Including Will. But as it was, there was more than an even chance of keeping one’s skin. And the others in the unit were all right; he could get used to having women on patrol, and even more used to having them in camp afterward. Even the language was like die Guard back home in more ways than he’d anticipated. He’d been shocked to find that some of the profanity he’d thought native to Sangaree, and of modem origin at that, were in common use on Baret Two and apparently had been for generations.
The only problem came when he started to think about time. He tried not to do that, the way he tried not to look up into the sky, because either action tended to bring on an attack of the Panic. Bad enough to endure when he had the luxury of doing so safely, but when he was on watch, like tonight, it could be fatal.
Eight days. The Cities would have pulled back most of their shorties and their shuttles, accelerated their business contracts with Baret Station ... they could be preparing for Blackout even now.
Will forced nine or ten deep breaths and made his mind turn to the hypothetical snipers down in the Alley, a less alarming concept.
Forty minutes later he found himself watching a shape make its way down the mountain. Was it going to find Will’s tree in the darkness, or keep going all the way to the Alley? This could be interesting.
No, he or she stopped by the blueoak and hissed. Will slid down silently. This could become even more interesting, because while the rebels had no heat-IDs, there was no guarantee they didn’t have some advance people close enough to spot moving human shapes. Will stayed by the trunk of the tree and waited.
It was one of Will’s new superior officers, a captain from the unit his group had merged with. They were about the same age. Will didn’t know his name.
In a low voice the captain said, “Aren’t you supposed to salute a superior officer?”
“I give up,” said Will. “Am I?”
“Yes, Sergeant, you are.”
Will shrugged. “Well, if you want me to, I will.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Will said, “There are supposed to be snipers all through the Alley, Captain. For all we know there’s one out there looking up our asses at this very minute. If you want me to let him know which of us is the superior officer, I will.”
The captain glowered. Then he said, “Your boots are filthy.”
Will blinked. He was silent.
“Did you hear me, Sergeant?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Do you have anything to say about that?”
Where do they find them? Will thought. He said, “This afternoon these boots were so clean you could see them shine halfway down the mountain. After supper I was told to take the advance watch, and the first thing I did was to put some mud on them. Now, I don’t have a nice uniform like yours, Captain, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that a lot of officers have taken off that white collar-stripe. I’d suggest you do the same.”
The captain turned and left. Another half-hour passed, with dawn still five hours away. The captain returned, and handed Will a penlight. “You’re to move down toward the Alley in fifty-meter intervals. If you see any rebels, take note of their positions and stop. If they look like easy pickings, you can do some sniper practice of your own. Go as far as you can toward Everun Tunnel, then make your way back.”
Christ, did I offend you that much about the boots? thought Will. He said, “What’s the light for?”
“For your way in again—when you’re inside the advance perimeter, you can flash it, and I’ll know where you are.”
Will stared at him. This was going too far. He said, as clearly as possible, “If I flash it, everybody will know where I am.”
“I can’t challenge you until you flash it.”
“Then don’t challenge me. Please.”
“I can’t let somebody back into the camp perimeter without challenging them, Sergeant, that’s basic regulation procedure. Now take this—”
“Sir, I’m telling you right now. I’m not flashing this stupid thing, and if you come within a hundred meters of me while I’m scouting, I’ll blow your fucking head off.“ The captain’s neck flushed a deeper shadow in the darkness, and the shade began creeping up his face. He turned sharply and left. Fifteen minutes later he was back again, accompanied by the commander. “Tell the commander what you told me, Sergeant.”
Will turned to him. “I said that if he came within a hundred meters of me while I was scouting I’d blow his fucking head off.”
The commander looked at the captain in disgust. “This is a direct order, Sergeant: If he comes within two hundred meters of you, blow his fucking head off.”
The commander went on his way, leaving the captain to follow. Will checked the road down to the Alley as far as he thought prudent, then returned and spent a quiet night in his tree.
At dawn he was relieved and he went to grab a few hour’s sleep at camp. He was awakened, far too soon, by his new friend Tev.
“Commander wants us to hear what he has to say,” said Tev. So Will got up, rolled up his blanket, and splashed water on his eyes. They’d been aching from lack of proper sleep for the past eight days.
The commander had the fifteen people in camp at that time gathered in a circle outside his tent. He nodded when Will arrived, and said, “Good. We’re all here. When the others come in, bring ’em to
