The individual squads were racing, two at a time, launching their teammates through the obstacles designed to test endurance, strength, ingenuity, and determination. When the squad finished, they ran back to the first obstacle to begin a second run through the course.
Wolfoids heading up the rope were always a sight to behold. Their front hands were more like overly developed paws and their back paws were ill-suited to grip the rope, but grip it they did, by wrapping the rope around one paw and standing on it with the other. They kept their legs underneath them almost in a fetal position, unlike how humans stretched out as they climbed. The Wolfoids also used their powerful jaws for additional leverage and pull. They didn’t go fast, but for them, just making it to the top was a victory, something that they never thought possible when they first looked at the rope-climbing obstacle. They figured it out. Ingenuity and they stuck with it. Determination.
Stinky and Pickles joined Cain as he watched. ‘Cats were scattered around the course, watching casually as their chosen humans worked.
“Have the ‘cats gone through the course with their bonds?” Cain wondered.
“Not yet, but we didn’t want to push the ‘cats without your help,” Pickles answered.
“It’s not my help you need. Lutheann calls the shots when it comes to the ‘cats, and would you look at that. Here is the beautiful lady now!” Cain said with an ingratiating smile. Brutus sneezed and wiped his face on the human’s leg.
‘Flattery will get you nowhere, human,’ Lutheann said coldly. Cain kneeled on his repaired leg, so he could be more on an eye level with the ‘cat.
“I think it’s almost time for a live-fire exercise. I want to take the platoon to the edge of the rainforest to hunt. I don’t want the ‘cats to make all the kills, but to help the recruits to work as a team. Can we do that without practicing here? A little practice, and then we go bring down some game. What do you say, Luthie?” Cain looked her in the eye.
‘Maybe flattery and a good plan will get you where you want to go. When do we leave?’ the white ‘cat asked.
“If we look respectable on a practice run through the O course, then we can go first thing in the morning, skip breakfast, hunt for the day’s meals.” She nodded and strolled away.
“Does that mean yes? What is she going to do? I swear that I will never understand ‘cats,” Stinky said.
“Only ‘cats understand ‘cats. You know, Brutus won’t tell me his real name, because I haven’t earned the right to know it yet.” The others nodded slowly. “Form the platoon. We need to be ready when Luthie tells us her plan.”
Stinky and Pickles stopped the recruits once they completed the current obstacle and ran back to stand in formation at the edge of the mud pit. They were already dirty and Cain was happy to note that none of them grumbled about the prospect of going into the pit. It looked like a few of them had already been there.
“For the major!” Stinky shouted out of the blue. The recruits started barking, howling, and yelling. Cain let them continue for a while, before raising a hand for silence.
“It’s good to be back,” he told them in the commanding voice he’d adopted. “I thank you for standing by me that night, seems like a long time ago. I asked Brutus where do we go from here and you know what he told me? Forward. That’s it. I couldn’t agree more. We go forward. My intent is that we train the course with the ‘cats and then tomorrow morning, we will hunt for our breakfast at the edge of the rainforest. We all eat or no one does, but I expect not just to eat, but eat well!” He ended on a high note, thrusting his fist in the air. The howling and barking began anew as the ‘cats approached. It looked like all twenty of them, including Lutheann. Cain didn’t count Brutus in their number since he was always by Cain’s side.
‘We are ready now. We have watched the others go through the course and we shall join, five ‘cats per squad. I shall watch from here,’ Lutheann stated, sitting to the side of the pit where she could see all the obstacles. Cain joined her.
“Lieutenants. Take charge of your squads and one by one, have them negotiate the obstacle course. This is a timed exercise. First one out until the last one touches the top of the rope. Sergeant, join First Squad for this training.”
With a hearty, “aye, aye, sir,” she ran to the back of the line. The Hawkoid didn’t run the course, but they had him fly through a special track in the woods that challenged his flying skills. He leapt from Bull’s foreleg and flew away. He was self-training. No one doubted a Hawkoid’s ability to fly.
Stinky and Pickles looked at their people. “Tracker, take your squad through the course, quick as you please,” Pickles told his first squad leader, adopting an expression he heard in one of the videos Holly had played for him. He lined his squad up with Bull in front. On command, Bull ran forward the few steps it took to get to the base of the wall. He dropped to all fours, acting as a platform for the others to use to get to the top. Spence ran and leapt from the Wolfoid’s back. He caught the top of the wall and pulled himself over in one motion. He rolled over and threw a hand back for the next member of his squad. The two Wolfoids needed no help as they launched themselves to land on all fours beside Spence. Jo ran next. Bull gave her a boost by hunching his back when she tried to jump. She got high enough to grab Spence’s hands and he hauled her up effortlessly, which was a trick since she was bigger than him. Everyone was bigger than Spence, including a few of the ‘cats.
The Hillcats came next while Night Stalker cheered them on. Some vaulted from Bull’s back, while others crawled up the wall, using their claws to dig between the boards. They were quick about it, requiring no help to get over the top. Night Stalker raced ahead, hitting Bull with a great leap intending to take her over the top. She missed by a hair, smashing her Wolfoid face into the top board. Spence grabbed one leg and Jo grabbed the other. The sergeant hung helplessly, dependent on her teammates to lift her up. Bull stood and pushed from the bottom. When she made the top, she spit blood from a split lip and growled her dismay at having missed her jump.
Bull backed up and ran, jumping against the wall and vaulting himself upwards. They caught him, but it took four of them to haul him up. The second he hit the top, they were off, down the back ramp and heading for the ropes at a dead run.
“A ‘cat will jump on your back when you grab the rope so you better get a good grip!” Stalker “yelled” through her vocalization device. She hoped they heard her. First to jump for the rope was Spence. He wrapped himself around it when he hit as Tobiah landed on his back, nearly sending him into the mud. The rope approached the opposite side and Spence twisted, allowing the ‘cat to launch himself to the shore. Spence hung on, dropping and using his bodyweight to swing the rope back. He turned back and tightened his grip. Another ‘cat, another swing, one more twist. Five times he swung back and forth until the last time when he tried to follow the ‘cat to the shore. He hit in ankle deep water, but the slope steepened, and he fell backward into the mud pit. The others swung past him as he slogged his way out.
One by one, they ran down the balance beams, the ‘cats doing it effortlessly. Then the inverted log pyramid. They danced across the tops while the Wolfoids and humans struggled over and under. Two falls meant two restarts, but they all made it through.
They tackled the next two obstacles without issue and ended at the rope climb. Three ropes hung. Spence called Tobiah to him. The small human jumped and grabbed as high on the rope as he could reach. He pulled himself upward, then tucked his elbows in as Tobiah jumped onto his shoulders and leapt upward, grabbing the rope with his claws a good fifteen feet high. He crawled the last five feet to tap a paw on the cross bar. He let go of the rope and flipped over backwards as he fell, landing expertly on his feet. He stood for a second, making the watchers wonder if he was hurt, then he lifted his head and strutted from the sand pit below the rope. Spence finished his climb and quickly slid down the rope, to become a cheerleader for the rest of his squad.
Bringing up the rear was S
talker, who was lean for a Wolfoid. She found her way up the rope quicker than anyone else, even Spence who reminded Cain of a monkey. The major and his lieutenants all cheered. The other squads looked on. One by one, they were sent through the course, but they could not exceed the ingenuity of the first squad.
Starsgard and Fickle rivaled the Lizard Man at running slowly. They were definitely the slowest through the entire obstacle course. Stinky was disappointed and wanted to fire them up, but Cain stopped him. As the last to finish in the last squad, they hung their heads as they felt they’d disappointed their teammates. Cain pulled them aside.
“What are you good at, Fickle?”
“I’m a pretty good engineer, with systems and such,” he replied defensively.
“I know, astrophysics,” Cain said as he looked at Starsgard.
“I’m getting better!” Fickle pleaded his case.
“Shut up,” Cain said flatly. “You’ve heard the vocalization devices, right? They suck. They need fixed. Our chief engineer aboard the Cygnus-12 made ours work perfectly. Could you fix everyone’s if he sends you the instructions and software patch?”
“Sure,” Fickle said, confused as he thought he was on the verge of getting dropped from the program.
“Everyone has their place, Fickle, Starsgard. I have no doubt, and even more importantly, Brutus has no doubt that when your time comes, you are going to save us all. We need brains AND brute force, agility, both mental and physical. Do you think anyone else can fix the devices?” Cain asked.
“I don’t know what they can do,” Fickle conceded.
“That’s the best answer. Maybe one or two of them could, but I know you can. I want everyone’s vocalization device fixed before we leave tomorrow. Let me know what you need, and I’ll have it dropped off at billeting. Now get back with your squads.” They both ran off, much relieved. The others in the platoon saw their fellow recruits’ smiles. Everyone feared being fired and sent home in disgrace, even though Cain told them that if they didn’t cut it, it wasn’t a failure.
“Who are you?” Cain yelled to get the recruits howling and barking. The humans yelled and barked, as well. Cain raised his hands for silence, the bat leaning against his hip, waiting for his hand to return. His knee was starting to throb. He chose to ignore the pain.
“When I came here, my intent was to reduce our numbers to an even dozen, keep the best and let the others try again, if there was another opportunity, but I’m not going to do that. There are forty-four of you total and every single one of you contributes something different, something that makes us all better. You don’t need to worry about getting sent home. You only have to worry about disappointing me and your teammates. We train to fight. Take it seriously because we are in this to win. If an enemy tries to stand before us, we will do everything in our power, everything humanly possible, to meet that threat and get that enemy to back down. We win by not fighting, we win by fighting. Whatever the way, we have to win, for the peace and security of all. Oorah!” The major let them yell, howl, and celebrate.
“That’s it? We don’t have to cut anyone?” Pickles asked. He was a consumer of data and in his world, he had parameters and everything needed to fit within those constraints. Cain had just changed the rules and it threw him for a loop.
“No. I think their concern about getting cut was holding them back, keeping them from taking risks. We need them out on the edge, challenging the boundaries.”
“I can hear Allard and Beauchene from here. Twenty three ‘cats on board and all of them will want to live on the garden deck,” Stinky laughed, remembering the shoot-out and the captain getting the snot Rabbit-kicked out of him. Stinky chuckled until he fell over and belly-laughed, rolling around on his back. Pickles saw the humor, but didn’t show his emotions outwardly. Cain joined his friend in laughing at the poor gardeners on board their ship.
The sergeant looked concerned.
“Bring it in,” Cain called, still smirking. “You wonder if we’ve gone insane. The best part of the SES is the stories that we get to bring back. Let me tell you one. We were underway about a week, when all of a sudden our AI sounds the alarm. There’s weapons fire on the garden deck! Somehow, the two Rabbit gardeners had gotten their laser pistols and were shooting at the three ‘cats who had taken up residence there. The captain tried to intervene and who would have guessed that a Rabbit can kick as hard as a mule? Those were the same Rabbits you saw defending the ship with their little laser pistols, running down a corridor as they faced an enemy carrying blasters.” Cain stopped. It had changed from a humorous story to one of admiration for what the Rabbits did.
“Form the platoon, Sergeant,” Cain ordered. He nodded at Stinky to go with the platoon to billeting while he and Pickles headed the other way. They had a trip to organize.
No Animal Is Safe
The platoon arrived in two tightly packed jumpers. They were dropped at the southern edge of the rainforest, east of New Sanctuary. They were on their own because there were no nearby settlements. They had water and basic survival supplies, a small knife, numbweed, sutures, a flint. The Wolfoids weren’t allowed to bring their spears, but Cain, Black Leaper, and Peekaless all carried a blaster, although Cain suggested that they’d all be better off no matter what happened if Stinky and Pickles kept their blasters holstered.
Pickles didn’t argue. He was a terrible shot, and Stinky wasn’t much better.
“Sergeant, what’s your plan?” Stalker was taken aback. She hadn’t contemplated that she’d be responsible for managing the hunt.
“I don’t have one, but will soon,” she stalled as she closed her eyes, trying to think through her options.
“Sergeant,” Cain prodded. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “You have forty very keen minds standing right there. Are you smarter than all of them combined?” She shook her shaggy head. “As the leader, you have to make the decision, but you don’t always have to come up with the ideas on your own,” the major counselled.
As expected, when she called for options, everyone spoke at once. Thanks to Briz’s and Fickle’s fix of the vocalization devices, yelling was yelling and emotions were projected as hotly as they were felt. The sergeant regained control and went through the recruits one by one to ensure most of them got a chance to present an opinion.
The Hawkoid and ‘cats to spot game, the Wolfoids and ‘cats to hunt and bring down the game, while the humans and Lizard Man would fashion spears. They’d wait in an ambush site in case the game fled before kills could be made. Everyone would participate. Humans would clean the game and everyone who wanted it cooked would cook.
The major and the lieutenants liked the plan because it was inclusive without making anyone do what they weren’t capable of.
Ascenti launched himself skyward, flying easily to a height level with the top of the nearby rainforest. He scanned the woods and brush for movement, looking for a herd of deer, but he found a wild boar pack instead. He relayed his sighting to the sergeant. She shared the information with the others. The Wolfoids were ready to go. The ‘cats felt game in the other direction, they thought deer and rabbits. While they pondered which direction to go, Zisk and the humans started cutting saplings to use as spears.
One pack of Wolfoids and Hillcats raced east in search of the boars, while a second, smaller group headed west, taking a far more measured approach. The eastern group had fourteen recruits and ten ‘cats, the majority of the platoon as they expected the boars to be a more dangerous prey, but they wanted to prove themselves, to each other and to Major Cain. Night Stalker led this group, not because of the potential for glory, but because of the potential for failure. She wanted to be there to help pick up the pieces after the engagement went south.
Cain, Stinky, and Pickles sat back, talking about nothing while waiting for word over the mindlink. Brutus and Lutheann stayed near Cain, watching. The ‘cats seemed on edge.
“Hey, Bee, do you have the foresight, like the Golden Warrior had?” Cain won
dered about the ‘cat. With a bloodline that went back to the ‘cat that set the standard for how humans and ‘cats could work together, Cain figured that Brutus had more abilities than he let on. He was a dangerous creature because of his small size, not in spite of it. He was faster than the others and seemed one step ahead in everything he did.
‘Thank you for noticing,’ Brutus said sarcastically. Cain should have expected that the ‘cat would be in his head. ‘We should go now.’ Without waiting, Brutus and Lutheann sprinted from their campsite, heading east. Cain loped after them, trying not to put too much weight on his knee and failing miserably. Pickles stayed with him while Stinky dashed ahead, matching speed with the ‘cats.
“Follow us!” Cain yelled at those trimming their spears.
The squeal and snort told them that the recruits had engaged. The screech and cry of pain suggested that it wasn’t going well. ‘Cats screamed as they attacked. Cain pulled his blaster, having it in his hand comforted him. He tried to run faster, but his knee threated to give in. He had to slow down.
‘There were more wild pigs in the underbrush. They have young ones and they aren’t running,’ Brutus told them from up ahead. More screams. A boar squealed as one does when it is about to die. Underbrush was getting ripped out somewhere nearby. Cain stopped and took aim. A wild boar, a great brute shredded the bushes as it tore through, heading straight for the major. He fired three short bursts from his blaster, peppering the beast’s head. Cain stepped aside as it dug its tusks into the ground and rolled past.
Cygnus Expanding: Humanity Fights for Freedom (Cygnus Space Opera Book 2) Page 14
