by John Ringo
"Not at all," Mike said. "But I think I need to actually get some sleep tonight. Would a quickie be okay?"
"Whatever the Kildar desires," the girl said, standing up and slipping quickly out of the robe and nightdress.
"Whatever?" Mike asked, smiling. "I don't have the bondage dungeon set up yet."
"There is always the belt," Anastasia said, smiling in return.
* * *
"First call, bucko," Adams said, banging on Mike's door.
"Go away," Mike muttered, pulling the pillows over his head.
"Actually, it's breakfast call," Adams said, opening the door. "It's damned near nine, buddy."
"Christ," Mike snapped, rolling over and looking at the clock. Sure enough, it was eight-forty. "I forgot to set the alarm."
"You needed the extra sleep," Adams said, grabbing a pair of shorts off a chair and tossing them at him. "But it's range day; I know you don't want to miss that."
* * *
"Was that a whip I heard last night?" Adams asked as Mike sat down at the kitchen table. The breakfast on the main dining table had already been cleared.
"Don't ask, don't tell, buddy," Mike said, chuckling. "And, no, it was a belt. Consensual I might add."
"Don't ask, don't tell is right," Adams said, shaking his head.
"For that matter, in the breaks I seem to remember a memory of another bed moving somewhere nearby. And since you're the nearest room . . ."
"You should have named Bambi, Thumper," Adams said, shrugging. "Boy does she ever. But you're looking better; I take it you actually got some sleep last night."
"Some," Mike said, sipping his coffee and digging into breakfast. "Mother Griffina, you are a treasure."
"You are too easy to please, Kildar," the woman replied. "And it appears I must keep your strength up."
"Not you, too?" Mike said, shaking his head. "Is my love life common knowledge in the whole house?"
"The whole valley is more like it," Adams said, grinning.
"It's like living in a fishbowl," Mike grumped. "I think we're going to miss first issue."
"It's under control," the chief replied as Vanner came in the kitchen.
"Sorry, Kildar," the sergeant said, waving a coffee cup. "Just getting the morning brew."
"Make yourself at home, Vanner," Mike said. "Good job getting the commo set up so fast. How are the Keldara women taking to it?"
"I picked out a half dozen who could read and write pretty well," the commo specialist said, filling his cup. "They're smart. I'd figured it would be the regular red-neck story you get in most of these tribes, but not with the Keldara. They're smart as a whip. Good looking, too."
"You're keeping more than one around at all times, right?" Mike said. "Where is the commo shack, anyway?"
"First-level cellars," Adams said. "West side."
"How in the hell did you rig it from there?" Mike asked. "And when?"
"You've been busy," Adams said, shrugging. "We took a look and that looked to be one of the more secure areas. It's down the hall from the armory and there's a room across from it that would make a good spot to put a duty team. Anybody coming in the caravanserai has to fight through to the back cellars and then down. The cables are run through the walls on the next level up, then trenched to the hill. From there it's armored cable up to the antenna farm. We're going to put in redundant antennas on the caravanserai itself and one of the other peaks."
"Probably unnecessary, but go for it," Mike said. "Among other things, if we get hit hard there's nobody to call. And, yeah, that bothers me."
"There's a room down the hall that has a bunch of junk in it," Vanner said. "You could put in a pretty good command room there. There's enough room, that's for sure. Run some commo through the walls and you'd be set. All in one nice neat little position. I could train up some of the ladies to make decent CIC personnel; they're already doing well at map reading."
"You probably won't get hit heavy," Adams said. "But if someone starts dropping mortars on your head, it would help to be at least one level down."
"Go for it," Mike said. "Good idea."
"Your wish is my command, Kildar," Vanner said, waving his coffee mug in salute.
"How'd you run the satellite phone down there?" Mike asked after a moment's thought.
"We set up an antenna and a booster box at the antenna farm," the former Marine said. "If you've got the codes, you can connect direct to the Iridium relay satellites in geosync, and I do. Took a firmware hack on the hardware, but that was easy enough. Just a spare chip I had lying around and a few lines of code."
"Did you understand any of that?" Mike asked when the commo specialist was gone.
"Something about an antenna," the chief said, shrugging. "It works, don't fuck with it."
"What happens when it breaks?" Mike asked.
"Call Vanner back over," the chief said, with another shrug. "Or somebody like him. You're probably going to need a commo geek around anyway."
"More permanent residents," Mike sighed. "I didn't think this all the way out. Everything made so much sense when I came up with this brilliant idea. Little did I know . . ."
"Yours not to reason why," Adams said. "Yours is but to get out there and act like you have a clue what is going on."
* * *
CHAPTER TWENTY
The weapons issue and zero was going well.
Each of the Keldara had been issued a weapon and taught to find and memorize the serial number. After that they were run through a brief class on aiming and trigger control, then taken down to the range. There they were taken to the line and walked through zeroing the weapons. Since the leaders had already been issued and zeroed, they acted as firing coaches when the militiamen actually fired. Since they hadn't really been drilled in safety, Mike had insisted on a trained firer at each position. But between the team leaders and all the trainers assisting the Keldara were being run through the firing quickly.
"We'll be done before noon," Adams said, looking at his watch. "A couple of hours for training in stripping and cleaning and we'll be done."
"Just as well," Mike said. "They're going back to the family bosom for the weekend, so they should get off early today. Plenty of time to stress them after the festival."
"Kildar," McKenzie said, walking over. "The lads have asked about getting off early today, something about this festival that's coming up. Apparently there's a bit of work to get ready."
"We were talking about that," Mike said, nodding. "Figure we'll cut them loose at sixteen hundred."
"I can live with that," the Scot said. "What is this festival anyway?"
"You know about as much as I do," Mike said. "I just got here in the winter. All I've picked up is that it's a planting festival, more of a spring festival. Not Easter, that was a couple of weeks ago and they barely noticed it except to go to church. And apparently the Sunday celebration this week will be at the homes."
"Mayday was two days ago," McKenzie said, frowning. "But this falls in the time of Beltane. That can be any time from Walpurgis to May Third or so."
"Beltane?" Adams asked.
"Celtic celebration," Mike said. "Falls between the spring equinox and midsummer. It's going to be interesting to see how they celebrate it."
Over the sound of the firing, Mike heard a heavy truck in the distance and turned to see the cement mixer headed over to the gravel pit.
"Been a while since I looked at the dam," he said, waving at Adams. "They don't get released until the weapons are clean. Then they can go."
"Works," the chief said.
"I'm going to go check on Meller and Co.," Mike added, getting back in his Expedition.
The small stream was dry, a combination of the lack of snowmelt and a small dam and channel that had been cut to divert it to the main stream to the south. Later the channel would be reversed to bring the heavier stream over.
Where the stream had been there were now wooden forms, marking out the weirs that would control the flow of
the water. At the moment it was just the wooden outline and a small amount of concrete poured into the bottom. Some of the older Keldara were moving the concrete around so that it would be even across the bottom while the mixer went back for another load.
Meller was down in the form with the others, spreading the concrete with a wide metal shovel. They had to work in and out of the reinforcing metal rods that had been laid down in the bottom of the foundation trench.
"Hey, Kildar," the engineer said, grinning. He had been standing on a platform to keep out of the knee-deep concrete, but he'd still managed to cover himself in concrete splatters. "Going good."
"How long to fill the first forms?" Mike asked.
"At this rate, a few days," Meller replied. "No problem with layering, though. Unfortunately, we're going to have to keep going during the festival. The concrete truck drivers aren't from around here so that's no problem. But I'm going to have to hire a few laborers from town to help while the Keldara are off."
"Not an issue," Mike said. "Since we're paying the Keldara for this, paying laborers isn't that big of a deal. The militia are getting off early. Any problem with letting the guys go?"
"Nope," Meller said. "I'd already arranged for shifts through the night. We'll have to keep pouring until this section is done so we don't get layering. But the guys to replace them are standing by. They're going to get here at seventeen hundred."
"What about you?" Mike asked. "You're not going to work straight through the pour are you?"
"Prael and I are trading off," Meller said. "I'll be around for part of the festival. Did you know there's a bonfire?"
"No," Mike admitted.
"They're gathering the wood for it tonight," the engineer said. "That's why they want to leave early."
"I wonder if I should help?" Mike mused. "Kildar and all. Or do I sit up on my throne and watch?"
"Only one way to find out," Meller pointed out. "Ask."
* * *
Choosing who to ask was the question on Mike's mind as he drove over to the Keldara compound. Father Ferani was oldest but there was more deference paid to Father Kulcyanov, which was why Mike always addressed him first. However, in this case, he probably wanted to talk to Father Makanee. He just got along with the guy better than the others, maybe because he was a tad younger. Or maybe it was just that they looked alike enough to be brothers.
He pulled into the compound and got out, digging in his safari jacket pocket as the children gathered around. He'd ordered a bunch of bags of hard candies and made it a habit to pass them out to the Keldara kids whenever he came to the compound. He'd pointed out that it was only once a day, and one per kid, but it made him popular with that segment of the Keldara, at least, and something of the effect wore off on the older Keldara.
"No, Varlam," he said, shaking his head at one of the kids as he tried to grab a piece of candy Mike had been handing to one of the younger girls. "This one is for Khava. This one is for you," he continued, handing the boy a candy.
The ritual took about ten minutes every time he arrived at the compound, but he considered it time well spent. And Mother Savina always made sure he had pockets full of candy when he went out the door.
"Justinas," he said, as he handed out one of the last pieces. "Do you know where Father Makanee is?"
"By the barn with the others," the boy replied, stripping off the wrapper of the candy and shoving it in his mouth. He pocketed the scrap of wrapper since Mike had been furious the first time the kids scattered the ground with litter. "I'll show you."
The boy led him through the tangle of small gardens that now littered the compound and around a couple of cow biers to the Ferani barn. There Mike found the elders and most of the males that weren't with the militia or working on projects gathered in one spot. At the moment, two of them were throwing axes at a target.
The axes the two were throwing were the standard wood-cutting axes that the Keldara used before he got replacements. They were a traditional European design, much lighter than the standard wood-cutting axe that was familiar in the U.S. Europeans had used the axes from time immemorial since most of the woods of Europe were relatively soft. It was only after arriving in the new world that a heavier axe became a necessity to cut the massive oaks of the American woodlands.
These axes had a thin, light, head and a round barrel connection to the haft, which was circular instead of oval as in most American axes. With the exception of the haft being longer, they looked a good bit like tomahawks and could be thrown like them.
"Father of All be with you this day," Father Kulcyanov said when Mike approached the group. Mike was surprised by the sight of the elder. He had on what Mike would call "Sunday-Go-To-Meetin' " clothes, a fine pair of pants and shirt that he usually wore to church on Sunday. But what really got Mike's attention was the tiger skin. The head had been hollowed out to make a sort of hat and a portion of skin trailed down the elder's shoulders like a short cape. Both the head and the cape showed signs of wear, but it was apparent they had been kept carefully; there was much less motheating to them than the occasional heads and skins he'd seen in the houses. Kulcyanov wasn't the only one so dressed, for that matter. All of the elders had their best clothes on and similar hats and capes. Father Shaynav was wearing a bull's head and cape, Fathers Mahona and Devlich were wearing wolf heads, Father Ferani was wearing a stag's head and Father Makanee was wearing a boar's head. It was pretty apparent that this was part of the rites of spring. The first test, probably.
"Father of All be with you all," Mike replied. "I would take a moment of Father Makanee's time, if he is available."
"Of course, Kildar," Father Makanee said, walking over from the group. "How can I assist you?"
"A word," Mike said, walking to the far end of the barn. "I wanted to ask about the festival," Mike continued when they were out of sight. "I should have gotten more information earlier, so I could plan to participate. Tell me about what is going on, if you would, please?"
"Tonight the wood for the fire is gathered," Father Makanee said, frowning slightly and apparently choosing his words. "And it will be gathered on the tun," he continued, pointing out into the fields at one of the small hillocks that dotted the valley. This one was near the road, just north of the turnoff for the caravanserai. "Tomorrow morning the turf will be cut to make seats and the fire constructed in the middle. That will take most of the morning, but other things will be going on at the same time. The children will play games and the women will cook special foods. Starting at midday, the men will compete for the Ondah and that will take until in the evening."
"The Ondah," Mike said. "The test of strength? Wrestling?"
"There is wrestling," Father Makanee said. "And tests of strength. There are five tests: the test of the stone, the test of the wood, the test of the bull, the test of the fire and the test of the man. The test of the stone is carrying a heavy stone as far as you can. The test of the wood is picking up a large log and throwing it as far as you can. The test of the bull is how well you can first taunt and then throw a bull in a ring. The test of the fire is how high you can leap over a fire pit. And the test of the man is wrestling."
Mike blinked for a moment and then shook his head.
"That's interesting," was all he said. He realized that at least part of it fitted well with what were now called "Highland Games." Certainly the rock carrying and the log throwing, what was called the cabar toss if he recalled correctly. But the bull and the fire jump were different and he didn't know if wrestling was in the highland games. "Can anyone participate in these events?"
"Yes, Kildar," Father Makanee said, frowning in turn. "But the men prepare for them all year and the only ones who can truly compete for the Ondah are chosen by the axe toss. You are speaking of the trainers?"
"And I might want to try a couple," Mike said. "The reason I ask about the festival is to find out what I can do to be a part of it. Can I contribute food? Can I participate in the events? The wood cutting?"
&
nbsp; "There are nine wood cutters," Father Makanee said, wrinkling his brow. "They are chosen from among the young men, at least one from each family. They throw the axe to see who can throw the hardest and most accurately. But one must be from each family."
"I don't want to interfere in that," Mike interjected.
"But if you want to cut the wood, that would be acceptable," Father Makanee replied. "You will be the ninth cutter. It would be an honor. It is a long time since we had a true Kildar, but the tradition is that the Kildar often was a wood cutter. It would be good. But . . . do you know how to throw an axe?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Mike said, smiling faintly. "But not like those. I would have to practice with them."
"Come practice with us," Father Makanee said, drawing him back to the group. "We are only waiting for the young men on the range to join us."
Mike was drawn back to the group and handed one of the axes amid some half-hidden smiles. The range was about ten meters long, with a point at which you had to stand and throw at a target that was constructed of large logs set up in a pyramid with the flat ends facing the thrower.
Mike did, in fact, know how to throw an axe. It was one of those oddball SpecOps methods for silent takedown, popular with Russian Spetznaz especially. The weapon of choice, however, was much shorter than the axe he was holding, with a much heavier head and a flat, hammer, back. And Mike had only learned it enough to get proficient, not expert. He'd met some Spetznaz on a training mission and only learned it to the point of "well, I can do it, too." American SpecOps were firm believers that the best way to take down a sentry, silently, was to shoot him in the head with a silenced weapon.
So he stepped up to the line and swung the axe for a moment, thinking. The important thing about axe throwing was to get the spin of the axe just right. It had to spin a certain number of times so that the head was lined up with the target when it arrived. It was best if the handle touched the target just moments before the head impacted, to impart more emphasis. But this longer axe was going to rotate slower than the one he was used to using, both because the head was lighter and because the handle was longer.
