Watching Yute

by Joseph Picard

  Cassidy casually tapped the red-taped tip of her spear on Maxine’s. “Hey, go easy on me, I’m guessing you’ve had a lot more practice with these than me.”

  Maxine looked back at Cassidy with a mildly confused expression. “Huh? Oh. I’ve never really sparred with them.. uh.. it’s more like.. I don't know... tai chi with a stick.” Maxine demonstrated with slow sweeping motions. She had always just made them up, but she had been doing it long enough that she looked like she knew what she was doing. Cassidy mimicked.

  “This isn’t much of a workout…” Cassidy lightly commented.

  “Well. You asked me to go easy on you. Hey, do you know anything about this Colonel Calvert?”

  “Yeah,” Cassidy replied, copying another motion. “I only met him in passing, he’s the new C.O. at Yute central.”

  “Yeah, I know. I was just wondering if you’d gotten any impressions of him. He’s coming by in a couple days.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Marcus says it’s an inspection... more of a formality. The Yute temple base sort of falls under the jurisdiction of Yute central, so he should at least come check it out. So... any impressions? If he's an okay guy?”

  Cassidy leaned on her spear, taking her time to mull it over. She had only seen him two or three times. Not much to get a feel for someone, especially with normal military protocol in effect. “I didn’t see him kicking any kittens or anything. I dunno. I guess he’s okay.”

  Maxine snickered, and upped her tempo a little. It now seemed plain that the motions were at least inspired by fighting moves. “Usually the old Colonel only came by to escort the Grand Elder, but the Elder is waiting until the other new person arrives, get two bird with one stone.”

  Cassidy tilted her head. “Huh? What? Grand Elder? As in Armil? And what new person?”

  Maxine came to a dramatic halt in her exercises, flourishing gracefully into a standing stop. It seemed chatter was the order of the day. “Yup! That’s one of the perks of being posted here. I’ve met the Grand Elder, umm… Six times? It makes my mum proud as heck, even if I am more modernized than she’d like. I tell her I wouldn’t have been able to meet him at all if I wasn’t in the military, so that’s afforded me a bit more slack with her about that.”

  Cassidy was a little taken aback. Grand Elder Armil was the leader of all the Aguei aboriginals. The position of Grand Elder was part political, and part spiritual. Despite having no authority technically, just about everyone respected what the Grand Elder said, whether they were Aguei or not. “And… he’s coming here? What, to inspect? And what’s this got to do with a new person?”

  “Ah. Well generally it’s pretty rare for us to get new people, but Sergeant Eliot Hood is retiring, so we have another replacement coming. The Grand Elder’s a busy guy, so he’s waiting for the other newbie to be here before he comes to do the blessings. Two in one visit.”

  “OK, can I ask a third stupid question?”

  “Shoot.”

  “Blessing?”

  “Man, Marcus didn’t tell you? Remind me to smack him. You’re going to be blessed by the Grand Elder, and be made an honourary member of the Aguei nation.”

  “I am?”

  “You don’t want to be? I mean, sure, you don’t get this sexy Aguei complexion like me, but still.”

  “Holy crap! It’s a big honour!”

  “You bet! So you better be fluent in Aguei before he gets here.”

  Cassidy paused. “Shut up.”

  ::: new colony established

  ~~~~~

  :::C /07

  ~~~~~

  Kirison considered the people he was going to meet. Most called them extremists, or even terrorists. They called themselves Aguei Rights Activists.

  Once again, Kirison had found himself wondering how to dress when looking for these people. He needed to look tough. He skipped on shaving for a bit, and tried to find the right outfit. He had to shop used clothing stores to get quite the look he was going for.

  Shoddy enough to not look like a ‘suit’, but not so shoddy as to look like a vagrant. Nice enough to look credible. He saw a few shirts with Aguei designs on them, but he thought such a display would seem patronizing on such a pallid white guy. He settled for a small Aguei designed pin. It seemed to suit the cuff of a black denim coat he found.

  He needed a story to go with the facade. Mix a little truth with the lie to make it all that more palatable. Something to get them good and mad. Get them motivated.

  Carefully measured potions of the truth would set him free. A miscalculation could set him… in the ground.

  Precautions had to be taken. With a borrowed recipe, Kirison armed a syringe, and stuck it’s needle into his arm. A small amount would do lots. It was a simple recipe, relatively speaking. But it was insurance. Just in case.

  ~~~~~

  :::C /08

  ~~~~~

  Cassidy took her second shift with a man she hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting before. Leftenent James Blakely. “Jim”. At 13:00 they stated watch at the front, southeast door. Cassidy was only on with Marcus the first night as a sort of ‘orientation’ shift. Jim was to be her new regular partner, but Cipriana mentioned that it wouldn’t be forever and that mixing up the ranks made for a tighter unit on the whole.

  An additional duty that Jim had volunteered for was to bring a supply of Alan’s cookies to the morning shift before the watch change. Cassidy didn’t see the logic in that. Shortly after Jim delivered the cookies, the morning shift would be free to get cookies for themselves. She mentioned this to Jim, and he agreed. Tomorrow he said he’d bring them four hours earlier. Cassidy waited by their door while Jim went to the other two doors. He got chatty over at the southwest door. Jim got pretty chummy with Karl. Karl did seem to be one of the bigger fans of Alan’s cookies.

  By the time Jim got back, the other pairs of the afternoon shift were just about in place, so they took their spears and relieved morning shift, sending the cookie container back with them

  “So, did you get attacked by any big bad wolves?” Cassidy said.

  “No, Ma’am. The picnic basket arrived securely at grandma’s house.”

  “That darn near sounded military. Careful, Marcus might not approve.”

  Jim snickered. “Yeah, this post isn’t quite the kind of thing you were expecting when you signed up, is it?”

  “Hell, add a pool and sauna, and we’d have to pay to be here.” Cassidy saw Jim’s attention was diverted, and tried to see what he was looking at. It seemed like just the morning shift disappearing between ruins towards the base. “What’s up Jim?”

  “Hm? Nada.” He idly turned his spear, grinding the tail end against the stone. “So, is there a Mister Cassidy?”

  “What? Hehe, Jim, you coming on to me? Cuz you’re so barking up the wrong tree.”

  “Huh? No! Just trying to make conversation. I take it there isn’t though.”

  “Nah. I’m.. about as single as it gets these days. At least that’s what I think her blocking my calls means.”

  “Ouch. Nastiness?”

  “Could have been worse. Could have been better. I think she could have at least given me a chance to talk to her after she dumped me.” Again she found herself talking a lot about personal stuff to a relative stranger. Maybe she needed to vent a little, maybe it was the dry silence around them that seemed to draw it out yet again. Whatever.

  “So, I cleverly deduce that between your ex-girlfriend being female, and the ‘wrong tree’ comment, that you might be a lesbian.”

  “Hah… yeah, I might. Damn, that would explain a lot, really.”

  “Cool. I am too, actually.” Jim said.

  “Yeah yeah, all guys are lesbians trapped in a man’s body.” Cassidy had heard that joke more than a few times. Usually from idiots who thought they could score, or slightly less idiotic guys who thought they were just witty.

  “Ack, no no, I mean I’m gay.”

  “So, you’re not a lesbian trapped in a
man’s body! Well look at the two of us, if we aren’t just the rainbow patrol here!”

  “Yeah, what are the odds that we..” Jim’s voice seemed to wander into thought.

  “Jim. Jimmy. Don’t go getting ideas. I’m no expert, but a gay man and a gay woman doesn’t-“

  “Oh, shut it. I mean.. well, Cipriana makes the schedules up, right?”

  “Yeah, and…?”

  “I wonder if she paired us for a reason.”

  “Why, cuz we’re both gay? She doesn’t know I am, I tried to tell her, and she stopped me.”

  “Well duh, she doesn’t need to be told.”

  “What? Why? Is it somehow in my record? It isn’t supposed to be… I just wanted to be out in the open, have my cards on the table and such.”

  “Yeah yeah, I get ya. But no one told you about Cipriana’s gaydar?”

  “Cipriana’s gay too?” Certainly a few images rushed through Cassidy’s head that she’d previously ignored. She was good at ignoring beauty, in this case because of rank and the odds that Cipriana was straight. It was a short lived little fantasy however.

  “No no no. She’s straight, but she has amazing gaydar. 20/20, instant, infallible gaydar.

  “What the hell was in those cookies, Jimbo?”

  “I’m serious! She doesn’t talk about it, cuz well.. you’ve met her.” Jim was right, it wasn’t the kind of thing she’d bring up in casual conversation. “But it’s totally accurate. She probably had you pegged before you stepped off the chopper. Do me a favour though. If you plan to call her on it, let me come watch. Seeing Cipriana squirm is a rare sight.”

  “You’re actually serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. I told you.”

  “Oooooookie then.”

  “Now then.. we have to figure out why she paired us….”

  ~~~

  In the evening when Cassidy got off shift, she headed straight for Cipriana, who was in her usual off-time position, sitting on her bed and nestled deep in some thick book.

  Cassidy’s stride was quick and rigid, and she was heard coming all the way from the front door. She came to attention at the foot of Cipriana’s bed, and saluted. “Sir.”

  Cipriana looked up, eyebrows raised. “Yes? Why the formality?”

  “Sir, I need to discuss something with you, and I really think this is more of an official sort of thing. Could we go talk somewhere private?” Cassidy spoke in urgent but hushed tones, and wrung her hands with stress.

  Cipriana placed a book mark, put the book aside, and stood. “Alright, Leftenent, let’s go for a walk.”

  A few moments later, they were walking outside, the darkness of the evening compounding the silence. Cassidy walked with continual tension while Cipriana walked with her typical glide. “Well? What has you so upset?”

  Cassidy waited until they got a few more metres, eyes darting around. She stopped, and turned to Cipriana. “Sir. It’s Jim. I mean- Leftenent ... whatever. I can’t work with him. I’m sorry, I can’t. You have to reassign me. Sir. Please. I know I should be more open minded, but I’m sorry. If I don’t have a choice, I’ll put up with it, but I think it would be better for all involved if I were re-assigned.”

  Cipriana’s eyes were wide, and it took her a moment to respond- partly because Cassidy’s wave of rambling took a bit to digest. “Cassidy! What…. What happened?”

  Cassidy clenched her jaw as she spoke, almost in a hiss. “Nothing happened.. it’s just that he mentioned he’s….“ she looked around, with a look akin to terror. “He’s gay!”

  “……….what?”

  “He is, he said so himself! I just can’t work around… that. I’m sorry! Please re-assign me!”

  “Cassidy…! Well, for one thing, that shouldn’t be a factor in your duty, but I thought... of all people, you’d be alright with it because…”

  Cassidy’s face turned to more of a curious expression. “Because…?”

  “Well, after all, you-“

  “I’m…?” Cassidy couldn’t help cracking a bit of a smile. She hoped Cipriana didn’t notice. “I’m what? Whatever the hell could I be that I would be especially open to working with someone who was gay of all things?”

  With realization, a wave of serenity re-asserted itself around Cipriana, and the confusion and concern dissolved from her visage as if by magic. “I see. I’ve been had.”

  Giggling erupted from behind a nearby corner, as Jim revealed himself. “Oh damn, I wish I’d recorded that!”

  “Well then,” Cipriana said, with her composure now fully restored, “If you two insist on behaving like children, I suppose I have to punish you in kind.” She turned and began heading back towards the base.

  “Huh?” Cassidy and Jim followed behind, still giggling a bit.

  “No more cookies for either of you.”

  “You can’t do that!” Jim burst out. “You don’t control the cookies!”

  Cipriana countered calm but firm. “Alan’s little baking hobby is well outside regulation, and should you get any more cookies, I might just as well decide to shut him down, cookie-wise. Don’t make me punish the whole camp because of you two.”

  “She’s kidding, right?”

  “I bloody hope so, I need my cookies.”

  Still walking slow and steady back to the base, she ignored their fears. “You two might be able to catch the tail end of Eliot’s retirement party if you hurry up. And yes, there are cookies.”

  Jim started running, catching up with Cipriana. Cassidy followed suit, filling out the behaviour of children. Jim stopped to hold Cipriana by the shoulders, smiling wide. “You’re the best den mother ever!!”

  He ran off, catching up to Cassidy. Cassidy told him as they ran, “Best den mother ever? That was really, really gay.”

  “Uh... thanks?”

  Cassidy stopped past the women’s barracks, and then made her way down the hall to the mess. Sure enough, most of the personnel were in attendance of Eliot’s little going away gathering, except those on duty now. It would be hard to call it a party as such, but it was an amicable gathering.

  Cassidy hadn’t managed to meet Eliot before. It was kind of a meeting just to say goodbye. He was one of the older people she’d seen here, probably older than Marcus- mind you, it was difficult to guess Marcus’ age.

  “I understand we’ll be taking a ride together tomorrow, Cassidy.” Eliot said with his greeting.

  “Oh?”

  “Oh right, you were on shift when the notice came in. Marcus said you had something to do at central. You’ll have to ask him for details.”

  So she did. “Yupyup.” Marcus responded, “You remember that drunk lad you knocked over with his own gun? He’s got a little hearing over that.”

  “Ah, I forgot.” Cassidy said, “And as the arresting officer, I’m invited. I don’t know if it’s really necessary, especially given the trip.”

  “Nah nah, go, we’ll survive.” Marcus smirked, “Now go get some cookies before Jim finishes them off, or Cipriana has them banned.”

  “Word travels fast around here.”

  “It’s a small base!”

  Cassidy followed his advice, munched cookies, and washed them down with beer. She was a little picky with beer, and this wasn’t a brand she liked, but you know what they say about free beer- it’s free.

  Cipriana came along and said hello. “Cassidy, in all seriousness… I hope you didn’t take any umbrage to my knowing your orientation.”

  “Umbrage? Who the heck says umbrage anyway? No, no, though I find the concept of you having 20/20 gaydar to be kind of-“

  Cipriana interrupted unintentionally with an exasperated sigh.

  “Well? Do you have 20/20 gaydar or not?”

  “That’s what they say.” Cipriana mumbled.

  “Well, have you ever been wrong?”

  “……….”

  “Well?”

  Cipriana replied quietly. “Not that I am aware of.”

  “Okay then! That establis
hed, why the heck did you stop me from telling you when I first arrived?”

  “Because it shouldn’t be an issue you feel the need to ‘confess’ to your C.O. or anyone. If you were to tell me in regular conversation, that would be different. Say, Cassidy, I was wondering something. Have you ever had a crush on a straight woman?”

  “What? Do you think I have a crush on you? You’re lovely and all, but I hadn’t-“

  “No no no,” Cipriana giggled slightly. “I meant in your past experience. I could imagine that it would be a risk that anyone gay would run... to fall for someone that has no interest…”

  “Isn’t that a risk for anyone, really?”

  “Yes, but… the risk of rejection could hold a somewhat different…weight, perhaps?”

  “Hm.” Cassidy pulled up a memory. “Yeah. There was this girl… hmm.. she was just... hypnotic.” She got a little lost for a moment. “Ohhh wow, talk about your hard crushes. Then I made the mistake of opening my mouth.”

  “And she was disinterested.”

  “More like disgusted. She was among the ‘being gay is fine as long as it’s not aimed at me’ crowd. And I guess I can understand that. Still… I felt like a freak. It hurt like hell. For quite a while.”

  Cipriana put her hand on Cassidy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to have made you dig that up, Cassidy.”

  “Oh, no big deal.” Cassidy snapped out of the dip in mood. “What makes you ask, anyway?”

  “No reason, really.” Cipriana smiled her soft smile, and wandered off towards the cookies.

  ~~~~~

  :::C /09

  ~~~~~

  Kirison was in another bar, from a list of bars that he had singled out as likely places to run into the Aguei Rights Activists. He’d have to remember not to use the word ‘extremists’. That might come off a tad on the judgmental side.