She doesn't like it. The bridge is a narrow deathtrap, swaying over the river with every gust of wind, low enough so that the ancient boards are slippery with spray but still high enough to make the water feel like concrete on impact. The sheer amount of spume being flung that high speaks for itself about the spring flood season. Winter's just thawed out enough to release the ice and make life hard for them.
Kyu frowns and clenches her hands on the reins. Every instinct, both military and civilian, tells her that this is a Very Bad Idea. She has 17 men and women under her command, five of which are injured, two of which are severely so, and even without this new obstacle, the odds against them are long. She’s already lost two since entering the mountains and with all her heart, she doesn’t want to lose more.
The equiv shifts underneath her uneasily and Kyu relaxes her white-knuckled grip with an explosive sigh. Beside her, her third’s equiv picks up the mood and prances on the spot, eliciting a matching nervousness from her own mount. When they’ve calmed the equivs, the Hyena finally breaks the silence. "We can't take the carts across." Cohen's voice is sombre, his elegant accent dulled with hopeless resignation. "Grant's with them now. William might be able to climb on an equiv but there's no chance for Tomas."
"Terra-sol-luna." The invocation slips from her traitorous lips, half curse and half prayer. Kyu grits her teeth together, unwilling to show any more weakness, even to her third-in-command. When she unlocks her jaws, her face feels tense and her temples are aching with pressure. The carts have been invaluable to their long retreat and losing them now is a harsh blow. They represent transport for the wounded, shelter from the worst of the elements and their only baggage train they have in the wilderness that surrounds them. Four wagonloads of supplies and equipment now have to be redistributed among the men, already overloaded with their own gear, and what can’t be taken has to be destroyed rather than left behind. The enemy cannot benefit from their loss.
She pulls her equiv’s head around unnecessarily hard and it fights her for a moment before acquiescing and turning towards the narrow path towards the bridge. "We're crossing, regardless.” Her voice is hard and brittle and it crackles like broken glass. “Tell Doyle to get Heron on an equiv now, even if he has to drag the man into the saddle."
The next closest crossing point is a ford thirty kilometres downstream and with the wounded, the enemy's too close to try for it. There's no other way across but here and now. At the bridge, Kyu halts her equiv and watches Cohen move towards the wagons, most already stripped bare. Her soldiers have learned now that time is life and most of the rearranging has been done on the move. Here and there, she can see extra equipment sticking out of bulging packs and she catches a glimpse of Wong Fei loading her equivs until they look like their legs will break under the load on their backs.
Grant's supplies are in the third cart and as she watches, the doctor appears from around the side, leading a string of three equivs. Heron's balanced precariously on one, tilting drunkenly in the saddle and propped upright against Issuelt who's sitting behind him. The other two equivs are loaded with medical paraphernalia and as Doyle moves past her, she gives him a curt nod. He looks up at her and the defeat in his eyes is depressingly clear. "He's on analgesics," the doctor mutters, "but he's awake." Doyle heaves a sigh and walks on. "He's also got a thermade and he won’t let go of the thing."
Kyu dismounts and Ngarogei takes her equiv, freeing her to walk along the side of the ravine. There, alone at the edge, she closes her eyes for a long time and when she opens them again, the carts have all been dragged to the very end of the bridge, barricading the way but leaving the narrowest gap that an equiv can fit through. Cohen and Etienne are shepherding everyone across the bridge and as everyone steps onto the slippery boards, they all nod or salute or make some motion towards the wagon closest to the edge.
Kyu watches every single one of them cross, most leading equivs, some struggling under the weight of their newly heavy packs and Wong Fei haranguing her baulking and shying string of equivs until they finally panic enough to move onto the bridge. She’s the only one brave or demented enough to cross alone and she goads her charges ahead of her, laughing like a madwoman and riding on the back of her least burdened mount.
There’s a terrifying moment when Volkov slips and lurches wildly but he’s grabbed by no less than three pairs of hands and before she can even really comprehend that he’s in danger, the scout’s been hauled to the centre of the bridge and anchored. As per the unspoken rule, the higher your rank, the later you leave your post. Cohen steps onto the bridge and crosses to the halfway point with Eti close behind. For some reason, the pair stop there and look back at her.
Kyu curses them for idiots that they are and waves them onwards. They turn to look at each other and shrug in unison before nonchalantly planting their feet and being obstinate bastards. In the end, she simply shakes her head and weaves her way through the blockade of wagons to where Tomas Phillipe is.
At her approach, Tomas grins crookedly and straightens up as best he can, heedless of how everything below his chest remains immobile. Even if he’s lost a significant portion of his spine, he apparently he feels nothing now through whatever mad cocktail of painkillers Doyle gave him. “Nice weather today QT,” he chuckles dryly.
“That lieutenant to you, soldier.” There’s no choice but to give him her standard reply as if there’s nothing wrong with this scene. “Nice weather today LT Kyu, sir” she manages to say.
Phillipe smiles happily at her and sings out, loud enough to be heard across the bridge in a lull in the wind, “Yes, QT Kyu, sir!” He shifts a bit as his elbows finally realise they’re taking all his weight. “You know, it’s such a shame to hide such as pretty face under such a mean scowl.” He twists the innocuous black and gold sphere in his hand gently. “Lighten up a bit for me ay?”
She blinks at him for a long moment. It’s too easy. He’s made it too easy. Kyu takes a deep breath and gives Phillipe a full Free Worlds military salute, heels clicking, eyes forward, perfect angle to brow and all that. "Tony." Her acknowledgement of his call-sign is a sign in itself. “On charges of insubordination and insolence to your superiors, I order you to stay behind and clean up the mess that 56th platoon have created here before re-joining us as soon as possible.” She gives him her best smile, like they’re all sitting around a campfire, talking shop and bluff. “Lighten up soldier.”
Tomas grins radiantly and levers one arm up in a salute. “QT sir.”
Words aren't necessary now. Phillipe slumps backwards against the wagon wall and Kyu turns to cross the bridge. She, Eti and Cohen reaches the rest of her platoon and they move into the forest in silence. The trees here are tall and silver-barked, casting long shadows that melt into each other. The equivs’ harnesses jingle and her soldiers’ footsteps crackle through the light underbrush. No-one speaks and before long, they’ve all settled into a macabre anticipation of what’s to come.
Kyu walks at the end of her platoon, placing one foot after the other and staring dully at the nav blinking on her bracer. However many indeterminable hours later, the world glows incandescently white behind them and moments later, the dull crump-hiss-thud of a thermade detonation follows the light through the gently rustling trees.
Kyu frowns and clenches her hands on the reins. Every instinct, both military and civilian, tells her that this is a Very Bad Idea. She has 17 men and women under her command, five of which are injured, two of which are severely so, and even without this new obstacle, the odds against them are long. She’s already lost two since entering the mountains and with all her heart, she doesn’t want to lose more.
The equiv shifts underneath her uneasily and Kyu relaxes her white-knuckled grip with an explosive sigh. Beside her, her third’s equiv picks up the mood and prances on the spot, eliciting a matching nervousness from her own mount. When they’ve calmed the equivs, the Hyena finally breaks the silence. "We can't take the carts across." Cohen's voice is sombre, his elegant accent dulled with hopeless resignation. "Grant's with them now. William might be able to climb on an equiv but there's no chance for Tomas."
"Terra-sol-luna." The invocation slips from her traitorous lips, half curse and half prayer. Kyu grits her teeth together, unwilling to show any more weakness, even to her third-in-command. When she unlocks her jaws, her face feels tense and her temples are aching with pressure. The carts have been invaluable to their long retreat and losing them now is a harsh blow. They represent transport for the wounded, shelter from the worst of the elements and their only baggage train they have in the wilderness that surrounds them. Four wagonloads of supplies and equipment now have to be redistributed among the men, already overloaded with their own gear, and what can’t be taken has to be destroyed rather than left behind. The enemy cannot benefit from their loss.
She pulls her equiv’s head around unnecessarily hard and it fights her for a moment before acquiescing and turning towards the narrow path towards the bridge. "We're crossing, regardless.” Her voice is hard and brittle and it crackles like broken glass. “Tell Doyle to get Heron on an equiv now, even if he has to drag the man into the saddle."
The next closest crossing point is a ford thirty kilometres downstream and with the wounded, the enemy's too close to try for it. There's no other way across but here and now. At the bridge, Kyu halts her equiv and watches Cohen move towards the wagons, most already stripped bare. Her soldiers have learned now that time is life and most of the rearranging has been done on the move. Here and there, she can see extra equipment sticking out of bulging packs and she catches a glimpse of Wong Fei loading her equivs until they look like their legs will break under the load on their backs.
Grant's supplies are in the third cart and as she watches, the doctor appears from around the side, leading a string of three equivs. Heron's balanced precariously on one, tilting drunkenly in the saddle and propped upright against Issuelt who's sitting behind him. The other two equivs are loaded with medical paraphernalia and as Doyle moves past her, she gives him a curt nod. He looks up at her and the defeat in his eyes is depressingly clear. "He's on analgesics," the doctor mutters, "but he's awake." Doyle heaves a sigh and walks on. "He's also got a thermade and he won’t let go of the thing."
Kyu dismounts and Ngarogei takes her equiv, freeing her to walk along the side of the ravine. There, alone at the edge, she closes her eyes for a long time and when she opens them again, the carts have all been dragged to the very end of the bridge, barricading the way but leaving the narrowest gap that an equiv can fit through. Cohen and Etienne are shepherding everyone across the bridge and as everyone steps onto the slippery boards, they all nod or salute or make some motion towards the wagon closest to the edge.
Kyu watches every single one of them cross, most leading equivs, some struggling under the weight of their newly heavy packs and Wong Fei haranguing her baulking and shying string of equivs until they finally panic enough to move onto the bridge. She’s the only one brave or demented enough to cross alone and she goads her charges ahead of her, laughing like a madwoman and riding on the back of her least burdened mount.
There’s a terrifying moment when Volkov slips and lurches wildly but he’s grabbed by no less than three pairs of hands and before she can even really comprehend that he’s in danger, the scout’s been hauled to the centre of the bridge and anchored. As per the unspoken rule, the higher your rank, the later you leave your post. Cohen steps onto the bridge and crosses to the halfway point with Eti close behind. For some reason, the pair stop there and look back at her.
Kyu curses them for idiots that they are and waves them onwards. They turn to look at each other and shrug in unison before nonchalantly planting their feet and being obstinate bastards. In the end, she simply shakes her head and weaves her way through the blockade of wagons to where Tomas Phillipe is.
At her approach, Tomas grins crookedly and straightens up as best he can, heedless of how everything below his chest remains immobile. Even if he’s lost a significant portion of his spine, he apparently he feels nothing now through whatever mad cocktail of painkillers Doyle gave him. “Nice weather today QT,” he chuckles dryly.
“That lieutenant to you, soldier.” There’s no choice but to give him her standard reply as if there’s nothing wrong with this scene. “Nice weather today LT Kyu, sir” she manages to say.
Phillipe smiles happily at her and sings out, loud enough to be heard across the bridge in a lull in the wind, “Yes, QT Kyu, sir!” He shifts a bit as his elbows finally realise they’re taking all his weight. “You know, it’s such a shame to hide such as pretty face under such a mean scowl.” He twists the innocuous black and gold sphere in his hand gently. “Lighten up a bit for me ay?”
She blinks at him for a long moment. It’s too easy. He’s made it too easy. Kyu takes a deep breath and gives Phillipe a full Free Worlds military salute, heels clicking, eyes forward, perfect angle to brow and all that. "Tony." Her acknowledgement of his call-sign is a sign in itself. “On charges of insubordination and insolence to your superiors, I order you to stay behind and clean up the mess that 56th platoon have created here before re-joining us as soon as possible.” She gives him her best smile, like they’re all sitting around a campfire, talking shop and bluff. “Lighten up soldier.”
Tomas grins radiantly and levers one arm up in a salute. “QT sir.”
Words aren't necessary now. Phillipe slumps backwards against the wagon wall and Kyu turns to cross the bridge. She, Eti and Cohen reaches the rest of her platoon and they move into the forest in silence. The trees here are tall and silver-barked, casting long shadows that melt into each other. The equivs’ harnesses jingle and her soldiers’ footsteps crackle through the light underbrush. No-one speaks and before long, they’ve all settled into a macabre anticipation of what’s to come.
Kyu walks at the end of her platoon, placing one foot after the other and staring dully at the nav blinking on her bracer. However many indeterminable hours later, the world glows incandescently white behind them and moments later, the dull crump-hiss-thud of a thermade detonation follows the light through the gently rustling trees.