by Leo Nix
When the troopers asked Chan and John about their battles they both said they had never seen a proper fight, except what they had done on patrol blowing up four terrorist trucks in Marree the previous night.
“Tell us again about your commander, Sundown, have you seen him in action? What's he like?” asked a young soldier eagerly.
Cambra looked at Assassin and took up the story. “Well, he's a baker, a bread scientist actually. Sometimes he'll bake us some beautiful breads and pastries too. But mostly he says he's too busy. But give him a gun and a knife then you better look out. The only one who's seen him in action, twice, is Halo, our weapons expert. Halo said that Sundown is so fast no one can stop his knife arm. He cut up a squad of four at the mines in about five seconds. Then there were the eight at Marree. None of us was there except McFly who you've just heard. He didn't see the berserker in action but he heard it and look what it did to him.” He looked over at McFly asleep in front of the fire. Everyone turned and looked at the sleeping man, wondering in their own mind if they too would break, given such an experience.
“He sounds like a tough bloke, but how does he do it so fast?” came the same youthful voice from the soldiers huddled around the camp-fire.
Cambra brought his hand up to his face and rubbed the bristles on his chin. “Halo says that when they came into the room they saw the terrorists holding the girls prisoner. One of them, their leader, was about to carve up our mate, Beamy, lying on the table wounded. Another one had Sundown's wife by the throat and that set him off. Halo and Sundown took out the first few with their automatics but then Halo was king hit and went down and Sundown's weapon hit empty, so he drew his knife. The squad leader then challenged Sundown to a knife fight but Sundown pinned him through the wrist bones with his own commando knife. He held him there screaming while he kicked the others so they couldn't get up. That's when he pulled his knife out and stabbed their leader in the heart, and within two seconds he'd taken out the rest. The last terrorist he bashed to death with his bare fists. I'm just glad I wasn't there, it would have been horrible. The three girls saw it all and they can't even talk about it.”
The men were quiet as the camp-fire flames leaped high into the moonlit sky. Out of the dark came that same teenage voice, “What sort of knife is it?”
Cambra lifted his eyebrows in what might have been annoyance before starting up again. “It's a World War Two, British commando, thin-bladed knife, specially made for stabbing. Sundown won it from Shamus, the night before the mines battle. They were playing cards and old Shamus put up his commando knife against Sundown's compass. That compass is a beauty. It has an altimeter and all sorts of gadgets, like a Swiss-army knife. Sundown won and Shamus handed over his knife. Poor Shamus never needed either the knife or the compass because he died the next day. He was the first of our commando to die. Touch wood, he's also the only one. We all miss our strategio, he was a special bloke.” Cambra stopped talking and stared into the fire, no one interrupted his musings, not even the youth with all the questions.
Someone threw a load of wood onto the fire. Assassin then told the rapt soldiers of the exploits of the other members. He told of Halo and McFly's fight at Birdsville when they leaped into the line of fire together to knock out a group of terrorists with their pistols. He laughed at himself when he described the drunken brawl outside the Marree Hotel when Shadow took out the riggers almost entirely by herself.
Assassin Creed saved his best story of Roo's sniping exploits at the Mines, when he saved the entire commando. Cambra then asked the soldiers of the contacts they'd had.
The captain explained, “Lads, we've been running patrols up to Darwin, down to the SA border and across to Queensland. We've had minor skirmishes against a few small enemy patrols but that's it. Our armour is far superior to anything they have, even their anti-tank weapons have yet to knock out a single one of our Bushmaster's or ASLAV's. They haven't really wanted to tackle us. They don't seem to want Alice Springs or the centre, they just want to control access to it. You lads have had far more interest from them than we have. We've spent most of our time organising the civilian population, trying to save what we can from starvation and thirst. That's been our triumph I guess.”
The major cut in, his face red and beaming. All this talk of heroic battles made his blood rush to his head. “They did have armoured cavalry in the south around Adelaide but soon ran out of ammunition. Made their armour useless, the idiots. We still have some cavalry, Abrams and APC's near Broken Hill too but we're keeping them under wraps for the time being. It's just not the right time to make a move.” The major stopped talking and looked around. “Gawd! Did I just say that?” His tone became serious. “Right boys, that was confidential. Do not breathe a word of that to anyone or you will be court-martialled, and in these times that means execution. Got it?” He looked around and everyone nodded - except John and Chan who had gone to bed early on Cambra's orders.
When morning arrived the captain had his troops stay on patrol and allowed the hero's to sleep off their hangover. It wasn't until mid afternoon that Cambra and McFly could make an appearance and even then only John and Chan were in any condition to drive back to Birdsville to introduce their new found friends.
Chapter 20 - Sundown - The Demon Plans
They met Wiram just before they came within sight of Birdsville. Sundown had been talking to them both, the major and Cambra, on the CB. Both parties stopped while John and Chan joined Pellino and one of the Bushmaster's to head back to the ambush site. Pellino had taken up the slack and was often called upon to lead a patrol these days, he loved it.
He, Bill and Sundown liked to go along sometimes so they could brush up on their patrolling skills and learn more of the fighting craft from the two ex-Revelationist boys. The two prisoners had turned out to be an excellent find for the commando. They often patrolled with Pellino who knew every trick in the book having worked most of his life in prisons.
“Why don't the youngsters get a break, Cambra?” asked the captain, “are they doing extra training or something?”
Cambra saw he was only mildly curious and replied as he brushed the flies from his mouth. “The new boys are in training, it keeps them busy and we need their young blood up front. If we get hit us older blokes just can't do what we used to do. They're good lads and need to earn their place in our commando, like everyone else.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Week on, week off is pretty tough on the old body but hey, they did it in the last war.” That was all that was said, but Cambra remained wary and uncomfortable.
They gathered in the main lounge of the Birdsville Hotel. Danni and Lulu proudly displayed their flag and the soldiers relaxed with some of Andy's home brew. It was a mixture of potato, carrot and fruit peelings, plus all kinds of starchy scraps from the kitchen boiled into a mess then he added his secret bush herbs and a special yeast mix.
“Quite simple actually,” said Andy to the crowd of soldiers eager to learn his secret. “Just a mixture of bush flavours, that's the herbs; sugar, and that comes from the starchy vegetables and fruits; and then the yeast. Now the yeast is hard to come by. I keep a special strain in a bottle by my bed.” He winked at everyone and there were nods of approval from the cavalry's hard-faced brewers. They quietly enjoying the fruity, full-flavoured beer as they sat and relaxed together.
“Bullshit!” called a reedy voice, “you just throw the shit together and leave it to rot. I've seen ya.” Billie was sitting in the corner with Polly and Grannie, playing cards. “There's nothing secret about it, I've made home brew meself.”
“You forget I've tasted your home-brew, Billie, and it tastes like shit. You have to admit mine is five star. Come on old fella, give in for once,” Andy said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, s'pose so, it tastes like the real stuff. But it's still bullshit wot yer saying!” He went back to his game while Lulu sashayed herself over to the group offering them something to snack on before dinner.
While Shad
ow, Blondie and the two aboriginal girls fussed over the oldies and prepared the hotel for visitors, Fat Boy, Pinkie, Wilma, Mel and Jeda had been flat-out in the kitchen cooking for the new arrivals. They served up the Birdsville favourite - yeasted donuts with wild herb tea and fresh-roasted bush coffee.
The tea and coffee now came from dried bush herbs and seeds while the dough was a mixture of rice flour, wattle-seed flour and tapioca with some sweet potato and something like gelatin that Billie and the teenagers found out in the bush. The bread was a simple flat bread of the same ingredients minus the sweet potato and the special gelatinous ingredient.
Sundown sometimes came down to the kitchen with Fat Boy and together they'd try out new recipes on the community. Flat bread was a simple winner - but yeasted donuts won the day every time Fat Boy and the girls put them on the menu.
Their meal was mostly home grown. Mel, Jeda, Jenny and Wilma had established a colossal vegetable garden complete with chicken pens and fish tanks. Once the commando's patrols along the Birdsville Track made it safe they made several visits back to the Mungerannie Motel and brought back all of Mel's seedlings. They even brought back their goldfish to breed for the table.
Mel organised the rigger boys to put in a large pit and redirected the sewerage to be screened and pumped to feed and water the gardens. Bill and Cambra found solar panels in a property on one of their foraging trips, they wired them up to run the pumps. They had everything from lettuce to peas to tomatoes and even sweet potatoes and watermelons. It wasn't quite developed enough to feed an army but it was well on its way.
There was always the opportunity to hunt the cattle and wild animals in the desert scrub. Although some days they lived on dried meat on most occasions they had fresh beef, donkey, camel, horse, kangaroo and sometimes emu on the menu. The boys enjoyed hunting and rarely missed bringing something back.
“Thanks, mam. Donuts, wow, this is delicious, what's it made from?” asked a wide-eyed soldier while busily ogling Lulu.
“Don't ask. We're running low on everything except meat, but our cooks are magicians in disguise. That's damn nice, eh? I could eat a plateful all by meself.” She smiled sweetly and made sure she wiggled her hips as she walked back out to the kitchen. Lulu giggled to herself as Danni headed out with more food. The soldiers watched, mesmerised, as another gorgeous teenager entered with tea and some fresh roasted bush-coffee.
“What a treat,” one of the men said loudly. “Beautiful food and beautiful girls. I hope we get to stay a few days, I think we need this pampering more often.”
Danni chuckled sweetly behind her hand. “Get out of it, you lot have all the territory to meet people and get spoiled, you don't need to come all the way across the Simpson Desert to see new faces.”
Harry and Jenny's twelve year old son, Lenny, normally too shy to say `boo', came in with Beamy. Together they carried a tray of Fat Boy's fresh food. Beamy was out of his arm sling and had deliberately coerced Lenny to help him carry the tray. He knew Lenny wanted to meet the soldiers and desperately wanted to look inside the Bushmasters and the ASLAV. Lenny, like his father, loved cars and hanging around the commando had fed his love of anything military.
“You think the boy could have a look inside your vehicles, hey, fellas?” Beamy asked one of the NCO's. “He's breaking his neck to get inside one.”
“Sure, what's yer name, mate?” The beefy man asked Lenny. “Mine's Sergeant Doff, you know, the sound a tank makes when it backfires.” He laughed at his joke. The sergeant called out to two of his off-siders and brought them over. Together they loaded up on food and drink and took Lenny, his little brother Liam and Beamy outside to sit in the Bushmasters. They listened to the HF and chatted about their favourite past-time, driving through the bush. The two youngsters were hushed and their eyes opened so wide with wonder that the soldiers couldn't help but smile.
“You poor bastards have been stuck fighting these Revelationists all by yourselves, huh?” Sergeant Doff asked Beamy. “Cambra and Assassin told us a few stories about it last night. That Sundown sure sounds like someone we could follow. Our piss-poor leaders turn tail and run at the sight of anything with a bloody muzzle. We're so chuffed to be here mate, we feel like hero's just having you sit in our truck.” He ruffled Lenny's hair as the two boys crawled across him to sit in the drivers seat. “I can't wait to tell our mates back in the Alice that we've finally met the famous Sundown's Commando. You guys sure have an incredible reputation.”
Beamy filed this information away as they continued to chat and eat. He was impressed with these men as well, professional but disillusioned. They just wanted to see action, real action.
“Well, if you hang around with us much longer, Doff, you'll see plenty of action. We've got a hit and run patrol out twenty-four-seven harassing the terrorists around Marree, you've met them. The Revelationists are terrified of us. You should have seen us at the mines action. Holy shit, we sure give it to them, but we paid a high price.” Beamy instinctively rubbed at his chest wounds. “If you get a chance, talk to Halo, he's the only one who's seen Sundown's demon in action twice. It scares the living shit out of me each time I hear him tell his stories.”
As an after-thought he said, “Hey Doff, why haven't you been in touch with us on the HF? We've been chatting with Sydney Charlie and others around the country but nothing military, what's up?” asked Beamy.
“We know Sydney Charlie quite well, good bloke. It's nothing to do with you, it's just the rules from our high command. We've been told not to communicate with non-military outfits, especially yours, for security reasons. We can hear you, and that's how we know so much about you. We listen and record the Revelationist's chatter as well, that way we can cross reference and validate the stories we hear. The terrorists are terrified of meeting you lot in action, but their higher command keep pushing them. We're waiting for the command chain to break down and the terrorists to start pushing back against their leaders. That's when we know it's time to hit them.” Doff drank the rest of his tea and took a cup of coffee in his huge paws.
“And Sundown's Commando has been doing all the hard work of forcing the Revelationists to come unstuck. If you lot keep up the pressure then we'll see the whole established organisation start to crumble in this region.” He finished his coffee, burped loudly causing the two boys to giggle. Doff then poured himself another cup while digging into the cakes. “And what's more, you're the only organised force in the entire country with repeated wins against the terrorists. Every other force has either dispersed because of starvation, or poor leadership. That's why we came out here, to get your mob on side - we need you more than you need us.”
Beamy nodded, but inside he was thinking, `Holy crap! I need to talk to Andy or Sundown about this.'
After stocking up on refreshments, Sundown left the milling mob of soldiers and civilians and took his team into the meeting room. He introduced his committee to the major and captain.
“This is Andy, my two IC, he runs everything.” They shook hands and Andy sat down at the main table.
“Wiram is ex-military and in charge of patrols, security, ordnance and discipline. He's our Sergeant Major.” Wiram nodded politely but Sundown could see the animosity smoldering behind his eyes.
“Halo is our Weapons Master in charge of weapons and training.” Halo nodded and sat down with Wiram.
Pedro was sitting hunched over in his wheel chair. It had become part of his anatomy now that he couldn't walk in his tin legs any more. Lorraine had spent a lot of time with the old warrior trying to cheer him up while working to fix his infected stumps. It was a losing battle, his flesh was slowly rotting away and he was always in pain. His mood had shifted from cantankerous to despair and everyone noticed, Sundown in particular.
“This relic here is Pedro, our sniper and strategist. Without him I would be a dead man and so would the rest of us.” Sundown smiled and Pedro nodded to the visitors then leaned back in his chair to ease the pain in his legs.
“I'm sorry mateys if I can't sit out this meeting. If I have to leave early it's because me legs is stinging and I'm feeling darn off. I'll stay as long as I can but don't go thinking I'm being rude if I just ups and leave.” Pedro's voice was soft and he was clearly uncomfortable. It hurt the commando to see their hero like this.
“That's fine, soldier, if there's anything we can do then please don't hesitate to ask,” said the major, acknowledging Pedro's contribution to the commando's successes.
“And this is Tricia, my right hand lady, she runs the girl side of things.” Tricia pursed her lips and stared at Sundown. “Umm, well, she's head nurse and runs our first-aid and everything to do with hygiene and health. She's also my sounding board along with Andy here. When we need to make decisions I rely on Tricia a lot.”
Tricia smiled politely, sat down and the meeting began.
“I'd like to first convey the Australian Government's congratulations on the work you are doing here. I know this is a team effort and not the work of one man. The community you have here is one of the very few that have survived against the odds. We've come across many communities since the apocalypse and none have gone beyond a threadbare existence. Your community is flourishing and you've also fought set battles against a trained and numerically superior foe. That takes courage as well as organisation. Please accept our congratulations.” The major then got straight to why his squadron had crossed the Simpson Desert.
“Sundown, Third Army in Alice Springs have asked that you become part of our organisation. We want you to join us. You have stopped the enemy from progressing beyond Marree as well as blocked their contact with Longreach and Mount Isa. They can't join up without going through you or by a very determined trip through the desert. In short, we want to supply you with weapons and personnel to stay here and hold this piece of ground, to stop all enemy movement on this road.” The major sat back in his chair watching everyone carefully.