Chapter 31 - Cirrus City
Paulus rubbed his temples as he walked out of the communications building. It was one of the most modern in the empire, dating back only about twenty years compared to the hundreds of years most of the others ones were. The technology for it hadn’t gotten any better, leaving him with the usual headache he got every time he talked to anyone over the wire.
His guard, Tolando, was waiting for him in the barracks where they had checked in when they had gotten there. Tolando had been Paulus’ guard for nearly a decade, ever since the younger man had pulled Paulus out of a nasty bar fight in a rough and tumble fisherman’s bar on the west coast. He was as observant as Paulus himself had become and had even less standing, so people would talk to him where they wouldn’t talk to Paulus.
"Did you talk to anyone, Tol?" Paulus asked him, "This place is driving me bat shit."
"The soldiers here are tense," Tolando said, "I haven’t pushed too hard yet. I figured I’d see how much you wanted to know."
"Of course they are tense," Paulus grunted, "That idiot Colonel is pushing us towards a full blown war."
"I think you need to talk to some of the rank and file," Tolando told his boss, "There is a dice game going on behind the equipment pool. Want to pay them a visit?"
"I think that’s a good idea," Paulus nodded, "That Colonel hasn’t made time to see me despite my rank. I almost think we should have sent Roland."
"He’s better at diplomacy than you are," Tolando grinned, "Remember how we met."
"True, true. That was one hell of a bar fight though," Paulus chuckled, remembering that day well, "Ok, you obviously know where the gambling is going on. Let’s go talk to some conscripts."
Paulus changed out of his more formal garb into a simple set of low ranking military clothing. Tolando did the same, choosing a set he kept for situations like this, sewn properly to conceal two dart pistols. They weren’t any good long range, but the internal workings could shoot a dart out hard enough to kill within ten yards. If the dart itself didn’t do it, the poison it contained would.
They went over to the equipment pool and didn’t have much trouble finding the game at all, as the men and women who were playing were playing rather loudly. The Mullinix army tended to have roughly equal ratios of men and women, though the odds were usually slightly skewed in favor of the men. This made for interesting coed situations on the bases, with illicit parties the norm among the conscripts.
This was a situation Paulus had seen more than once over the years and thought little of. It was natural and part of the basic training included the social dos and don’ts for this type of thing. He figured that it was just a good way for poorly paid troops to blow off a little steam.
"The ones I was talking to earlier are over in the corner," Tolando told his boss.
"Do they know who I am?" Paulus asked him.
"Nope," Tolando smiled.
"Keep it that way," Paulus said, watching idly as a young man and woman ran off giggling to a darkened corner, "They’ll talk more if they think I’m simply an older career grunt."
"You got it," Tolando nodded, knowing how this went.
The two of them went over there and found the game, a simple variation of craps being played with dice on the floor. They were using military script to bet with, and the game was going fast and furious. There were a few people hanging around the outsides though, watching the game. It was them that Tolando took Paulus over to.
"How did you do?" Tolando asked them.
"Eh," one of them said, "Not bad. Enough so that I’ll have to buy a round or two."
"I’ll be taking you up on that too," his friend said.
"This is my old buddy Paulus," Tolando said to the man, "He’s new to the area just like I am."
"You under the command of the Colonel?" a young gambler asked.
"Don’t know yet," Paulus admitted, "I just got into base, don’t have to report in ‘til the morning so I figured there was no need to hurry."
"You look a bit old for a grunt," he said, "You a lifer?"
"Haven’t had anywhere else to go," Paulus shrugged, "So I stay where I make a good living."
"You’ll change your tune on that after some time here," the young gambler grunted, "This place is truly the asshole of the empire."
"People I’ve met here so far have been nice," Paulus said, "What’s so bad about it?"
"The Colonel is crazy as a shithouse rat," the gambler said, "Those idiots over the border aren’t any better. They skirmish, people die, we skirmish some more. It’s a never-ending cycle. The people here are nice and some of the women are damned hot, but I tell you Cirrus ain’t worth it."
"Man," Paulus chuckled, "I’ve never seen morale so low anywhere."
"When you see your friends leave and not come back you tend to stop caring," the young man said, "I want nothing more than to survive my last few months here and leave this idiotic military behind."
"Can’t say as I blame you," Paulus said and shook his hand, "Enjoy your game."
The gambler shrugged and went back to his game. Paulus and Tolando went off to find a corner. Paulus was nearly floored by what he’d just seen. He’d never seen a military base in the empire that had so much going wrong. Morale here was nonexistent and there was no respect for the Colonel running it.
"Is everyone like this?" Paulus asked him.
"Everyone I’ve talked to," Tolando confirmed, "I figured you’d better see it for yourself."
"Massy is going to have a cow, that’s for sure," Paulus said, "How the hell did we get into such a mess here?"
"Mismanagement and insurgency," Tolando said, "The Mullinix is a good guy from all accounts, but this place is in sore need of some decent management. It hasn’t had any in a long time."
"I’ll pass that on," Paulus promised, "I don’t know what else we’re going to accomplish here."
"We heading home?" Tolando hoped.
"Not yet," Paulus said, thinking about it, "I want to talk to the Colonel a bit first. Get more of a feel for how bad he is mismanaging things. Probably spend a day or two doing this, as I want to see more before I report."
"You lead," Tolando said, "I’ll follow…"
"I’ll remember that," Paulus said dryly.
The Mullinix Book 1: Ascension Page 33