Desert Strike

by Leo Nix

  Roo grabbed Riley's proffered hand, he pulled himself upright. “Come on Roo, we'd better head back. I'm sure the girls will have some food and drink for us. We've still got our spare mounts back at the palace, they need us too you know.”

  Roo's foot left a small trail of blood as they shouldered their weapons and kit. With his arm over Riley's shoulder the cousins limped back to the camp site together.

  When Murphy brought Pedro and his little band into camp they received a special reception. Cambra embraced his two girls once more and hugged them to him. Usually it was the girls who wouldn't let go of him, this time he couldn't let go of them.

  “Pedro!” came a loud, commanding voice from somewhere in the middle of the gathered soldiers and supporters. Pedro's head popped up and he looked around, he knew that voice from somewhere.

  “Pedro! Front and centre. Now!” ordered Martene and Pedro's face cracked into a smile.

  “Martene! You ol' flirt! What on earth are ya doing here me gorgeous girlie?” he called through the crowd.

  He wasn't able to do much. His wheel chair bogged in the soft sand and his tin legs needed a good clean before he'd be able to wear them. Besides, his stumps were red raw from the long and painful crawl over salt bush, spinifex and wicked desert thorns. Martene walked over and bent down to hug her old friend.

  “Pedro, you old buzzard, you stood me up the last time you were in Longreach and now you owe me.” She smiled brightly holding on to his hand as she chastised him.

  “Ah, me darling lass, I was young and stupid in those days. If I knew then what I know now I would never have left ya.” He was as charming as he always was.

  “Pedro, that was only a year ago. You were old then like you're old now,” she said firmly as though reminding a school boy he should know better than try to teach an old hand to suck eggs.

  “And you grow more beautiful the older I get. Come on, Martene, sit with me girlie and tell me what the hell you were doing squattin' in old man Hives homestead. I heard you were ambushed by a company of Ravens Claws and beat them the hell off.” They chatted warmly while Jeda and Lorraine finished dressing his stumps.

  Sundown lay on his swag in the shade of their tarpaulin. Pinkie had given him a wet cloth and another water bottle. He tried to sleep but his head throbbed and his mind was all over the place. Shamus' words continued to echo in his mind, 'there will be sacrifices.'

  So who was the sacrifice? No one had died. Sure the girls had a horrific experience, Halo broke his hand and Roo had a nick in his foot but otherwise everyone was fine. There was Blondie's shoulder wound but it was a flesh wound which should heal quickly… it was a real puzzle.

  Then it occurred to Sundown that it must be him. Shamus meant he was the one to make a personal sacrifice. With a sore head and stomach muscles screaming from over-use he thought it through. He'd taken no part in a decisive battle which could have swung either way and he was forced to sacrifice his leadership and trust his instincts.

  The uptake of this was that Lucy showed she clearly had leadership skills and a calm head for fighting, just like all of his originals. He could see her massaging the scar tissue in Beamy's aching biceps and back. She looked content and peaceful, not bad after holding the flank against seven assaults. Pellino told him afterwards that they counted fifteen dead terrorists in front of their position.

  'And my head stopped me welcoming the new people or leading the special ops assault…' and a million other things he should have done himself.

  As he drifted off into a pained sleep he replayed Shamus' conversation. Images came to Sundown of the three cameleers sacrificing their safety to stay with the Crusader girls in the homestead; Lucy and her squad fighting to hold the left flank; Sue-Ellen and her group carrying Pedro; Nulla's worrying over his pregnant wife Glenda; the special ops boys so far from their loved ones in the US; Pedro and Cambra's girls… the images flashed back and forth across his mind as every member sacrificed a part of themselves with each day of this wretched war.

  While the commando were winding down and patching their wounds the forth patrol, Simon, Luke and Arthur, finally turned up. They had four kangaroo carcasses across their camel's backs for dinner. But instead of a calm holiday atmosphere there was something wrong, very wrong. As they climbed down they saw only half the number of camels and there were exhausted and tear-streaked faces everywhere. Only Heidi came out to greet them. Even Kris and Shrek were too busy to help.

  “What happened here?” asked Arthur as he 'kooshed' his camel to sit so he could climb off. “This looks like someone's been in a fight.” His face didn't have its usual smile and he held onto his Steyr firmly.

  Heidi put her hand on his shoulder. There was dirt all over her; dirt, blood and sweat stains… everyone still had their weapons at hand. It all suggested a contact with the enemy. He'd not lived nearly a year in Adelaide hiding from the Revelationists to not recognise the signs of battle - and the smell of fear.

  “Heidi, tell me, what's happening?” he said again looking around at the exhausted commando.

  “Looks like they've been in a fight, Arty. Come on, Heidi, what happened?” badgered Luke as his eyes darted from group to group trying to figure out what was going on.

  While they unloaded and hobbled the camels, Heidi told her story. She described the seven assaults on her position. Of how Lucy took command and stood up to fight the last one with her pistol almost single handed when everyone's ammunition ran out. How Shadow leaped into the air and fired her pistol and stabbed with her knife. She said it so fast and furiously that the three boys were completely engrossed.

  “What did you do?” asked Arthur.

  Heidi coughed. “I got squashed. I had three Ravens Claws jump on me and Sundown tried to fight them off, so did the others. That's how it started. We were walking behind the sand dune and the Ravens Claws ran straight into us. None of us had much chance to fire so it was hand to hand combat. Lucky that Shadow and Johnny had been training us to fight but it's not easy when you've got three big boofheads on top of you.”

  The boys weren't sure what to do, so while Arthur stayed with Heidi, Simon and Luke dumped their kangaroos at the meal tent and went to find Nulla to report in. From him they learned of what happened to Lulu and Danni. As soon as they heard they raced over to where their girlfriends were sitting beside Pedro, Martene and Cambra. They rushed over to crush the girls to their chests. They were so close to losing their new found loves and it terrified them.

  After a few hours rest Harry sat down with the committee and gave his ordnance report. “With the terrorist's weapons and ammunition now in our possession we have enough for the first time in quite a while. Still no grenades and it looks like no one has them. If the Crusaders have none, the Stosstruppen have none and the Ravens Claws have none, then grenades must be too difficult to manufacture or too expensive to trade.”

  “What about our camels, how many did we lose?” asked Nulla.

  “We lost half. There's still McFly and Wiram to arrive back in camp, but of the cameleers all returned with their camels bar Roo and Riley's. Bongo's Star escaped back to us. Of those that were kept back here, Kris and Shrek tried their hardest to prevent them running. We've lost half so that means we have less than one camel per person,” Harry replied. “Our food supply is safe and all our gear is just as you left it. If we count the three vehicles the special ops brought back we'll have enough fuel to get the wounded back to Birdsville. Once home we'll get Louie or Johnny to send a few Bushmasters and some troops to help clean up here and bring the rest of us back to camp. They'll also need to bury the dead.”

  Pinkie asked a very subdued Sundown about the guests and what they were going to do with them. Jenny and Jeda in particular wanted assurances they weren't going to bring the enemy down on them. Sundown still nursed a headache but was otherwise much improved after having a few hours sleep.

  “I've only had a quick chat with Captain Martene, but it seems they remain loyal to their Abbess Leon
ie, which is what we would expect. We value loyalty and we respect Martene and her girl's loyalty to their leader.” Sundown was now able to sip some cold tea after he'd had some of Jeda's special herbs to settle his stomach, it helped. “We've agreed on a truce and according to Roo, Bongo and Riley we're now blood brothers and sisters. Martene's going to be our contact officer to the Longreach Crusaders. I'm appointing Pedro, McFly and Shadow to engage in peace talks with them.” His staff nodded their approval.

  Sue-Ellen spoke next. “An update from our side. We lost communications with the world when one of the camels stepped on our radio equipment in the madness of this morning's fight. The Ravens Claw vehicles don't carry any either so we're alone. We should be safe here for tonight. My boys have reconnoitred the battle site again and report no Ravens Claws escaped alive.” She looked at Lucy who had been invited to the meeting by Sundown. “We don't normally execute prisoners but today I've decided to make an exception. When Pedro told me what those skunks were doing to your girls I would have sliced their balls off before I shot them,” she said coldly and noticed Lucy look up at her with less resentment.

  “I've got my boys patrolling out beyond the homestead. I really don't want to stay here any longer than we need given the enemy may come looking for their missing company. But we've got those three wounded girls. Tricia and Gail said we need to get them back to the palace for proper treatment. I think they should go as soon as possible.” As Sue-Ellen finished she grasped at her aching calves and began to massage the cramps that kept stabbing at her.

  “McFly and Wiram aren't back yet. I'm worried they may have run into another terrorist patrol.” Everyone turned to Nulla, they all had the same fear. “I've just got this feeling, Roo has too. If what Martene says is true the Mount Isa battalions have gone on the offensive against the Longreach church. I'm fearful our boys may have ventured into one of their forward fighting patrols.”

  “We've a few hours before sunset… what say you and Jeda go with a few camels and track them. You'll need to stay out overnight and continue in the morning but I want you back by tomorrow evening. We need to be packed and heading back by then,” said Sundown. “One more thing, we all need to be careful what we say around our guests. We don't know exactly where we stand with them just yet.”

  As it turned out Donna went with Roo, Riley and Nulla to track the lost patrol. Jeda was as good a tracker as any in the commando having spent her first twenty years in the desert before marrying Bill.

  Tricia ruled Jeda out though. She wanted her on-call for her knowledge of bush herbs. They'd already planned to go out together and collect desert herbs to stock-up for their medical needs.

  The meeting was interrupted by Jenny calling everyone for an early dinner. The girls had decided to cook up all four of the kangaroos for the exhausted commando and get everyone rested and in bed early. It was likely they'd be heading out first thing in the morning.

  Jeda explained to an inquiring Pipeline who just couldn't seem to fit enough food into his massive frame. “A deep pit, bush herbs, hot stones and cover with a blanket and dirt. Leave it for a few hours then bingo. That's how you cook kangaroo, Mr Pipeline.”

  “Where I come from, Jeda, they just throw it in a pan and fry it, straight from the tin.” He laughed when he saw her frown. “Everything we eat at Pine Gap either comes in a tin or a packet. I just hate the thought of going back there, I've sure been spoiled by you ladies.”

  The cameleer search party left with a single pack-camel straight after dinner to look for Wiram and McFly. The special ops boys went back on patrol of the perimeter splitting their watches with the capable Girl Guards and the bikers.

  It was decided Pellino and Bongo would drive the wounded back to Birdsville. Right after their evening meal two trucks left with the three wounded Sisterhood girls and Blondie. Gail and Lorraine went with them. It was expected to take all night and perhaps longer at low speed. Beamy was flagged to go with the wounded but he refused. He said he didn't want to miss anything that might be fun, like fighting more Revelationists.

  As they were preparing the vehicles for departure Cambra wandered over and leaned into the cab.

  “Hey Blondie, I hope you have a good trip back,” he said politely.

  “Thanks, but I am feeling a bit sore, Cambra. Umm…” she paused and looked up at him, her eyes questioning his. “When we get back I'd like to talk… to you.” Despite trying to sound relaxed and friendly it just came out rushed and awkward.

  Cambra's face softened then immediately his walls went up. She was playing with him, he thought. The last time they spoke he swore he'd never let himself be vulnerable to a woman again. He stopped what he was about to say and pulled back from the window.

  “Yeah, sure.” He turned his back and walked over to the group bringing the camels in for their drink at the spring. He missed seeing Blondie's face turn pale as she dropped her head so no one could see the lost look on her face. Right now, she felt lonelier than she had ever felt in her life.

  The commando were planning to return to Birdsville then on to the Christian Palace. They were slowly packing up as they waved off the wounded hoping to be gone themselves the next day. The special ops were given command of the camp defense. They were permitted to call on anyone they wanted, even Sundown if they thought it warranted. Tricia spent as much time as she could with Jeda to collect herbs which were found only in this region of the desert.

  Sundown wanted to spend more time with Martene but Pedro wouldn't leave her side. He understood they were lovers at one time and the way they looked at each other, one would think they still were. He couldn't put it off any longer.

  “Martene, when you're ready, I'd like to have that conference with you. Sue-Ellen will attend, as will Pedro and Pinkie, who'll act as our mediator.” He thought that sounded a bit too formal but the situation called for it, he thought.

  Martene looked stunning. She was fresh from a soak in the hot springs with Pedro. They'd had it all to themselves and her face was flushed. Sundown wasn't sure if that was the hot water or from Pedro's charismatic presence. Pedro was a charmer and could turn it on when he wanted. Right now he was charm itself and spoiled rotten by Simon, Luke and their girlfriends.

  Pinkie opened the negotiations which went smoothly and proceeded straight to signing the treaty between the Australian Third Army acting for the Australian Government and the Longreach Crusaders of Light. Captain Martene swore the preliminary treaty would be approved by the Abbess and the Twelve Apostles, the church elders.

  “Gentlemen and ladies of Sundown's Commando and the Third Australian Army.” Commander Sue-Ellen Cullen and her Pine Gap facility was now part of Sundown's Commando and Third Army, though it was still unofficial at this stage. “As spokeswoman for the Abbess of Longreach, I'll return to Longreach and report to my leader with your ambassadors and formalise our negotiations. I see this as a step in the right direction and look forward to working with you all in the future.” She paused for a second while she settled her emotions.

  Martene's voice now softened. “Thank you for stepping in when you did. Your commando saved us, saved my wounded daughter and my niece. I take that selfless act of Riley, Roo and Bongo's to stay and possibly die with us, very seriously. Your entire commando stepped in. I'll not forget that for as long as I live.”

  The commandos clearly recognised why Martene was revered by her colleagues at that moment. “Thank you, Martene, those boys did the right thing for the right people. We're proud of them. It was lucky we were camped so close and Roo wanted to check out old man Hive's homestead.” Sundown added as an afterthought. “Pinkie, darling, can you please call Shadow over?” Sundown deliberately used the endearment 'darling' and saw Sue-Ellen flinch slightly. He felt like a proper bastard for hurting her but he had a job to do and he continued with the negotiations regardless of how pathetic he now felt.

  “Pedro, I've appointed you and Shadow as our ambassadors. You're permitted to answer any questions within reason
of course, you're authorised to make decisions in my name. When McFly gets back I'll send him along. That'll make a team of three and the Crusaders can have the same number attend our palace as ambassadors. You'd better take the last of the Ravens Claw's vehicles for your trip back to Longreach.”

  Sue-Ellen sat patiently through Sundown's earlier slights but that 'darling' slap in the face made her angry and resentful. “Sundown, I do believe I'm joint commander of this commando? Is that correct?”

  Sundown felt embarrassed at hurting his brave and supremely competent comrade-in-arms. Sue-Ellen was a formidable and honourable warrior in her own right. And, as he reminded himself, 'Hell knowth no fury like a woman scorned' or something like that. He looked at her and nodded in acknowledgement.

  “Of course Commander Cullen. I've neglected you throughout this negotiation. I'm sorry. Please contribute as co-commander.”

  Martene and Pedro saw something pass between the two and they both wondered the same question, 'what is it with these two?'

  Pinkie finally arrived with Shadow. As they sat down Sue-Ellen said, “That's fine Sundown, I concur, McFly, Shadow and Pedro would have been my choice too.” Taking the initiative she turned to Shadow. “My dear, I heard of your courage and skill in the fighting. I know Sundown gets to witness these amazing feats-of-arms every day but I'm a newcomer and I need to say that I was impressed. No, I was blown away at how yourself and your commando took on a superior enemy and defeated them.”

  Shadow's face creased into a smile, she hadn't known what to expect from this hard woman. She'd heard Sue-Ellen was a 'ball-breaker' but nothing she'd seen over the past week even hinted at that.