A Cat Among Dragons

by Alma Boykin

  Be that as it may, she was here. “Now all I need to do is get hired,” she sighed aloud. Well, there was no time like this time. She found the ship’s landing position and discovered to her delight that she was not far from the base of operations of the people she was seeking. Brownie got up, opened a latched basket, and studied her portable equipment. She’d take her personal stunner and her utility knife, of course, but none of her other technology or tricks. The mammal carried no identification but she wasn’t so far back that retinal scans and other biometrics wouldn’t help her create one. All she needed was to not have a record with the major local law enforcers.

  A few minutes remained before dawn, local time. Brownie waited until just after sunrise, then walked three kilometers (as she would learn to call them) to the front door of the company she was interested in. She was not surprised to see two soldiers in brown uniforms standing at the gate and she stopped a few paces away from them. They exchanged a glance and the smaller one asked her something. “I’m sorry, could you repeat, please?” she inquired in Trader, mentally crossing her fingers that the language was not too different from when she’d learned it.

  “I said, what do you want?” he repeated with a thick accent.

  She nodded towards the building on the other side of the gate. “I want to talk to one of your recruiting sergeants about joining Krather’s Komets.” This had never happened before and the guards blinked at eachother, taken by surprise. The one who’d spoken got a “why me?” look on his face and he called for backup while Brownie waited. A few minutes later a large reptile with what the woman would learn was a Master Sergeant’s insignia on her sleeve strolled up to the gate.

  “Corporal Pomxitk says you want to talk to a recruiting sergeant?” the two-meter-tall figure asked.

  “Yes,” Brownie hesitated before taking a wild guess, “ma’am. I want to join the Komets.”

  The blue and purple reptile studied the lean mammal. “Why?”

  “Because the Komets are the best company in this galactic sector.”

  The sergeant tipped her head to the side, intrigued. “What can you do?”

  “I can defend myself, I’m familiar with buying and selling things, I’ve handled small inter-planetary transports, and I’m used to being ordered around,” came the honest reply.

  One of the corporals at the gate made a strange noise as he tried to cover a laugh. The sergeant glared at him and then turned back to the waiting figure. “You got more than the stunner and knife?”

  “Not with me, Ma’am.”

  A curt nod of the blue head, then “Come with me then and let’s see if you have any skills we can use. And don’t call me ma’am. I know what clutch I came from,” the NCO informed the woman. Then she paused. “Do you have a name?”

  “I’m called Rada Ni Drako.” The name felt right to the mammal, more right than the insult that had served as her name among the Traders.

  “Odd name for a mammal,” the sergeant observed and then led the way into the Komets’ secondary rest and refit base.

  Three Quildarko weeks later, Recruit (Provisional) Ni Drako loaded herself and her gear onto a transport bound for somewhere that people wanted soldiers. Colonel Blake Krather himself conducted her final interview, something she later came to learn was very, very unusual for the Komets’ new recruits. She’d been completely honest and he’d still let her sign on. Well, she thought as she strapped into the hyper-stellar transport and waited for Sergeant Crowell to find something wrong (he always did), here’s to step one, three meals and a bunk. I haven’t forgotten my promise, Mrrti. I’m just taking the long trail on this hunt.

  Revenge would come after she learned what she needed to learn and built a new life and identity for herself, ‘Rada’ vowed. And so it did.

  1811 and After

  Joschka never forgot his first encounter with Rada Ni Drako. Joschka, then known as Corporal Yori dar Ohrkan, had just wanted to stay out of sight and out of mind, but fate in the form of a miserable sergeant and a tetchy mule intervened.

  “Damn it! What the hell are we doing stuck on this wretched backwater without air cover and having to use these bloody animals instead of decent transport?” Sergeant Iolo Reiker growled, gesturing at the mule that had just tried to kick him.

  “Shut it, Reiker,” Master Sergeant Jaker hissed, looking around to see if any of the officers had heard the loud griping, but Iolo Reiker ignored him.

  “Stupid bastard to have dumped us with these filthy indigs that can’t even distill a decent drink,” Reiker continued, so engaged in bitching that he missed the sudden silence spreading around him.

  A woman’s voice, quiet but with a hard core to it, inquired, “Would you like to talk to Major Warburton directly or shall I just relay your comments, Sergeant?” As former Corporal dar Ohrkan later recalled, the cluster of mercenaries parted “like the waters of the Red Sea,” giving Reiker a clear view of a small woman with chin-length dark brown hair and pale grey eyes who watched him intently. Apparently Reiker’s brains decided to take a vacation and left his testicles in charge of things, because he turned from the pack animal he’d been loading and started walking towards her. The other soldiers backed farther out of the way, some of them trying to decide if they really wanted to witness what might be about to happen and others making private wagers.

  The sergeant from Delphi-2 stopped just over a meter from the small lieutenant, hesitated for a moment, and then went for it. “Sure, Lieutenant, tell Major Warmonger that he’s a fucking idiot for accepting a contract on a planet so far behind the rest of the galaxy that the indigs can’t find their asses with both hands and a map! And the rest of you are fucking fools for not talking him out of it!”

  He took a deep breath and seemed ready to continue when thirty centimeters of sharp ceramic and steel appeared in the woman’s left hand. “Is there anything you’d like to add to that analysis, Sergeant Riker?” Either his single remaining brain cell suddenly decided that it did not have a death wish, or the “oh fuck,” “shit, he’s toast,” and other comments from behind and around him finally penetrated Reiker’s haze.

  “Um, no Lieutenant Ni Drako,” Reiker finished, one eye on the hunting knife and the other on her face.

  “You are in luck, Sergeant, because you will be hearing from Maj. Warburton in person in a few minutes. And Col. Krather as well. Would you still like for me to pass your message along?” She inquired, tone mild and eyes hard as stone. “And anyone else’s while I’m carrying dispatches?” Her eyes swept the group.

  Master Sergeant Jaker shook his head. “No, Ma’am. The rest of us will be fine with hearing from the Colonel himself.”

  Rada smiled slightly. “Good, because I’d hate for things to get garbled in translation. We’re reporting to the command shelter in ten minutes. Reiker, finish loading the mule or I will see if Capt. Majorica wants more helpers.” Majorica, the ill-tempered heavy-world veterinarian currently working with the Komets, always wanted help. Reiker considered her “offer,” and the blade, and decided to finish loading the mule. After a last look around, the officer nodded and sheathed her weapon and then approached the master sergeant. “Sergeant Jaker, a word if you have time.”

  “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

  She ran a hand through her hair. “Apparently the locals are not used to seeing female soldiers, Master Sergeant, and regard us as servants at best and more often as whores, free for the taking.” The lean NCO nodded as the lieutenant continued, “To prevent problems on both sides, Major Geoffries wants those of us who might come in contact with the natives to have an escort. Who would you recommend? And I already know we can’t really spare anyone.” They were operating with less than half their usual strength because only the most human-looking members of the Company could be on the planet.

  The master sergeant thought for a moment, then looked around. “Corporal dar Ohrkan. He’s got a level head, quick reactions, and can keep is mouth shut,” Jaker suggested.

&n
bsp; “Sounds like a winning combination,” the petite lieutenant agreed. “I won’t need him all the time, just when Capt. Chou needs a resupply run, if that makes things any easier.”

  “Not really Ma’am,” MSgt Jaker said. Then he raised his voice. “Corporal dar Ohrkan!” A broad-shouldered, still-awkward young man with chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyes, and an air of mild confusion skidded up to the Master Sergeant.

  The lieutenant looked him over and smiled. “Relax Corporal, I don’t eat NCOs raw.” Many years later, Lieutenant dar Ohrkan would remember those words, thinking that indeed, she usually preferred to singe them well first before biting their heads off.

  * * *

  Working with Lt. Ni Drako proved to be a learning experience. First, Yori had to learn how to ride one of the burden beasts they were currently using for transportation. It came as a rude surprise the first time a horse tossed him off into the mud and he discovered that animals did not respond to push or voice commands, unlike the unit’s mechanicals. Lt. Ni Drako caught the beast, brought it back, and watched from atop her mount in silence as he climbed back up into the seat, or “sattel” as the locals called it. After Yori’s second early and unplanned departure from the saddle Ni Drako sighed, “Try to land on your hip and shoulder, corporal. If you put your hand out, you’ll break your wrist and arm, probably shoulder too.” Then she rode off, leaving him to follow as best he could.

  He learned quickly and soon rode almost as well as Ni Drako. Yori marveled that her horse never threw her and rarely misbehaved. One cold, dark afternoon, Ni Drako let him in on the secret after Capt. Majorica cursed her roundly for being able to settle one of the worst animals, an intact male with a foul disposition that Ni Drako insisted on calling “Sweetie.”

  Rada scratched the stallion’s crest and shrugged. “I use my mind as well as my body, Corporal. You can do it too. I know you can sense other people’s minds. Try doing that on a lower level, like when you scout.” Yori carefully reached out and down, finding the much simpler herbivore thoughts around him. “Exactly so, Corporal. I ‘told’ Sweetie to be still and he would get a treat. He knows my scent and settled down. No special talent, just using what you already have in a different way. Don’t depend on it, though,” she cautioned him. “You’ll get lazy and there is no way you can fight and mentally guide an animal. Trust me on this one.”

  Later on, the young soldier decided that Ni Drako had probably sensed a kindred spirit in the stallion, because she sported an equally foul temper. Yori soon learned to watch for a certain quirk of her mouth and an odd way she had of frowning. Then she’d start balling her fists. If the irritation continued past that point all bets were null and void as to whether she’d walk off or explode. When she exploded, she was as profane as a career noncom, as vicious as a cornered cat, and not very careful about choosing her targets. Ni Drako took no prisoners and dar Ohrkan retained a healthy fear of the small woman.

  Before they finished their mission on the backwater planet, dar Ohrkan inadvertently learned more about the petite logistics officer’s background than anyone in the company aside from Col. Blake Krather. Yori had gone with her and a small squad to pick up supplies from a local contractor. They’d loaded the animal food and provisions into the wagons and were making the fifteen-kilometer trek back to the Komets’ current location when she held her hand up, signaling a stop. The small officer rose slightly in her stirrups, head turning this way and that, as if she was listening to a distant sound. Then she sank down, a grim look in her steel-colored eyes. “Sgt. Liawa, can you get back to the camp without me?”

  “Um, yes ma’am. Is there a problem?” the perpetually anxious logistics sergeant gulped, starting to get nervous.

  “Yes. Someone just landed a time ship not far from here. That’s illegal technology for this world at this time, to put it mildly, and not good for us, either,” Ni Drako explained. “I’m taking dar Ohrkan and Paulus and scouting. Continue back to base with the rest of the squad and we’ll meet up with you there. Paulus, dar Ohrkan, with me,” and she headed off the trail. As soon as they got into a clear area the trio accelerated to a canter, the officer in the lead. After several kilometers of hard riding through deserted fields, the three Komets drew rein and stopped on the back of a small ridge. “Paulus, hold the horses here, please.”

  Ni Drako walked very quietly and carefully up the back of the ridge, getting down on her belly and crawling the last few meters. She and dar Ohrkan peered out from under some bushes. There, in a narrow valley, sat a time ship. And crates of what looked like weapons. She pulled out a spyglass and studied the scene, then reached her hand over and touched the corporal’s arm. «How many do you see, Corporal?»

  He counted quickly. «Four people right now. They seem to be waiting for whoever ordered the stuff in the crates, ma’am.»

  «Back to Paulus and the horses,» she ordered, and they slithered back through the greenery.

  “Thoughts, gentlemen?” she asked, after telling Paulus what they’d found. “I’d like to wade in now, before they can deliver whatever that contraband is. Three on four’s not bad, and Traders are not trained to fight like we are.”

  Paulus shook his head. “I don’t know, Ma’am. They’ll probably have tech we don’t, like blasters and stunners. I think we need to get back and warn the Colonel, and let him decide.” He looked at Yori for support.

  The brown-haired corporal thought hard before venturing, “I agree with Corporal Paulus, Lieutenant. Unless we can distract them completely and run an ambush, there’s too much risk.”

  The officer listened and weighed matters. “I can promise that they will be so completely distracted that they won’t notice you two coming up behind. And if something goes wrong, I’ll be the only one to buy the spaceport. Here’s what I propose.” The two noncoms listened to her plan before moving with a great deal of reluctance into position behind the ridge. Ni Drako rode off towards the new arrivals, approaching from their flank.

  “Well, well, look which debt-ridden idiots got dragged into this mess,” Ni Drako called in Trader, hailing the time ship crew as if she knew them. “Four of da Termanin’s finest!” Her voice dripped with contempt and the quartet pivoted almost as one, staring at the small woman. She sat on her horse casually, smiling without mirth.

  “You! The half breed...”

  Ni Drako cut off their leader’s words. “Bastard, yes, yes. Can’t come up with anything new can you, money grubbers?” The lieutenant’s words struck at least two nerves and maybe even the entire spinal column, because the tall, slender, pale men never reacted to the soldiers riding down on them until the first two shots went off from behind the Traders. And then all they could do was cringe as the Komets rode between the Traders and their craft.

  The officer dismounted and started walking towards the four weapons dealers, saber drawn. Just as Paulus had feared, one of them pulled out a blast pistol and fired at Ni Drako. But instead of ducking, the woman snarled and charged the man. His shot missed, or so Yori thought, and Ni Drako didn’t give him a second chance. Neither did Corporal dar Ohrkan, who used his gun’s butt to knock out two of the remaining three Traders. Number four decided to surrender and Paulus tied him up after searching him.

  Ni Drako went into the ship, charging back out again, livid with rage. She marched over, kicked the dead Trader in the groin, and hissed some choice curses. “Corporal dar Ohrkan, Paulus and I will stay here. I need you to go back to the Colonel Krather. Give him my deepest respects and tell him that there’s a time ship, prohibited weapons, and some other things here that he needs to be aware of.”

  He recited her message back verbatim, mounted, and rode off. He was halfway back to the camp when all the pieces came together. Lieutenant Ni Drako was a humanoid time sensitive and that made her a Trader-born Wanderer! But Wanderers and Traders never worked as mercenaries. Yori dar Ohrkan thought back over the Lieutenant and Traders’ confrontation, pulling out the phrase “half-breed bastard.” He didn’t know
much about Traders or Wanderers in general, but he had read that they were fanatical about ethnic purity. If it’s true, no wonder it distracted the men, he thought. And no wonder she said that she’d be the only one in trouble if something went wrong.

  Col. Krather found the trio’s discovery fascinating. Interesting enough that he called in the Komets’ employer, who took the contraband breech-loading repeating rifles and smokeless ammunition, two female sex slaves, the smugglers, and the time ship away with him. Or so the rumor mill had it. Whatever became of the prisoners, the Komets learned the next week they could ship back to their forward base; their mission both complete and successful.

  Col. Krather explained to the troops at their pre-departure briefing that Krather’s Komets had been hired to prevent interference in the war currently raging across a continent called Europe. Apparently an outside party wanted to make certain that an indigenous general named Napoleon won the war, and planned to guarantee the victory by providing Napoleon with advanced, but still low-tech, weapons. Now that the Komets’ employer had the evidence he needed, he could shut down the offender. The senior officers buried Lt. Ni Drako’s part in the affair and the official story was that she, Paulus, and dar Ohrkan had simply been scouting ahead of the logistics team when they stumbled onto the ship. Since Ni Drako was already off world recovering from a blaster graze to the shoulder, neither sergeant felt the need to contradict the tale.

  Two or three years later, Yori never could exactly remember when, Rada Ni Drako left the Komets and disappeared from sight. Rumor had it that a bounty had just been placed on her by one of the Trader tarqina, although dar Ohrkan doubted it, because he’d heard Traders requesting information about someone matching Ni Drako’s description long before he signed up with the Komets. To his surprise he discovered that he almost missed the short-tempered officer. She’d been a nuisance, but was a good teacher when she kept her cool.