“Any idea of their actual numbers?” Turing asked.
“Only order of magnitude, hundreds.”
“Bother.”
Eric nodded in agreement before saying, “That does complicate things.”
“Did Hadrian have anything to say?”
“Nothing he was willing to talk about in front of them, no.”
“I suppose that’s probably best. Do you think we can trust them?”
Eric chewed his lip in thought a moment before answering, “Honestly, Turing? I think I might be spending too much time around Byron and Hadrian.”
Turing chuckled and said, “Oh, trust no one, eh?”
“Pretty much. I mean, they were pretty forthcoming on anything Hadrian asked about, but.” Eric paused in thought.
“But there’s a little voice in the back of your head that prefers to remain cautious?”
“Pretty much. Probably just being paranoid.”
Turing snorted.
“Eric,” he said, “Paranoia is your subconscious’s way of keeping you alive. It’s an instinct that has been bred into each of us over thousands of generations. Listening to that instinct saved my life on more than one occasion.”
Smiling, Eric said, “I guess it’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you then.”
“Certainly not. Like anything, the key is moderation. I suppose Hadrian is seeing that they’re being fed?”
“He is.”
“Good. Go enjoy lunch, I’ll interview them afterwards. Let Hadrian know I wish to speak with him.”
Day 51
“Eric.”
Still breathing hard from helping fit the last of several logs into place for what would hopefully be their lumber mill, Eric looked up from his dirty shoes at Byron.
“Turing wants to speak with you.”
“Oh?” Eric asked as he stumbled to his feet. “He say why?”
“Meeting of the minds. Militia business.”
“Militia, eh? Didn’t know we had one of those,” Eric replied with a weak grin as they set off.
“We don’t. Yet.”
Fifteen minutes of walking found Eric in Turing’s study. Hadrian and Elizabeth were already present and Julian showed himself in a few minutes later.
“Everybody,” Turing said as he entered shortly after Julian. “Thanks for joining me. Hadrian, update them.”
Hadrian sighed before beginning, “We’ve all heard about the newcomers, yes?”
Everyone nodded.
“Thanks to them, we now have a much better idea as to the number of Legionnaires we’re facing. Conservative estimates number roughly three hundred, upper limit is closer to five.”
Elizabeth glanced at Eric in concern as Turing typed away.
“Going over our new set of maps with details from their stories, we’ve tentative locations for at least some of their camps, chief of which is located on the shore of Lake Ainne,” Hadrian said. Moments later one of the devices on Turing’s desk hummed and an image, a topography map of the valley appeared projected over the closed curtains in the back of the room. Red circles appeared in several places, the largest of which appeared next to a kilometer wide lake at least a week march from the bunker.
“No less than a hundred Legionnaires are present at their base camp. Likely to ensure superiority in numbers by Gliar should one or more of the scattered camps decide they don’t care for the Colonel anymore.”
“Makes sense,” Elizabeth said.
Good, she’s focusing on details instead of her shock.
“How are they supporting these numbers?” she asked.
Hadrian answered, “The camps are migratory in nature and are required to send back a large portion of their hunt to support the base camp. Primary food source is hunting, foraging, and fishing. This supplemented by very basic agriculture.”
Byron nodded and asked, “What are their defensive capabilities?”
“Per one of our newcomers, the lakefront camp is surrounded by a palisade wall. Gliar has kept to military discipline. Patrols, OPs, and the like. Most likely to keep his men sharp, but also probably to keep the occupied. Discipline had frayed significantly until the news of how we dealt with the bunker raiders got back to them. Evidently we missed one, Eric.”
“Shit,” Eric managed.
“Is what it is,” Hadrian said. “At any rate, our new guests reported overhearing discussions concerning our existence. One of Gliar’s officers was reported as quashing talks on returning to the bunker in force. It seems they’re being just as cautious as we are. They don’t know our numbers and they suspect, rightly so, that we’re far better armed than they are. Thankfully, they also have no idea how woefully undertrained we are.”
“What was this officer’s name?” Byron inquired.
“Unfortunately, he was only referred to by his nickname, Redcap.”
Byron’s lips quirked up into a smirk that vanished almost as sudden as it appeared.
“Interesting,” Bryon commented. “I would expect them to be scouting this place soon, if they aren’t already.”
“That was my conclusion as well. We unfortunately do not have the manpower or the facilities to properly watch even a small part of the wall, much less the bunker,” Hadrian said quietly.
“Speaking of which,” Turing interjected. “What is the status on training the cadre?”
“They’re coming along,” Hadrian said with a nod. “Another two weeks and I should have them about where I want them.”
“Good. I want you to get ten volunteers for the first class and have them started within the week cadre is finished. We still have a lot of manual labor that needs done, so their, eh, PT I think you called it? Their PT should largely be helping out with that if at all possible. The next round of drop offs will be in three or four months. I’d like to have multiple teams capable of recovering those drop-offs before the Legion gets to them. We need more people under arms, Hadrian. Make that happen. I don’t care if you cut corners, so long as it doesn’t affect the quality of the soldiers you’re training.”
Hadrian cleared his throat. “Soldiers, Turing? Militia at best.”
“Be that as it may. Once you get beyond, what was that name? A dozen men?”
“Squad?” Eric asked.
“Yes, once you get above squad strength, we’ll need some sort of formal chain of command. Look into it. Pick officers as you see fit, just ensure they’re both trustworthy and capable.”
Hadrian nodded.
“Are we not planning on scouting them back?” Eric asked.
Turing nodded in agreement and his eyes went to Hadrian.
“We’ve done what we can with what we have,” Hadrian replied. “There are plans to do more, but the same problems apply.”
“Have we considered assassinating Gliar?” Elizabeth asked.
All eyes turned to her.
“No,” Hadrian said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“Specifically, we have and decided it was a bad idea,” Byron said. “We’re not in a position to pick a fight with the Legion. Sending a sniper out to bag Gliar would be doing precisely that. Besides which, you have only two trained snipers here, neither of which are expendable.”
Hadrian nodded.
“So what are we doing about this?” she asked.
“As it stands, we’ve given Julien free reign over the bunker. That’s where he’s been a bit over the last week. Anyone goes in there now and we’ll hear it from here. As for other efforts, Byron and I have been hiking about since the bunker. We’ve identified two usable passages over the mountains that don’t require dedicated climbing gear. Byron’s already prepped an OP overlooking one. I did the other. Neither had signs of recent passage, but depending on the Legionnaire, I wouldn’t necessarily expect to see clear signs.
“Once we have enough people, I’d like to rotate people through both OPs. If we end up with enough people, I’d like to select the folks who are most comfortable out in the woods and
set up a handful of stalker teams.”
“Stalkers?” Eric asked.
Byron looked over and said, “Spiders. Their job is to stay out in the woods, quiet and unseen. If they spot the enemy, they are to cautiously follow and engage if necessary.”
“Spiders. Gotcha,” Eric said. “So that’s it? Sit and wait?”
“As unsatisfying as it is,” Hadrian began, “we have little choice. Right now, we attack, we die. They attack, we die. This time next year might be a different story. So we sit tight and try to make it look like we’re more trouble than they’re willing to tackle. This means stepping up the training programs and more infrastructure work. Clearing trees for clear fields of fire, building watch towers, basic fortifications at the gates, whatever else we can manage.”
“Jeff’s managed to get a decent machine shop and basic forge up and running. We’re lacking ability in terms of smelting and casting new materials, but he’s working on that. If we repurpose explosives we already have or if we get to the point where we can make our own explosives and we’ll be able to make our own land mines. As it is with the metal we have on hand, we can make replacement parts for most of the weapons we have given a bit of time.”
“Good,” Turing commented. “Anything else?”
“Byron and I had already discussed the chain of command issue, Turing. If I may?” Hadrian said.
“By all means.”
“Byron and myself will be our first captains. I’ll oversee immediate operations. Byron will take special projects. Commander Grace will be my lieutenant. Sorry for the demotion, Liz. Julien will temporarily be Byron’s lieutenant. As we grow in size, I would recommend shuffling everyone up a rank and drawing from promising candidates for the new lieutenants. Eric, for example, is already competent enough to be a butter bar. By that point he’ll be seasoned enough to be reliable and we can give him to Byron.”
After a few moments of consideration Turing said, “This seems acceptable. If there are no objections, then this is likely what we’ll do.”
I wonder how much good this will all be in the end. Hopefully it will be enough, right?
Birds-eye View
Day 127
“As requested,” Eric said as he dropped a stack of handwritten papers on Turing’s desk. The man didn’t bother to look up. Eric turned and as he walked away he mumbled, “I don’t know why we’re bothering, though.”
“Excuse me?”
The sudden anger and disappointment in Turing’s words hitched Eric’s step. He looked back and repeated himself.
Turing sighed. “Sit.”
“I’m supposed to go help Byron with--”
“I don’t care what you might have been about to do. You are instead going to sit. Now.”
Eric awkwardly made his way back as Turing shuffled through the papers Eric had left.
“Now, what is it you don’t understand? Why do you think this is a waste?” Turing asked.
Memories of every stern lecture Fox had given him flickered by. Every time I’d disappointed him. Eric flushed.
“I don’t know why you can’t see it. Why have me learn all this math? Why drill me on physics? Like you said, we’re stuck here. We’re not getting off this rock. You said you wanted Liz to teach me stellar nav. How does it help us survive if I can do navigation plots by hand? Even if we were off this rock, that’s all done by computers.”
Turing leaned back in his chair and gave Eric a long considering stare.
“Eric, what use is a battery that can only hold half its rated charge?”
What? What’s the got to do with anything? Eric waited for Turing to give him the answer. Seconds ticked by.
“What’s the use of a one liter cup that only holds a quarter of a liter? Sure, it’s still a cup and, sure, you can still carry a quarter liter in it, but is it as useful as a full liter cup? No?”
Eric slowly shook his head.
“Do you know where I’d be now if I’d learned only half as much as I had?”
“No?”
“Dead. I never would have made it far enough to see this planet. Hell, if I’d been nine-tenths as educated, we’d all be dead,” Turing said. At Eric’s look of confusion he continued, “Because if I’d been nine-tenths as educated, I would know just enough to think I know everything, Eric. I probably would have made it here and then killed us all with my arrogance by now. You would have shown up to an empty house populated only the whispers of the dead.
“So, can you explain to me how much harder your life would be if you only knew half of what you did then, at any given point in time?”
“Well, uh, no? I mean, it’d be harder, for sure.”
“Exactly. Do you enjoy a hard life?”
“Not particularly?”
“So at what point is it acceptable to not live up to your potential?”
Eric blinked. “Well, when you put it that way, it isn’t.”
“Precisely. Now, this might be my conceit, and if it is I beg you grant me it, but I’ve kept tabs on your progress. Commander Grace tells me you’re a very capable student, which is good. Intellect will get you far if you hone it. You’ve pushed through harder math than many will bother to even try to learn in far shorter a time than it takes the determined average student to grasp. She also tells me you are far more mature than your years might indicate. Both are excellent. I will not lie to you by omission, I do see some of myself at that age in you. That is why I push you to learn, because learning is why I am still here.”
Oh.
“So letting me go on without this education, you see that as,” Eric stalled, trying to think of the right words. “You see that as failing yourself? Your younger self, that is.”
Turing nodded and said quietly, “And so you begin to see. Now, do you know what is it that Byron and Hadrian are teaching you?”
“Oh, military stuff, er, science. Infantry tactics, shooting, and the like?”
“No.”
Has to be something more complex or esoteric then; some deeper meaning he’s getting at. Eric scrambled for the correct answer. “Threat analysis?”
Turing shook his head. “No. They are teaching you to be a dangerous man.”
“That makes sense,” Eric said.
“Do you know what I am teaching you?”
“So far? Math. Lots of math. And also physics,” Eric replied, adding a hint of faux disappointment on the topics.
Turing broke a smile.
“No, Eric. I am teaching you the same thing. I am teaching you to be a dangerous man. Oh, not in the same way, I’ll admit. Think of it this way, Byron and Hadrian are teaching you to be a dangerous person in a very physical, personal manner. I am teaching you to be dangerous in an intellectual one.”
“I guess that makes sense. I guess?”
“Let me clarify. Do you know how I am making you dangerous? The ability to think. Now, I’m not saying Byron and Hadrian can’t think. They most assuredly can, otherwise they’d be useless to me, little better than trained attack dogs.
“Many places, the Protectorate included, make the mistake of confusing what an education is supposed to be about with what they want it to accomplish. They want conformity far more than utility. Just as mindlessly repeating facts by rote is not intelligence, neither is mindlessly repeating the words of others an education. As such, they teach what to think, not how. Their students’ ability to be useful is a happy accident, provided they repeat what they’re told. But you? No, you will be dangerous because you will be taught how to see things for what they are, not for what you or someone else wants them to be.
“History is filled with great men, Eric. People who have illuminated the darkness around them despite the efforts to get them to conform. All of those men, those women, were dangerous people in their own ways. Some, take the soldiers for example, were literally dangerous, but the scientists, the philosophers, the artists? They held ideas dangerous to the accepted order of their times in some fashion. All had influence that reached out
through time long past their deaths. Do you know what the difference between a great man and a dangerous one is?”
“Not the slightest.”
“A dangerous man understands how the system works and how they can exploit it. A great man knows when to work within the system and when he should subvert it. Intellect isn’t sufficient, Eric, without the will to use it and the wisdom to know both when to use it and what your limits are. I will be satisfied if you become a dangerous man, but I strive for the better alternative. That said, is there a particular reason for this apparent bout of negative thinking?
Eric shrugged.
“We have been pushing you along rather strenuously, I suppose. Perhaps some time off in the near future would help. At any rate, off to Byron,” Turing said. “After I double check these figures to see that you’ve mastered this, we’ll move on to other topics. Chemistry was another favorite of mine.”
Day 152
Eric grunted, straining to stand under the weight of his pack.
“No matter how many times I do this, this shit never feels any lighter,” he muttered as he turned to his companion.
Corporal Taylor snorted. Taylor had been helping out around the compound since his capture. He seldom had to be asked to do anything. By time someone came up with the idea of having Chris do something, he was already there helping.
“It’s forty, fifty kilos at most.”
“It’s damn heavy is what it is, Chris.”
“Not saying it isn’t heavy, but some of the loadouts I’ve had to carry for the Corps were heavier.”
“The hell were you carrying?”
“My gear, the other guy’s gear, the squad’s gear. I’m pretty sure I was humping shit for folks who weren’t even enlisted yet, much less out with us then.”
By Dawn's Early Light Page 33