by George Olney
She gave him a humorous glare under beetled brows. "I'll just bet you won't."
She softened. "I'll still wear my skirt on parade. I earned that skirt, too, men. But this kilt is now my duty uniform and I'm proud you think I've earned it. Thanks, guys."
It was her turn to blush a little as her platoon cheered. The little imp in the back of her mind made her wonder what Captain Samson would say when he saw her in a kilt for the first time. For that matter, the same imp mused, what about Karl Athan?
CHAPTER 11
LEGIO IX VICTRIX
CAULDWELL
3228 I.C.E.
The First Lieutenant entering the Officer's Club was remarkable for a number of reasons. First, she was much taller than the Gladius female norm, with softly waved brown hair cut to her shoulders instead of a long straight fall of colorless blonde hair. Second, she was wearing a man's kilt instead of a woman's skirt. She had the normal female's arm dagger but also wore a weapons belt with bolt gun and ax. There was a green Strike flash behind the Legion insignia on her collar and a 30 centimeasure long Bowie knife on her right side behind her holster, both the marks of a Strike trooper. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about her was the fact that, with all of these remarkable characteristics, only one officer in the Victrix Centurion's Club so much as batted an eye on seeing her.
The lack of curiosity had to do with the fact that First Lieutenant Shana Ettranty was well known in the Corps by now, considered a very competent combat leader by the men and something of a strange duck by the women. On the other hand, the female captain waiting for her at the bar didn't consider Shana a strange duck. Captain Julie Dass considered Shana a close friend.
As Shana slid onto the next stool. Julie looked her friend up and down with exaggerated care. "So, okay," she said, "so we haven't seen each other for two weeks. What's been happening?"
Shana rolled her eyes. "Sorry. My platoon was on an anti-piracy mission as hide outs, using an armed freighter as bait. The damned pirates took forever to find us, then were dumb enough to send over a whole cutter load of their crew to board, planning to rob, pillage, rape, that sort of thing. When the 26 centimeasure guns on our decoy blew their ship to hell and gone, we appeared and explained things to the boarders. A couple lived through the explanation and we brought them back for Intel to play with. Job done."
Julie snorted. "I wasn't talking about that!" She shook her head woefully. "Girl, I was talking about Important Stuff! How are you and the Legate getting along? When are you two going to get married?"
Shana stifled a laugh as the bar man put a cold bottle of beer in front of her. She took a swig and grinned at Julie. "He proposed before I left."
Julie leaned over eagerly. "Now you're talking! How? When's the date?"
Shana slowly waved her left hand and its delicate gold ring with a single diamond in front of Julie's eager face. "Here. See this? That's all you need to know about the proposal, girl. Let's just say he picked a great time for it and the whole night was wonderful. With the way things are piling up for the two of us, though, I don't know when we'll get around to marriage."
Shana rolled her eyes. "By the Lord Above, sis! Just look at what's been happening! First I get back after three months on Labatt - with no casualties, I'm proud to say. Then I get approved for Strike School and that takes two months on Niad. Then they keep Strike jumping as soon as I get my platoon. I've been on five operations in the six months since then... and still no casualties. I'm working hard to keep that record."
Each Legion had two Strike centuries specifically to handle missions that required special capabilities. Strike platoons usually operated independently and were often found far behind enemy lines in wartime. Highly trained and uniquely equipped, they were specialists in unconventional operations requiring the application of precisely targeted force. Even in times of nominal peace, they were always active. In the situation the Frontier Cluster found itself in, there were simply not enough of them to do everything that needed doing. The operational tempo for a Strike unit was high. Thus, so were the demands on Shana's time.
Shana took another sip of her beer and her expression darkened. "We're almost ready to clean up Cauldwell and Strike will be right in the middle of the operation. I don't know how long after that Karl and I will have before we take on the Empire."
Looking at Shana's moody expression, Julie applied a little conversational medicine to snap her out of it. "Well, sis, that tells me you better make the most of what you've got. And if I'm not your maid of honor, you're dead meat, understand?
"Besides," she continued in carefully casual tones, "with all your big news, I haven't gotten around to telling you what that man-crazy Tana has gone and done now, not to mention Lieutenant Colonel Paten who is now Lieutenant Colonel Lumis."
Shana leaned over with a conspirator's grin, her previous worried mood gone, and said, "Give, sis, I'm all ears." The next hour or so was filled with happy gossip.
Across the room, a table full of lieutenants was entertaining the aide to the Legate of the 12th Ferrata, on Cauldwell for a conference. The aide, Lieutenant Rolf Sandrs, had never seen Shana before and the first sight was a bit of a shock to his system. Still a bit bemused at Shana's uniform, he looked over at Shana and Julie, commenting, "So that's the famous Shana Ettranty. Man, I just can't get used to seeing a set of curves in a kilt."
Looking around at the flat stares from his formerly jovial compatriots, Rolf got the idea he might just have committed a social blunder. "What?'
"She's one of ours, Rolf," replied Lieutenant Mik Kutlr in relaxed tones, pouring a little oil on uncertain waters. "Victrix. Shana's been ours since before the Wareegan fight. Her first platoon awarded her that kilt, so it's hers and nobody's going to argue the point."
"Some guy from the Augusta was talking about her once in the Legionnaires Club. Called her a chick. Ended up with a broken jaw courtesy of a Victrix trooper," he continued. He wasn't threatening, simply telling a story that he regarded as humorous and getting responding grins from around the table. "For that matter, I wish I'd been there when she graduated from Strike School."
Another lieutenant took up the story. "Shana always wears her skirt as dress uniform, so the SOC didn't know she had a kilt. Strike's graduation is in duty uniform, so she was in a kilt when she got called up on the stage to have SOC Garua present her knife and flash. One of the guys told me Garua's eyes got as big as saucers when she saw that kilt."
"What happened?" By now, Rolf was interested.
Mik took a swallow of beer and snorted laughter. "Word is that Garua was all set to land on Shana like a ton of bricks, but the school commandant got her aside first and explained things. No further official displeasure."
"Nice to know one of our own put one over on the brass," Rolf added, cementing his return to good grace.
"Amen, mate," Mik said, lifting his beer in salute to the last remark, followed by the rest of the table.
#####
Later that evening, Shana was applying considerable concentration to the twin tasks of brewing coffee for Karl and herbal tea for herself. "You look great with that ring on your finger," said a deep male voice from behind her.
She glanced at the engagement ring on her finger and smiled, still enjoying the warm feeling it gave her. "Considering the ring is the only thing I'm wearing," she said over her shoulder with wry humor, "I'll take that as a compliment on my looks."
"It was intended that way."
She looked back at the big bed in Karl's quarters. He was lying atop the rumpled sheets grinning at her, as comfortably nude as she was, propped up on a couple of pillows with his hands behind his head. Scars and all, she decided, he was definitely a sexy guy. "The coffee will be ready in a moment," she added.
Once they were companionably side by side on the bed, propped up with pillows and sipping their respective drinks, she decided now was a good time to discuss a few things. "We're getting close to moving on the Cauldwell government," she said.
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br /> He nodded as he sipped his coffee. "Uh-huh, and that's something you know I can't discuss with a junior officer until I issue orders for the operation."
"Other junior officers think tactically, Karl," she said with sidelong smile. "Me, I'm a former reporter, remember? I looked at the whole picture."
"Then you are one of the few that did," Karl said dryly. "Most of the ones I see on Cauldwell's tridio are as ignorant as a new born babe and can't see beyond their own agenda."
"Which is why I was one of CWNN's top rated reporters," she replied firmly. "And my reporter's instinct just told me you neatly avoided my question."
She looked at him seriously. "Karl, this isn't an idle dig for inside information. I'm worried about how long we have together before things start happening, things that will keep both of us apart. I know full well Strike's going to be in the middle of the government's overthrow and I know the government is just about ripe to fall. I also know Strike's going to be all over Central when we drop. I'm not worried about the Beauregard operation, but I'm going to be way out on the sharp end when we go into Central and I'm a big enough girl to realize I may not come home."
She took a deep breath. "I don't want to know everything, love. Nothing classified or above my level. I just want to know the big picture. Where we are. All I get is a worm's eye view as a platoon leader."
He studied her earnest face for a moment, thinking how beautiful she looked. Then he sighed. "You may not come home from Central... You realize that traditionally it's supposed to be you saying that to me."
He shook his head slightly and smiled grimly at her. "Yes, I know a Strike platoon leader hasn't got the chances of survival a Legion Legate has, but Central will be different. Central will be a battle on a level that hasn't been fought in half a millennia, and it's going to be rough on leaders, no matter the grade."
He paused for a moment, thoughtfully, looking at her and not wanting to lose her like his first wife. Still, she was a combat commander and a good one. "Rougher on Strike leaders, I suppose," he said softly. "Take care of yourself, dearest."
He sipped his coffee and sighed. "If you're going to be my wife, Shana, you're entitled to know at least as much as I can tell you.
"First, you're right, the Beauregard operation is coming up quickly," he studied her eyes for a moment. "Obviously, we're going to try to take your father into custody, along with as much of the Guidance Council as we can. We've been moving slow here because your father has a direct link to the Emperor. We had to ferret out every possible conduit between your father and the Emperor before we took him down. We don't want any part of what we are doing to get back to Central. The fact that Central doesn't know what's happening out here is the key to our survival. Our whole operation here has to be totally undercover until we can move in and close the current government down as unobtrusively and quickly as possible, without the Emperor knowing what's happening. You'll be collecting Guidance Counselors, but your father will be someone else's business."
Shana was quiet for a moment. "I don't know what to feel about that, but I think I'm glad. There are a lot of things that I feel about my father... and most of them aren't good. But he's still my father. I think I should be kept far away from him."
Karl nodded. "True. So much for Cauldwell. Now for the situation here and the rest of the Empire. I'm sure you know a good bit of this, but I'm going to tell you anyhow, love, just so I'm positive you know.
"This isn't what's usually considered normal bedroom conversation," he added with a wry smile.
She looked at him over her cup's rim and shrugged. The shrug, in Karl's considered opinion, did wonderful things. "It may not be normal conversation, but it's about things that matter. That's why I wanted to have it," she replied.
"And that's why I fell in love with you, Shana. I'm not a big one for sweet nothings. I can have an intelligent discussion with you," he said affectionately. "That's what I need, you know. Someone I can talk to."
"And you're still avoiding the subject, love," she replied with an equally affectionate smile.
"Merciless, aren't you? Well...
"You're right, things are coming to a head here on Cauldwell," he said. "Once Cauldwell can openly join the Frontier Cluster, we'll have our bases firmly secure and be free to move on Central within a year or two at the most. Middle Empire is now pretty much of a fragmented mess thanks to us, so Central will be nearly alone by the end of next year. With Cauldwell secure, we'll also be able to get out of these caves, thank the Lord Above.
"The rest of the Frontier Cluster is coming together quite nicely. The trade alliance is becoming a Cluster wide government based on Tactine, especially with the addition of the two human populated worlds the exploration teams found. Randl Turner is already head of the trade association and calling him the defacto head of the Cluster government is only stating a fact. The initiative to form a true, not just a proposed, Cluster government will pass by the end of the year and he'll be the leader, whatever he's called. I'm sure of that."
He snoted with amusement. "You know what we have right now? We have a "proposed" government with one of the strongest military organizations outside of the Empire. The Frontier Cluster is a very real governmental entity; it simply hasn't been ratified yet. But that's going to happen soon, if it hasn't already.
"The Victrix is working on Cauldwell and the Valeria on exploration," Karl continued thoughtfully. "Exploration is something to be proud of. The Cluster will be better - humanity will be better - for that. The other three legions are busy bringing down governments all over what's left of the Empire. It's something we have to do to weaken Central, but people are already suffering because of it."
He looked Shana in the eye. "You're a Gladius, love. You know by now that sometimes there are things that have to be done to accomplish the mission that haunt your dreams later. I'm not Lane Mackinnie or Shyranne Garua, thank the Lord Above, so I don't have those people on my conscience, but any Gladius with two eyes can see we're sacrificing the well-being of billions of people so humanity as a whole will survive. We don't have to like it, but protecting humanity is our mission, and we can't protect all of it. The Corps has to protect and nurture what it can, and right now it's the Cluster. That's just a fact. We can't let what we want distract us from what we have to do - keep the human race alive. If we tried to save everything, we'd end up saving nothing."
Shana didn't say anything. She knew he was right, but she also felt the pain when she thought about the grand plan. Fortunately, she was a platoon commander. Grand plans weren't her responsibility
He took a sip of his coffee and was quiet for a few seconds, organizing his thoughts, and the ghosts slowly left his eyes as he did. "The exploration effort. The Valeria has done well there. That's our future. Humanity has to begin going out again, growing. The Empire is dying because it's too stagnant.
"Once the Empire is taken down, the Army and the Cluster Fleet will be able to handle most threats. We'll be able to slowly build down and consolidate the legions, then turn our attention to a more peaceful future."
"How long do you think it will take?" Shana asked with interest, happy to change the subject, but the idea of dissolving the Corps bothered her. Right now, she had no desire to be anything but a legionnaire - and Karl Athan's wife. "To consolidate the legions, I mean."
"A couple of centuries or more," he answered. "If we both make it through the mess Central looks like it's going to be, we might see the full realization of Garua's plan in our lifetimes. Or it may take longer. Right now, the senior officers in the Corps are thinking the Gladius will never really go away. I don't see us as hereditary soldiers forever, but there will always be some Gladii like you and me that want to be a part of a legion. We still have to give every generation a choice. The plan is that service in the Corps will be voluntary after the Central drop, with the exploration teams as one alternative for those that want to move off in a different direction. By the time Legate Garua's plan matures down the road,
I see a standing strength of no more than a couple of legions to handle severe military threats, where every serving trooper is a specially trained and modified volunteer. The Corps will never really vanish, love, but it will become something a person wants to join, not something they were bred to do."
She thought for a moment. "You know, humanity is going to be different," she finally said. "There were thirty five thousand embryos in tubes in the Imperial cache, and the SOC ordered them given to parents all around the Cluster to raise. There are probably more somewhere on Central with the Emperor's Guard. They're all my genetic stock, original Gladii, and they'll add something different to the human mix. When the current Gladii breed back into the general population, there will be even more changes."
She looked pensive and shivered slightly. "I wonder what things will be like in the future."
Karl looked off into the distance, taking a different view of a future that scared her a little. "Oh, it won't be bad, Shana. We're at a turning point in human history. The Empire is decadent and dying. If it wins, the least that could happen is a Dark Age, with everything that means. With all of the competitive alien governments around us, the human race could be destroyed during that Dark Age. Humanity will certainly be attacked and every effort made to keep mankind down. If the Corona plan succeeds and we destroy the Empire, humanity will still be a going concern, just be a little different. Once the Gladius is bred back into the mix, humans will be a little stronger, faster, and have more mental abilities. They'll also be focused outward, thanks to the Valeria's exploration operation, not stagnant the way everything was just three years ago. The future's exciting, love, not scary. There's still a whole lot of the Universe out there, and humanity will be going out to see what it's like."
She thought about what he was saying. Listening to him, the future did sound exciting, but not so different as to be frightening. There was still going to be a place for her with the Victrix and her troops. That was important. Before they could build that future though, Central and the remaining Imperial government had to be destroyed. The Empire was the main threat to humanity's rebirth, and she was going to help destroy that threat. Destroying threats to humanity was the ancestral duty of the Gladius - her ancestral duty - and it felt right to have a part in fulfilling that duty. If she survived - if Karl survived - they could do their own little part to build a new future. Survival was out of her hands. Looking at the situation through a soldier's eyes, they were either going to make it or they weren't, but they had each other now. She accepted the fact and a knot inside her relaxed.