Starlight Gleaming Ch. 19

"I guess that's one way of putting it. Mack?"

"You just lack field experience, sir." The glance in the mirror showed the amusement still in her eyes. "We'll make a good field trooper of you yet."

"I see."

"Please, don't misunderstand me, Commander. You may lack the experience, but you are a first-rate officer. You lead from the front and you take care of your troops. Another year or two, and may the gods help anyone who stands in your way. The whole time you were calm and cool, even with provocation. Yeah, I was scared. But you were right there with us, sir, so I was okay, too."

"Thank you, Mack."

It was silent for a while. We entered onto a bypass, and from the highway, saw the bright lights from the large market centers still active. With over half a million souls, Copán was a sprawling metropolis, the largest in Chohinze and bigger than Tikún in Yucatán State.

"My sister may try to worm her way into your bed," Cholan ventured at last.

"Which one?"

"Breena, of course. Though once she learns more about you, Tanti may try, too."

"Not interested."

A pause, then, "They are prettier than me."

"Yes, they are. Still not interested. Trust me, I have no problem getting hard for you. You're smart, funny, caring, you are exceedingly brave, and you act with honor. You are my woman, Cholan Yakalme. They are not. If someone asks you, what do you say?"

"I fuck just fine," she replied, giving me an emotional smile. "I remember when you first told me that. I was a hundred pounds heavier then. And still you were a considerate lover to me. You treated me like my feelings and wants mattered to you."

"You and your feelings matter to me. Believe me, you outshine your sisters. I was proud to show you off at the Officers Club last night, and more pleased that at the end of the dinner and dancing that you left there with me. Your smile is a warm sunny day at the beach, strolling on the sand, and your kiss is like the sultry evening under the palm trees, listening to the waves of the sea wash upon the shore. Warm, inviting, and full of promises." As I talked, she beamed at me even as she teared up. "You are my island girl, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir, I am your island girl," she confirmed, wiping at her eyes.

"Oh, my god," Haytam blurted out with a sniffle. "That's so romantic." Then she glanced back at me and saw I was looking at her. Flushing furiously, she turned her eyes back to the road.

Even Mack nodded.

"It is romantic, isn't it," Cholan agreed, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her nose. "He's like that a lot."

"Yes, well, in any event, I'm making your sisters your responsibility, Cholan."

"Sir?"

"Sergeant Chita will arrange for housing, but they'll need a lot of things. Use the charge card. Buy clothes, furniture, food, whatever they need. The boys should be enrolled into school, too. All of them need physicals, especially Breena. Make sure she's not suffering brain damage. Get her a psych eval, too. During our lunch together, she was, by turns, assertive and meek. Even if she's not physically damaged, she might have post-traumatic stress or Zinder syndrome."

Those with Zinder cope by identifying with their tormenters. Once freed from the trauma, even though what they suffered was horrific, it becomes their new normal, and they consciously and subconsciously try to recreate their previous situation. With our tech, physical injuries are easy. It's the mental wounds and scars that still take a lot of effort and patience.

I pulled Cholan close and kissed her on the head. "Have Tanti and the nanny checked out, too. Include a base-line DNA run for all of them. Never hurts to have that done, and it saves time if there's an emergency."

"Yes, sir. They may never understand nor appreciate what you've done, so I'll say it for them. Thank you, Commander. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. Good or bad, they're your family, Cholan. That makes them yours, and you are mine. That's all I need to know. And for what it's worth, I hope that your sisters come to appreciate how special and precious you are."

She took my hand into her lap and leaned against me.

"If you let my hand go, I can put it around you."

Once my arm went around her, she nuzzled into me with a contented sigh. "You're right. Having your arms around me is so much better."

* * * * *

Part 27 -- Taking Stock

* * * * *

After we passed through the gate, we headed to Hangar 67. Our escorts accompanied us the whole way. Probably Bilan's orders.

Once we were parked, they waved at us, turned around, and drove off. I felt properly chastised.

I called my escorts forward, and commended Mack and the other three for their duty. As I moved away, Cawbos and Mentap started asking Mack and Haytam what had happened inside.

Cholan kissed me and said she should check in on her family, and that she'd meet me in bed later.

"I look forward to it. I have Sowitwee and his family to deal with, so it's a date."

I found Sowitwee and the rest of his family in the third hangar. There were cots set for all four of them, plus a couple of other troopers. Netting had also been set up.

Once he saw me, my aide stood up and approached me, his face emotional.

"It's all right, Wit. We'll sort everything out at High Guard. They're your family. They're yours, and you are mine. That makes them mine, too."

Blinking furiously, he nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I've already notified Sergeant Chita about housing. Work with her to get whatever they need. They will need a full medical work-up, and tox screening. You're the Medico. You know the drill. Include a DNA-run and psych evals, as well." I took a long breath. "Tomorrow, the rest of the household will want to hear what's happened. Anything you want to hold back?"

Startled, he looked up, then shook his head. "Thank you for asking, sir. No, sir. It's not pretty, but I've nothing to hide. Besides, this wasn't their choice. This was deliberately done to them."

"Quite so. Tell your family that, and remind them when they forget. It'll help." I clapped him on the shoulder. "It's almost twenty-hundred hours. We're loading up the Condor around zero-five hundred tomorrow morning. You going to be okay?"

"Yes, sir. I've some stim tabs to help. My sisters -- they're sedated but they need monitoring. Dad is helping, and a couple of the troopers -- Cooma and Yelts moved here with us and they said they will help us keep an eye on them. Lieutenant Tchanoonka's idea."

"Excellent. We'll be home by lunch time. Then the work begins. You focus on getting them settled first. Seven hells, Wit. If everything was normal, it wouldn't be the Air Service."

Chuckling, he grinnedat me. "Ain't that the truth, Commander."

"You have blankets and jackets for the flight?"

"Yes, sir. Mack got them some clean clothes, too. We burned the other ones. Took four of us, but we scrubbed them down and de-loused them, too."

"Good night, Wit."

"Good night, sir."

Back outside, I paused to look around. Moon was three-quarters full, but the lights from the base were too bright to see any but the brightest of stars. Still, I paused to look.

Till I heard a loud, high-pitched insect buzzing near my ear. I waved at it, and damned if the blood sucker didn't land on my outstretched hand. It was half-an-inch long!

Slap!

As I brushed the mess off, I imagined Janetta's mocking voice in my head. That's one. Four to go, Kandikan. I laughed.

Till I heard more buzzing. "Seven hells!"

One of the sentries grinned at me, holding up a tube of something. "Over here, Commander. You should put some of this on."

I took it and looked it over. Bug-B-Gon. All Natural! I checked the ingredients. Oil of lemon eucalyptus 30%, cedar oil 20%, rosemary extract 15%, catnip oil 5%, and water. "Does it work?"

"Seems to help some. There are some mosquitos more determined than others, though," the sentry admitted.

I squeezed some out and liberally applied it to my face, hands, and neck. It had a sharp smell. Different, but not entirely unpleasant. I handed back the bottle. "Thanks."

"Any time, sir."

A trip to the portable latrine first. Once inside the hangar, I passed through the netting and moved to the back. Most of the troopers were asleep, though a few read tablets, looking up and nodding as I walked past.

Shedding my uniform down to my underwear, I put the jewelry into my duffle bag, then got onto the bed and pulled up the light blanket.

I didn't even remember closing my eyes.

When my alarm went off, I opened my eyes, noticing the warm, naked body curled up against me, her leg over mine. Brushing back her hair, I kissed Cholan on her face and cheek.

She whimpered. Then tried to burrow deeper against me.

I chuckled even as I extricated myself. "The most I can give you is another half hour. We have to be in the air in two hours, and we have to get everything packed and secure."

"Okay... " she mumbled, then started lightly snoring.

Quickly getting dressed, I went out and checked on the packing and clean up. The troopers worked quickly, breaking down the nets and cots and bundling them and the mattresses into stacks with rope for loading.

What surprised us was my brother. I'd been talking with Yalcamara about breakfast when a Tortoise drove up and my brother got out from the passenger seat. The back opened up, and two fire teams set to work carrying out breakfast! Large trays of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, fried pan bread with syrup, and three large urns of cahault were carted out.

There were cheers from my people about the hot breakfast, and the Ground Service troopers mingled with my people, chatting away.

Bilan smiled, but I could see he was tired. He'd probably been up all night, cleaning up my mess. I wasn't happy about that. I mentally kicked myself again. I really should not have gone off half-cocked to Xocatsm's place.

I introduced Bilan to Yalcamara and Stimmi. Off to the side, while the two of us sipped our hot drinks, he quietly told me that he hoped that if I ever decided to go wandering around Copán again, that I would let him know so that he could come along and keep me out of trouble. Yalcamara pursed her lips, giving me some raised eyebrows.

"What do you know of Captain Korreem?"

That sent a coldness to the pit of my stomach. "Not much. Is there a problem?"

"I don't think so," he admitted. "However, he gave me additional details about the rescue operation. I don't think the general will be happy to learn about that, but he needs to know."

"All right, I'll take care of it."

"If I'd known your plans, it, I would have said no. The rescue, yes. But what you three did? Supay is Queschuan, but he's made this region his second base of operations. I remind all three of you that Marvak Prison is not that far away from here."

Both Yalcamara and Stimmi gave me worried looks.

"So noted," I said, contrite.

Then we went over the details of Sowitwee and what we'd encountered. When I finished, he said, "Send me copies of what you found. That, too, should also go to the general."

"The rumor is that Teela returned to her family home, but that a few weeks later, she disappeared."

Bilan pursed his lips, then exhaled. "She made her choice. Thank you. I'll vary my routines a little more, just to be sure."

Then I filled him in on Lieutenant Sovansi, what happened there, and about the visit with Cholan's family, and what I'd learned the previous afternoon.

"Cholan's a good woman. If I'd been in your shoes, I would have taken them in like you did. But going to her husband's place without checking it out first? You are an officer in the Imperial Air Service. That gives you a lot of power -- but the criminal caste is strong here. When you leave the war base, you need armed men to back up your threats. Hopefully, you've learned something."

"I have. And I intend to be more careful in the future," I assured him. "Once again, I am indebted to you, Bilan."

"We are brothers, Ranji. Your mother made good on her threat. She calls me son all the time. It's... good. My boys have loving grandparents and they treat Rana like a princess." Before he could go on, his phone rang. "Monaycote here." A pause, then he stiffened. "What? When? Well, is she doing all right?"

I raised my eyebrows at him, and he started grinning like a loon as he listened to whomever was speaking to him.

Then his face gentled. "Hi, Sweetness. How are you doing? I'm so glad. I miss you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there. Yes, I'lll be home soon. I love you, Rana. I look forward to meeting our baby girl when I get home. When? Sometime late this afternoon I should think. Yes, I'll show him. You sound exhausted. Get some rest, my dear, and I'll see you when I get home. I love you."

Picking up on the conversation, I was happy for them both.

He proudly showed the phone picture of his wife feeding their newborn to me, Yalcamara, and Stimmi. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"They sure are," I confirmed. The other two congratulated him as well. "Do you have a name picked out?"

He looked at the picture again, nodding. "Shanti Calia Monaycote. Shanti, after your mother, and Calia after your Personal Servant. Calia taught Rana a lot, and before she left, she made sure Rana had someone to do regular massages of her feet and lower back, and helped Rana pick out a good midwife."

"Really? I had no idea. That's terrific that she was able to help Rana like that. Hey, everyone! The captain's wife just had a baby girl!"

Ground Service soldiers and Air Security troopers lifted mugs of cahault in toast, with shouts and cheers.

"What's her name?" one of them queried.

"Shanti."

Knowing glances from his men at the revelation.

"What's does that mean?" another asked.

Bilan looked at me.

"Peace," I answered. "Shanti means peace."

One of his sergeants lifted his drink again. "To Peace! May she grow strong, healthy, and beautiful, and spread her namesake everywhere."

"Hear, hear!"

It may seem strange that warriors should want peace. Not every warrior is a bloodthirsty killer seeking death and destruction. The young ones may clamor for combat for a chance to prove themselves, not knowing what might come. The veterans know what to expect and most of them prize peace. Even those who might be afraid still put themselves into harm's way because they know their efforts are needed.

I had some idea, and while learning under Sergeant Styen Topangiti's tutelage, we'd had some frank discussions on the matter. Since then, I'd survived duels and ended men's lives. Even after surviving the harrowing of Sparantzlo, the temple fight at High Guard was but an armed skirmish. I knew that I too had yet to be tested in a full battle before I could be considered a blooded veteran like Styen or Bilan.

By the look in my brother's eyes, I wondered what he'd seen.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he said, "When you come for your visit, we'll drink and share a few stories."

"I look forward to it. And send me some pictures of my new neice!"

He grinned and looked at the picture of his baby again.

Bilan's men wanted to see the picture, so he basked in the oohs and ahhs of seeing a newborn in her mother's arms.

A worried Cholan came running out of the hangar, looking around frantically. Seeing me, a look of relief crossed her face and she hurried over. Hugging me tightly, she apologized. "I'm so sorry I didn't get up when you did!"

"It's all right, Cholan. Grab some chow before it's all gone."

Nodding, she moved over to the tables and managed to find a plate and started scrounging.

Stimmi moved over to me. "She knows the captain's wife, doesn't she?"

"That she does."

"Won't she be upset you didn't tell her about the baby?"

"Probably. She'll figure it out soon enough."

"You sure like to live dangerously, Commander."

"Apparently so."

He laughed as he shook his head and moved over to Yalcamara, standing together as they finished their standing meal.

When Cholan became aware of the news, she let out a screech, followed by, "She's so adorable! And so tiny! Look at those little, itty-bitty hands next to her mama's."

I noticed Haytam and Laylindi on the edge of the group. With them were Breena, Tanti, and the children, the boys eating quietly. I moved a little closer to check on them. Breena, holding her own daughter, was surprised at the well-wishers around her.

In a short time, though, the food was done, and the Ground Service loaded up the empty trays and loaded into the back. I gave Bilan a good solid hug before they drove off.

As for us, we finished packing up, and loaders arrived, collecting the racks of vehicles and carrying them off toward the tarmac. Half my troopers with Yalcamara went ahead to help oversee the loading of our gear.

We did a last sweep through the buildings we'd used, looking for anything, including checking the portable latrines and doing a head count. The two staff vehicles each carried a civilian family; Wit and his family in one, Breena and the others in the second one. Yalcamara and Stimmi took the third one with two troopers, to keep an eye on our vehicles.

As the last of the loaders collected our gear, the rest of us prepared to travel the military way. Once our packs were loaded, we set off at a trot,

As the CO, I was at the front. Cholan ran alongside me. Right behind us, Mack, as ranking sergeant, called out the cadence.

"Sound off."

"One, two... three and four."

"Sound off."

"One, two... three and four."

After we sounded off, our task was to shout back whatever was said by the one calling cadence.

"If you want a life of gravy, best to join up with the Navy

Sailing in some fancy boats, just make sure that it floats

When a sailor offers you dilection, his guns will target your aft section

Chipping paint, it's all they do; work party, they do that, too

Navy cahault, they say it's fine, their brew is really turpentine

Now Navy chow, it's delicious, if you like food made from fishes..."

"Mack! Enough about the Navy!" I called out. "We're Air Service."

A pause of four beats, then she called out, "Yes, Commander!

"One and a two, three and a four, Security troopers by the score

We love marching -- rain or shine, military life -- it sure is fine

We are warriors -- brave and strong, catching those who have done wrong

Hold your head up and hold it high, the 602 is marching by

"Up before the break of day, Hey, I don't like that -- no way

Eat my breakfast too damn soon, I'm hungry as a bear by noon

Went to the mess sergeant on my knees;

said, 'Mess sergeant, will you feed me please'

Mess sergeant said with a big ol' grin;

said, 'If you wanna be Air Security, you gotta be thin'

"Troopers work in all kinds of weather, llam nuqan -- we work together

Used to date a beauty queen, now I strip my gun and my magazine

Dress it right and cover down, forty inches all around

Hold your head and hold it high, the 602 is marching by

"Studying hard every night and day, ain't got no time to laugh or play

Troopers wear trousers not a silly skirt, can't have your dingle dangling in the dirt

Used to have a girlfriend, and a boyfriend, too; now I wear Air Service blue

Get paid in credits, one-ninety-nine; Air Service keeps one-eighty-nine

"High Guard finds its heart, Air Security plays its part

Work hard and keep your pledge true, wear with pride Air Service blue

Our brave captain, she don't take no sass; feel her boot right up your ass!

Hold your head up and hold it high, the 602 is marching by"

There was more, but I'm sure you get the idea. It felt good. Cholan grinned as we sang and ran. All of us together, brothers and sisters in arms.