Weird War

By Peter Brickwood

Nancy Mercenaries have been inserted on the planet Coal to train an army of irregular light infantry to conquer a continent. Or so the briefing had said. As usual, a few details were missing. Some were critical, like the Sothron army getting along fairly well with the Nothron army; both sides treated the war like a sort of friendly sporting event. Nasty local wildlife had not been mentioned.

Another significant, not to say blindingly stupid, omission were the guns with which a Local could rarely hit the proverbial barn door—not that any of the Mercs had ever seen a barn door. Fraking cavalry mounts, genetically altered to be the size of a dray horse with the hide of a rhinoceros, had also gone unmentioned. Unable to stand in the face of a charge by the humungous beasts, the Locals regularly exercised the better part of valor and ran like rabbits.

Accustomed to being fed a diet of drek, the Squad took all of it in stride. Snipe was delighted to discover a local version of football. Holler sniffed out a supply of whisky and other consumables. Scout never said anything and promptly found himself a lover. Coms took up with the Local Liaison Officer, claiming it was part of her duties to communicate. Spotter began fiddling with his unauthorized tech, trying to find a way to hit something—anything— with the local guns. Everybody grumbled, the clothes were scratchy, the food was bland… 

Ani, Leader of the ten Merc Squad, paid the usual complaints no mind, except for Point's; she feared the truth of his gloomy predictions about getting an army of light infantry out of its nice, safe, defensive positions so they could invade a continent they did not want— Ani wondered who had dreamt up this mission.

• Language: English
• Publisher: peter brickwood
• Release date: Jan 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781005702892

Peter Brickwood

Peter Brickwood is a crotchety old introvert who started writing novels for the fun of it. Two cats, which he has somehow acquired, graciously permit him to live in a hundred-year-old house that has no lack of things to fix. Building Lego, with kids at the local library, is a great pastime. Otherwise, he is a voracious consumer of books, movies and arcane bits of information mined out of the internet.

Book preview

Chapter One

This is a weird war.

There was a wumph and a waffling sound that made Ani dive for the ground. When nothing happened, she warily got to her feet. The mission briefing did not mention indirect fire. 'I don't need a Tac Voice to tell me that,' thought Ani. She looked at her soldiers lying flat on the ground a few yards down the slope behind her. Next, Ani looked along the rough dirt wall and the flattened area behind it. Against the wall is the only protection from artillery or mortar fire.

Everyone get up here; lie along the base of the wall, she ordered. Coms, go find the Local Liaison Officer and ask him what's happening.

Yes, Lead. Coms sprinted away along the wall towards a group of Locals.

Ani turned to her watch mate. Can you see anything, Snipe?

No. Just to look, I have to stick my head up right over the top of this 'wall.'

No need to worry, Snipe. Can't hit anything with these fraking guns anyway, grumbled Holler.

Why'd they put fraking rocks at the bottom of this wall?

Isn't there a rainy season sometime soon? Rocks'll be better than mud.

Rainy season! Will these guns even fire when the cartridges are damp?

As other Squad members added their complaints to the gripe session, Ani tuned out her soldiers. ‘Let's try not to get killed the first morning—' Shutting down her excitable reaction, Ani examined the ground in front of the wall, forcing her Tac Voice to help her size up the situation. Bare ground up to that long pile of dirt. Probably another wall like this one. Some sort of trench warfare? Nobody controls the land in between? Ani turned to see Coms trotting towards her with a gangly Local scrambling along behind.

When they reached her, she addressed the tall youth. Local Liaison Officer, what is happening?

Ah, Ma'am. Ah, Sergeant Lead. Ah, well, we're having a target-shooting competition. Ani pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows in an inquiring look. He continued, Both sides hoist metal targets, about a yard across, up above their parapet then each side takes turns shooting across Nobody's Land. First side to hit the target wins. If they win, we give them a packet of tea and when we win, they give us a bottle of whisky. They make fine whisky, it—

You hit targets? With these? asked Snipe, brandishing her gun.

Yes, Ma'am. Would you like to try... but Snipe had turned her back and was looking out over the parapet and down the far side of the ridge.

So, no attack? asked Ani.

Oh no, Ma'am, just a shot every once in a while. But it is best to stay down.

No kidding, rounds could go anywhere, grumbled Snipe.

Turning to her Squad, Ani called, All right, you lot, Stand Down. Just keep your heads below the parapet and go get your grub.

The tall gangly youth stood awkwardly, as if he wanted to leave but did not know if he should. Coms looked up at him and began to murmur something that made him smile. Ani pursed her lips and joined Snipe in scanning the empty ground in front of them.

A few minutes later when Coms had fallen silent, Ani said, So, our nickname for liaison officers is 'Offi.' All right if I call you that? Without waiting for an answer, she asked, When will there be an attack?

An attack? Here? Oh no, Ma'am, there won't be an attack here.

Then why are you here?

Ah, well, you see those woods? he asked, pointing past the bare Nobody's Land toward a tangled line of trees about half a mile away. Seeing Ani's nod, he continued, Umm, well, sometimes slaves escape and run to us from over there. We're here to help them.

Ani frowned. The mission is to teach the southern continent Locals how to defeat the northern continent Locals and take over the planet. A friendly shooting competition and hanging around to help escaped slaves doesn't suggest sharp military minds preparing for conquest. 'Tac Voice, be quiet.' Ani cut off her internal debate and turned to the Local to ask, in a vexed voice, Will there ever be a battle?

Oh yes, Ma'am, in a week or two, before the Rains start. But not here; it will be up there. He waved vaguely past the other Locals clustered around the target.

Snipe grunted, Offi, what is that?

Responding to his nickname, the Local gazed around expectantly. What's what?

There, where the woods stick out into the grassland.

I don't—

Four legs. Horse? Great big grey animal in the open field—

Offi was already running toward his musketeers screaming, Runner! Runner, coming in!

Tzar, shouted Ani. You're giving orders in Bat Lang. 'Tac Voice, I said not now!'

Her people dropped their food and charged up toward her at a dead run. She swung her arm out to her right and the Squad Stood To, in a rank, with their guns at the ready.

A face with black pockmarks appeared between Ani and Snipe.

Who the frak are you? demanded Ani.

Archer. What have you got?

Snipe glanced at Ani then began to explain, In the open field...

I see it, said the man, twisting his head back and forth while his hands strung a short bow by touch alone. As he squinted down the far side of the ridge, he explained, The animal is a 'steed' with a rider. There is only one, that I can see. The runner is probably in the woods below the rockslide.

Runner? queried Ani.

Escaped slave trying to get to us before the Rains start.

Two figures burst from the woods, desperately running uphill. The steed started to lumber in pursuit.

It'll never catch them, said Snipe.

It will. With a grim expression, the archer said to Ani, If you want to help the runners, get your Squad about a hundred yards over that way and split it to let the runners go between you. Ani started to demand an explanation, but the man had disappeared. Can't hurt.

Corp-ral, Lead called to the man at the other end of her rank. Wun Cen Pac.

Immediately after the last word, the whole Squad turned to the right and double-timed after the Corporal. His hand sign stopped them, and the Squad looked back at Ani, waiting for orders.

Ani called, Dem Dec For Ten Yar. She flicked her eyes at Snipe. What's happening?

He's right, that lumbering brute will catch them before they can reach us.

Where'd that 'archer' go? Ani's tone was caustic.

Dunno, took off down our side of the ridge.

Ani glanced at the Locals who had straggled along behind the Squad. 'Why aren't they forming up to fight with us?' May I speak now? 'I fraking asked you, didn't I?' You're using Bat Lang. They don't understand your orders. The half Squad led by the Corporal had stopped again. Ani carefully issued a series of orders, in the Standard language, getting her fighters ready to help the runners. Both halves of the Squad faced toward the runners with their guns in firing position. The Locals watched curiously but made no move to join the Squad. ‘Now what? School children could have followed those instructions.' They don't want to fight? 'Sort it out later.'

The two runners were still struggling towards the top of the slope, almost done for. In front was a man carrying a bundle. Farther back was a woman gasping with great heaving breaths as she staggered after him. The steed was close behind her.

Ani flicked an inquiring look at Snipe.

Not likely to hit anything. Might scare that rider.

Ani began issuing orders again, Target the steed, the big grey animal like a horse. Half Squad Volleys. She repeated her orders while the soldiers settled their guns into their shoulders so that when she shouted, Fire, a volley immediately rang out form her half of the line. As Ani and her four soldiers replaced their cartridges, the Corporal shouted, Fire, and another volley rang out from his half of the Squad.

The pit-faced man reappeared beside Ani, telling her, Aim for the rider, as he nocked a wicked-looking arrow on his small recurve bow.

Ani frowned slightly, about to argue. Do it. Knowing her tactical voice was right, she accepted the archer's order, shouting, New target. Target rider. Target rider. Then she ordered, Fire.

The arrow that flew out with their shots made the rider jerk to one side and hunch down. The archer sent a second arrow after the first before the Corporal's volley and kept loosing arrows twice as fast as the guns could fire.

Somehow, the two runners appeared in the bare open space between the walls. Looking back over his shoulder, the first runner saw that the huge beast was bearing down on the woman, with the rider's arm stretching out towards her. Turning, he thrust his bundle into the woman's arms and launched himself at the beast's head.

A single shot rang out. The rider was knocked off the beast. The runner caught hold of the steed's bridle and, with a desperate heave, he flung himself onto the beast's back. The huge animal continued its lumbering gallop across Nobody's Land.

Belatedly, Nothrons on the other side of Nobody's Land roused themselves and began popping up over their wall to send a spattering of bullets after the beast and the runners. The stumbling woman was swept up into the arms of the new rider. A moment later, the beast let out a shriek as it careened over the parapet and smashed into the rocky ground in the middle of Ani's Squad.

The runners were flung off the steed, which began thrashing around in an effort to stand up. Offi and his musketeers had come to life and swarmed forward to rescue the two runners. It'll die if we don't get the gear off it, shouted the archer as he jumped past Ani to catch hold of the steed's saddle. Clinging to one edge, he began to hack at the saddle straps with a hand knife while the beast surged up and began stomping about.

Ani sprang forward to haul down on the bridle with all her might in an attempt to keep the beast still. The steed flung its head about, jerking her around like ball on a string. The saddle suddenly came free, dropping the archer perilously close to the steed's stomping hind hooves.

Ani jammed her feet into the steed's neck then used the leverage to pull its head sideways and guide it away from the archer's body. Snipe got Ani's attention with a piercing whistle then threw her a short dirk. Catching the razor-sharp knife on the fly, Ani got her legs into a scissor hold where the beast's gigantic neck narrowed slightly to meet its head. Squeezing her thighs to hang in this perilous position, she began slicing off the bridle straps. Suddenly the steed settled down so that she could jump to the ground and slide a very nasty looking spade bit out of its mouth. It shook its head then trotted downhill away from the wall.

Ani stood panting then nodded toward the Corporal who called out, Stand down.

Beside the Corporal stood a very large local man with an exceptionally long gun. From beneath a mass of dark hair and beard, piercing black eyes surveyed the enemy's side of Nobody's Land, searching for more targets.

Ani reversed Snipe's knife and tossed it back to her. As she sheathed it, Snipe made a slight tilt of her head towards the man. Still panting from exertion, Ani frowned a query at her. Use my feminine wiles to get a better sense of what is happening here. Besides, that gun of his is a lot better than the ones we've got.

Uh. I know what you really want, said Ani, but she nodded in agreement.

Offi strolled up. Ani fingered some hair at her temple, which prompted Snipe to twist a blond strand lose and let it float down past her bright blue eyes. Then she picked up her gun and trotted off towards the marksman.

Is he OK? That fellow with the bow? There was a thin squalling sound, which made Ani add, Is that a baby?

After a moment, Ani realized that Offi was gaping at Snipe's back, so she waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Er, what? Er, baby? Yes. The runners are husband and wife; when they realized their child would be taken away from them, they ran. A lot of the coal slaves—

That's OK, you can explain it to me later. What about the archer?

Archer?

Man with the bow and arrow.

Oh. Yeah. Him. Got a bad thump from the fall, still dazed. Probably be all right by tomorrow. You saved him. The steeds usually turn away before they get to the wall. They are too heavy to jump. Amazing that this one didn't break its legs.

Turning toward her Squad, Ani called, Buddy up and clean weapons. After action, debrief as soon as you're done. Bring food. Looking at Offi, she said, Tell me about that animal, as she went to pick up her gun.

Chapter Two

It was mid-morning, the day after the runners had come in. The Squad was gathered around Ani for the daily update.

Corp said, Snipe's not back yet.

Where is she? asked Holler.

Liaising with the local sharpshooter. The one whose gunshot knocked the rider off that fraking great beast.

Holler made quotation marks with his fingers. I know exactly what kind of 'liaising' she's doing.

Sheket, Holler.

You're telling me to shut up? I want to do some 'liaising' too.

Ani listened to the Squad grouch and grumble.

Fodder complained, These clothes scratch like crazy. Logs, is there something we can do to soften them up?

Logs shook her head, Don't think so. The cloth is home spun from some sort of hemp or grass.

Ugly colour, but at least it blends in with the grass and dirt.

I'm just glad they let us keep our boots and underwear, Logs added, tugging her shirt away from her chest.

Yeah. There are better ways to get my dangly bits rubbed raw.

Amongst the men's guffaws, Ani thought, 'We didn't have enough time in training for this Squad to knit together.' Logs and Snipe you know. Coms seems OK. Men look pretty stable, except Holler; he's a bit off key. 'Yeah, fourth mission, four different Squads. Feels like somebody wanted to get rid of him.'

Ani gave a short, low, twittering sound to get her Squad's attention without startling them, then asked, Anything new? Any changes overnight?

Corp addressed Ani on behalf of the Squad, Nothing to report.

Amongst the general shaking of heads, Holler opined, There's no moon, and the verdomme sun comes up from the wrong direction.

Feeling obliged to support the Squad's Lead, Corp offered, Air's good, gravity is barely above Standard. Food's OK. I've been on worse planets.

Uh, Lead, Fodder spoke up. What's our mission here?

Yeah, said Point. According to the briefing we are supposed to support this, ah, help these people to conquer the, ah. Ani waited while her veteran soldier paused to make sure he had the direction correct. No—yeah, north continent. These—

Sun rising over there, messes with your head, doesn't it? asked Holler.

Yeah. Weird. Anyway, these folks don't seem, uh, as if they are looking for a fight.

Right, Ani spoke with a confidence she did not feel. Our mission is to support the south continent Locals, even though the directions are, hmm, not what we’re used to, she smiled at Holler, to conquer the north continent. I have learned from the Local Liaison that there will be a battle in about two weeks. In my judgement, the forces we see here are a sort of picket line. For now, their job, and ours, is to warn the main army if the north continent forces attack earlier than expected.

Ani paused and looked around at the doubtful expressions of her Squad. Establishing good relationships with the Locals is essential. You will all be released until tomorrow when the sun goes down over there. With a quirky smile, she pointed to what all of them thought of as east. I will expect your report on local fighters at the next Squad update. Questions?

Now we get to do some 'liaising,' said Holler with a cheerful grin.

Bear in mind that we abide by 'local customs, local rules,' especially, Ani gave Holler a hard look, when 'liaising.'

Grinning again, Holler said, At least we don't need condoms.

Picking up on an order Ani had not reviewed, Corp asked, Lead, there's a complete ban on new technology, right?

Right. Thanks, Corp. We cannot use or talk about our technology, unless we have seen Locals using the same technology. No binoculars, range finders, laser knife sharpeners, and so forth. Clear? asked Ani. Right. Gear check when you are ready, then down time 'til tomorrow sunset.

Coms, a small, voluptuous brunette, whose cheerful personality made her ideal for liaison with planetary Locals, waved for Offi to join them. She told Ani, You know Offi. He says he'll take me to look at what will be the battle site.

Sure. Make some hard copy map sketches.

Got it, replied Coms, turning toward her rucksack.

Tzar. Tzar. Tzar.

Coms shoved Offi behind her as the Squad formed an outward facing circle.

Snake, green, two feet, fives. Fodder, who had called out the original warning, described the danger for the Squad.

What's wrong? asked Offi, sitting up and rubbing his knees.

Silent and still, the whole Squad was flicking their eyes over the ground in front of them. Offi got up and looked at the ground in front of Fodder then pushed past, flicking his hand out to grab the neck of an animal. This, he said, with the long, scaly body dangling from his hand, is a lizard. Harmless. Eats bugs and flies during the night, sleeps all day in the sun. He tossed it away.

Relieved, Ani ordered the Squad, Stand Down. Looking at the sheepish expression on Fodder's face, she added, Unknown threat. Correct action.

What's the excitement? asked Snipe, as she joined the Squad.

Local fauna, not a threat. Ani's mouth quirked into a smile at Snipe's appearance. Look at you, with a bloom in your cheeks and flyaway hair.

Sticking the two guns she was carrying between her legs, Snipe reached up to tidy her hair. Mark likes it loose.

Don't bother. We're doing a gear check then free time 'til tomorrow dusk. With a hint of envy in her voice, Ani added, You can go back to Mark.

Umm. Short for Marksman. He says he's the closest thing to a gunsmith on this planet. Setting down her gun, she held out the longer second musket that she had brought back and began pointing out its features. See the strap that goes over the cartridge? It lets you see the fore site while you are sparking the charge. The longer barrel gives better control of the musket ball. They have no idea about rifling though.

Scout waved and pointed at a poncho-sized oilcloth laid out in front of him. Ani walked over to him and ran her eye over his immaculate gear. She examined one of his cartridges, then, in her never-ending effort to coax Scout into talking, she asked, How do you think these will fare in wet weather?

Scout turned down the corners of his mouth and shook his head. Ani used her toe to nudge the oilcloth on which his gear was laid out. Expressionless, he nodded.

Hope so. Supposed to rain like a monsoon in a few weeks, she said, providing another enticing comment. The taciturn Scout frowned slightly and raised an eyebrow. Giving up for the day, Ani asked, Monsoon?

Scout gave a little nod.

Word comes from First Dirt, means it will rain by the bucketful, all day and night.

Scout shrugged.

What are you going to do until tomorrow evening?

Scout pursed his lips and twisted them in the direction of the flat, beige sea of dried grass stretching into the heat haze.

Ani nodded. Explore the savannah. It may become a line of retreat. Look for dips, dead ground, gullies we can escape along. Got a local buddy?

Scout shifted his lips slightly toward a tall, light boned, man standing about ten yards away.

Ani nodded. Good talking to you.

There was a slight huff from Scout, which Ani took to be a laugh. As she turned back to her Squad, the Corporal gave her a waist-high cut gesture. Ani tipped her chin up a little.

I've checked everyone's gear except Snipe’s. Holler is on guard. Seeing Ani's expression, her Deputy Commander, usually called Corp or Corp-ral, hurriedly explained, Should have been Fodder but I didn't want him to mope about because he made a mistake. Besides, I'm not sure Holler is ready to spend time with the Locals.

Or them to spend time with him. Good thinking. Fodder alerting us wasn't a mistake. Truly. There was nothing in the local wildlife briefing about lizards. I told him I would have done the same thing. Tell him that again, in front of the others. What are you doing 'til tomorrow?

Couple of miles along there's a Company? Crew? Group?

Gaggle. 'Let's not say that out loud,' Ani thought, then said, We'll find out their unit structure and chain of command when the main army gets here.

Yeah, so they play some kind of football.

Soccer?

No. Seems they throw the ball. Most of us want to give it a try.

Good. Get local buddies as much as possible. See you tomorrow.

Walking back towards her rucksack, Ani saw that Snipe had set out her gear. Thanks.

Sure. Check mine, will you?

Knowing it would be in perfect order, Ani ran a cursory eye over Snipe's gear. So, what's Mark like?

Big. I mean I'm a big girl by our standards, but he makes me feel petite. Seeing Lead's quirky smile, she laughed then added, Yeah, in that way too. Surprisingly gentle though.

As they repacked their gear, the pair talked some more about the long gun.

Rifling is the key to accuracy.

We can't introduce that to the Locals unless they already have it in some form.

"I know. I haven't seen anything down here that I can use to illustrate spin. Even if we do get better accuracy, the rate of fire is never going to be better than five per minute.

True. Yesterday, that archer was firing at least two arrows to one musket shot. I want to try that recurve bow he had.

You'll never be able to draw it, stated a voice beside them.

Startled, Snipe looked up to see the archer. Where did you come from?

The archer pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

Forcing a grin, Ani stood up, Nothing broken I hope.

Naw. Taken a lot worse falls than that.

I'm off, said Snipe, picking up her two guns.

Where's the rest of your crew? asked the archer.

Free time. Off to explore, play football, and find lovers.

Ah, pity. I'm going to take a look over the other side tonight. In books it is called ‘reconnaissance,’ ‘recon,’ or ‘recce.’ I thought one of you could come with me.

We say ‘rec’ or ‘recce.’ I'll come, said Ani as she pulled her heavy cloth jerkin over her head then rotated her shoulders and stretched her arms back. Sighing with pleasure, she opened her eyes to see the archer's mouth hanging open.

You're a lass, he exclaimed indignantly.

Yeah, she answered with equal indignation. I was a girl yesterday too. When I saved your donkey.

Chapter Three

Ani glowered at the archer who stared back just as ferociously then rasped, I'm going now. Come if you want, but if they spot you, I'll leave you to be scalped.

Holler, two canteens of water and a food pack from the ready stores. Ani stowed a couple of items in her satchel, wishing she had pockets, and checked her boots while Holler ran up and handed her the supplies. Seeing that the archer did not have his bow, she handed her gun and cartridge bag to Holler, telling him, Keep all this with the Squad gear. I'm going on a recce with him, be back sometime tomorrow.

Noting that the archer was slightly bent over as he trotted along close to the wall, Ani stooped a little and set off after him. She caught up with him where the grassland ended in a rockslide at the base of a hilly area.

Good thing you kept your head out of sight, or I would have left you here. Do what I do. The archer crawled around a boulder then went down on his belly to use his elbows and knees as he moved amongst smaller rocks. Ani followed, glad that the rocks were wind-worn, soft sandstone. Flint, even granite, would have torn the local clothes to shreds. 

The archer slithered around a small pile of stones and stopped to watch the end of the enemy wall, which appeared to peter out about fifty yards from the edge of the rocks. Ani lay still. Slowly twisting her head to the side, she checked behind her as best she could. After a few minutes, the archer set off again on what appeared to be a well-worn route. The scraped-out path was about ten yards from the grassland and just deep enough that they could belly crawl without being seen. Ani struggled along behind him. 'We weren't trained in this heavier than Standard gravity.' Perhaps the Squad was inserted on short notice. Certainly, the briefings had poor information. 'Maybe this archer guy can fill in some gaps.'

After what seemed a very long time to Ani, the archer slid through a break at the beginning of trees. Getting up into a crouch, Ani trotted along behind him for about fifty yards until he stopped, straightened his back, and took out a water bottle. She took out one of her canteens and raised it to her lips. After she had taken a sip of water, he held out his hand. Thinking it was a ploy to prevent her from drinking too much, she handed the canteen to him. The archer examined it carefully, running a finger along the metal weld and testing the screw cap with its tethering chain. Handing it back to her, he said, Kinda crude for space gear.

Usually, we're equipped with what the Locals have. Guess they didn't know you used bottles with wood stoppers.

Grunting, the archer set off again, weaving between the trees at a steady jog. Ani followed about five yards behind, careful to leave no footprints. He glanced back at her once and frowned but kept moving. It was not long before they came to a rough path with gouged footmarks and broken branches.

Runner's path, said the archer. What kind of sounds can you make?

Knowing he meant something that would alert him without attracting attention, she asked, How's this? and made a sort of twitter that sounded like wind blowing through branches.

He scrunched his face, then said, It'll have to do. Watch the trail. He nodded toward where the open fields would be and set off in the opposite direction.

Ani looked carefully at the path then moved slowly in the direction of the open ground. About twenty yards along, she found a long curve that allowed her to see in both directions for about fifty yards. After peering into the surrounding woods, she squatted; painstakingly, she spread the grass at the edge of the trail, then backed through the verge and slid under some bushes. Lying in a slight dip in the ground, she would be able to see feet coming along the path from either direction. Some time later, she saw the archer's feet lope into sight and come to an abrupt halt where he had left her. Freezing, he scrutinized the area and then began to move slowly along the path looking for signs of Ani's passing. When he was about five yards beyond her position, she made the twittering sound and stepped out onto the trail. He grunted then trotted off. She smiled to herself as she jogged along behind him.

Fairly soon, the archer put up his hand to stop her, then went forward cautiously. In a few minutes, he reappeared and beckoned her to join him. Together, they moved off the path in the direction of the grassland. The archer dropped to his knees and crawled into a prepared position. Ani wriggled up beside him and cautiously peered out through a screen of grass. In front of her was an unobstructed view of the enemy wall, and in the distance, she could make out her Squad's position.

The archer rummaged through his pack for a moment then pulled out a small food bag. Following suit, Ani sipped some water then took out her dry food pack. The archer watched her start to gather some granola in her fingers, then jerked his chin up. She dropped the granola in his palm and started to gather some more. He tasted the granola then said, Too sweet.

She waited while he took out a square of a hard, whitish substance and a long strip of dried meat. He broke the square and gave her half, then took out his knife and sawed a piece of meat off for her. Ani examined the flat piece of food for a while, then put it into the side of her mouth. Crunching with her teeth had no effect, so she sucked on it for a while until it softened, then chewed on it carefully.

‘Hardtack’ or ‘tack,’ said the archer.

Or just hard, replied Ani before carefully breaking off another bit. As she softened it  with saliva, she asked, You can grow grains here?

The archer shook his head. Not us, the Nothrons

Your enemies, she said, nodding toward the back of the wall.

Sort of, but those guys are just from the Teams.

Teams?

Sons of the artisans, farmers, folk like that. Not really enemies.

Ani chewed on the hardtack and thought for a few moments. Going to have to ask somebody, no other way to get accurate intelligence. Hesitantly, she asked, Can you explain this war to me? My pre-mission briefing seems to have been a little—

War? Briefing?

Ani stared at the archer open-mouthed. Rather trust him than Offi. She swallowed and began explaining, Yeah, before my Squad was inserted on this planet, one of the Powers-that-be, what we call ‘Tzers,’ the one that hired us, told us that there was a war between the Nothrons,' she gestured towards the wall, then pointed at him, and you.

He stared back at her nonplussed, so she continued, Only I can't figure things out. Your side doesn't seem to have a chain of command. The 'Offi' doesn't seem to be in charge or report to anyone. Both sides look alike, dress alike, and nobody seems to be taking this 'war' very seriously. Unable to think of anything else to say, she gnawed at the dried meat and waited.

Likewise, the archer chewed on his hardtack for a while then took a sip of water. OK. By 'Powers-That-Be,' you mean 'Sky People.' Seeing her expression, he explained, Most planets have a Landing Site where the first Spaceship touched down on the planet.

On mine it crashed but, yes, all planets have some sort of 'Arrival Day,' except First Dirt of course.

Whoa. Whoa. We don't have time to compare origin myths right now. I know about Galactic Corporations and Galactic Spaceships, which have landing shuttles. People on this planet call those 'Sky Ships,' which carry 'Sky People'. With me so far?

Even a dumb grunt like me can understand that much.

OK. On the annual Landing Day, a Sky Ship comes down to collect the hexagonal ingots.

Hexagonal ingots?

Six-sided bars of aluminum, about two yards high by one across. When Ani nodded, he continued, The Sky People trade for the ingots by bringing luxury items for the Owners. Fabrics, spices, musical instruments, things like that. And slaves.

What do you need slaves for? Ani asked the obvious question.

We, the Sothrons, don't. The Nothron Owners need slaves to mine the coal, to work in the generators, to run the smelters, to refine the bauxite into aluminum. Seeing her struggle to follow his meaning, the archer repeated, That is, burn the coal to melt the rock and make aluminum.

OK, but why don't they just mine the coal themselves?

A slave working on the coalface lives about five years.

Black lung. Coal dust gets into your lungs and clogs them so you can't breathe. That was in the briefing.

Right. Therefore, if we're slaves and we want to live, we run away. Down here, to the south. The Archer saw her frown slightly, but she nodded her head, so he kept on explaining, For several years the Sky People have brought fewer and fewer slaves but better and better trade goods. Last year, one of the Owners got a full-sized harp for his daughter.

I still don't see why you have a war.

Ah. The rider that Mark shot off the steed yesterday. He's what we call a Gang Boss or Boss. The groups of slaves working the coalface are called gangs, and each gang of about fifty slaves has a Boss to make them work. Since the Owners can't get more slaves from the Sky People, they send the Gang Bosses down here to capture us.

So, you fight them.

Really we only fight the Bosses; there are battles twice a year. One battle is sometime before the Rains start, which is in a few days, and the second is a few weeks after the Rains end. We try to stop the Bosses getting through our line, because when they do, they raid our homes and take our families back to work the coal.

Ani mulled over the information while the archer tidied up his gear and backed out of the blind. She heard him urinating. When he returned, she started to ask him a question, but he shook his head. Enough talking for one day. You watch. I sleep. Wake me when the tree shadows are about fifty yards long.

He started to curl up, but Ani asked, What am I watching for?

Uh, said the archer, then pointed. You see how the wall runs along until it gets to where the steed came across Nobody's Land yesterday? She nodded. "There is a sort of lumpy part of Nothron wall there that I have never seen before. Also, a lot