereshchagin smiled. “I agree. I will leave you two to work out any details.”

  As he left, Coldewe shut the door firmly. “Major, I have something I need to go over with you, but first things first. Have you eaten?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Here, try this.” Coldewe picked up a combat ration on his desk. Taking a canteen from a shelf, he used the nozzle on the end to inject water into the ration. As soon as the plastic wrapper expanded, he popped the tab to heat it.

  Aichi waited thirty seconds for it to heat and then opened it gingerly, stirring the contents. “What is it?”

  “The label says ginger beef. Rate it, one to ten.”

  Aichi sampled it. Then ate a fair helping. “Perhaps a five.”

  Coldewe tried some himself. “Rusks and papaya must have been cheap this week. It’s a five.” He explained, “We have to produce our own arms, ammunition, uniforms, rations, and miscellaneous equipment. The legislature is a little tight with a rand, so we keep control to hold down costs. The company we use to produce rations is staffed by troopers' wives and they run it to suit themselves, which keeps the wives out of mischief, and if there's ever a problem with quality control, the production staff hears about it before I do.”

  “How interesting,” Aichi said. beginning to think through the difficulties in maintaining a military force on an independent colonial world.

  “Anjelica Degtyarov is the CEO, and basically, she buys up whatever the farmers are selling cheap, finds a good recipe that fits, and cranks out three or four years' supply with a little left over to sell on the civilian market. At the moment, we're running two shifts, and if we want to take any ginger beef with us, it has to be on the line by five o'clock this afternoon. Of course, Anjelica says I have to eat the stuff before she puts it into mass production. which occasionally has its drawbacks. The cowboys celebrate a holiday called April Fool's Day, which is dedicated to the patron saint of pranksters, and after they served me up last year I thought I was going to die.”

  “I see, sir.”

  Coldewe leaned out the door and shouted down the hall, “Esko, tell Anjelica it needs more ginger.” He picked a box up off the floor. “Next, Jan's people asked me to give your troops these berets.”

  “That is very kind of them.” Aichi examined one of the silver berets, trying not to frown.

  “Not especially. We took them away from some of the local thugs, although Jan's boys did pay to have them cleaned. They're probably hoping that I'll forget to rescind last month's order to nail anything in silver, which leads me to a delicate subject that I will attempt to discuss in a delicate way. Jan Snyman's company includes several dozen women--medical personnel, logistics personnel, even a few combatants. Your people need to be carefully briefed to understand that these women are fellow soldiers and need to be treated accordingly.”

  “Yes, of course,” Aichi said. misunderstanding him, “this must go without saying.”

  “Major, if it goes without saying, I don't think it’s going to go at all.”

  “I have utmost confidence in my troops,” Aichi said stiffly.

  “You don't sound convinced. Let me explain this differently. I was an Imperial officer a long, long time ago, and while I'm certain Japanese troops have changed since then. I'm equally certain that they haven't changed all that much. I've already looked over your roster and Captain Kobayashi's,
and I see four individuals listed as nurses. While I don't doubt that these women have nursing skills, there's an 'and so forth' in their job descriptions, isn't there? In a word, they are comfort women.”

  Visibly embarrassed. Aichi nodded.

  “The women that Jan is bringing aren't, and prostitution is not highly regarded on this planet. Soldiers being soldiers, your lads are going to think about testing the waters, and since these women are wives, girlfriends, and daughters, Jan's people are going to react very badly unless you make certain things absolutely clear to your people.”

  “Yes, Colonel Coldewe. However-”

  ”Major.” Coldewe lapsed into obscure idiom. “Why don't we make this the 'Come to Jesus' part of our little talk? To be quite candid, while Jan's people are well disciplined, if I took a poll tomorrow, some of them would describe your people as a waste of valuable rations, and on some of them, the veneer of civilization is decidedly thin. If one of your duller myrmidons were to utter a poorly phrased indecent proposal, or, God foribid, try the old grope with cash-in-hand approach, there would definitely be trouble right here in River City.”

  “Excuse me, please, sir?”

  Coldewe smiled chillingly. “Mitsuru, your personnel presumably have mothers who would like them to come home someday. Ensure that your people treat female expedition personnel with the same courtesy that they extend to their mothers. Otherwise, hostilities will break out before we arrive.”

  Aichi saluted. “Yes, honorable Lieutenant-Colonel.”

  Thursday (1174)

  FOR THE FOURTEENTH TIME, NATASHA SOLCHAVA-SNYMAN REVIEWED her list of pharmaceuticals, looking for something else to add to her already lengthy list of drugs. Frustrated, she switched her terminal off. Although, off and on, Solchava had more than a dozen years' experience as battalion surgeon for the 1/35th Rifle Battalion, she was uncomfortably aware of the difficulty in anticipating the medical needs of nearly four hundred men and women, counting ship crewmen, who would either be on or above a completely alien planet for a lengthy period of time.