ought to be the Caldé. That's our general orders. Only there isn't one, and that means all of us are stuck. Nobody's got the right to give an order, only we do it 'cause we've got to, to keep the brigade running. Sand's my sergeant, see?"
"Uh-huh."
"And Schist and Shale are privates in our squad. He tells me and I tell them. Then they go sure, Corporal, whatever you say. Only none of us feels right about it."
"Girl wait?" Oreb inquired. He had been eyeing Chenille's distant, naked back.
"Sooner or later," Auk told him. "Snuff your jaw. This is interesting."
"Take just the other day," Hammerstone continued, "I was watching a prisoner. A flap broke and I tried to handle it, and he got away from me. If everything was right, I'd've lost my stripes over that, see? Only it's not, so all I got was a chewing out from Sand and double from the major. Why's that?" He leveled a pipe-sized finger at Auk, who shook his head.
"I'll tell you. "Cause both of them know Sand wasn't authorized to give anybody orders in the first place, and I could've told him dee-dee if I'd wanted to."
"Dee-dee?" Oreb peered quizzically at Hammerstone.
"You want the straight screw? I felt pretty bad when it happened, but it was a lot worse when I was talking to them. Not 'cause of anything they said. I've heard all that till I could sing it. 'Cause they didn't take my stripes. I never thought I'd say that, but that's what it was. They could've done it, only they didn't 'cause they knew they didn't have authority from the Caldé, and I kept thinking, you don't have to tell me to wipe them off, I'll wipe them off myself. Only that would just have made them feel worse."
"I never liked working for anybody but me," Auk told him.
"You got to have somebody outside. Or anyhow I do. You feeling pretty good now?"
"Better'n I did."
"I been watching you, 'cause that's what Patera wants. And you can't hardly walk. You hit your head when the talus bought it, and we figured you were KIA. Patera sort of liked it at first. Only then, not so much. His essential nobility of character coming out. Know what I'm saying?"
Dace put in, "That big gal cryin an' yellin' at him."
"Yeah, that too. Look here-"
"Wait a minute," Auk told them. "Chenille. She cried?"
Dace chuckled. "I felt sorrier fer her than fer you."
"She wasn't even there when I woke up!"
"She run off. I was over talkin' ter that talus, but I seen her."
"She was around when I came to," Hammerstone told Auk. "She had that launcher, only it was empty. There was another one, all smashed up, where we were. Maybe she brought it, I don't know. Anyhow, after I talked to Patera about you and a couple other things, I showed her how to disarm the bad one's magazine and load the SSMs in the good one."
Dice told Hammerstone, "She got her'n up the tunnel whilst the augur was fixin' you. This big feller, he was off watch, and didn't nobody know rightly how bad he'd got hurt. When she come back an' seen he wasn't comin' 'round, she foundered."
Auk scratched his ear.
"You've broke your head-bone, big feller, don't let nobody tell you no different. I seen it afore. Feller on my boat got a rap from the boom. He laid in the cuddy couple nights 'fore we could fetch him ashore. He'd open the point an' talk, then sheer off down weather. We fetched him the doctor an' I guess he done all he was able but that feller died next day. You're in luck you wasn't hit no worse."
"What makes it good luck?" Hammerstone asked him.
"Why, stands ter reason, don't it? He don't want ter be dead, no more'n me!"
"All you meatheads talk like that. Only look at it. No more trouble and no more work. No more patrols through these tunnels looking everywhere for nothing and lucky to get a shot at a god. No more-"
"Shot god?" Oreb inquired.
"Yeah," Auk said. "What the shag are you talking about?"
"That's just what we call them," Hammerstone explained. "They're really animals. Kind of like a dog, only ugly where a real dog's all right, so we say
"Uh-huh."
"And Schist and Shale are privates in our squad. He tells me and I tell them. Then they go sure, Corporal, whatever you say. Only none of us feels right about it."
"Girl wait?" Oreb inquired. He had been eyeing Chenille's distant, naked back.
"Sooner or later," Auk told him. "Snuff your jaw. This is interesting."
"Take just the other day," Hammerstone continued, "I was watching a prisoner. A flap broke and I tried to handle it, and he got away from me. If everything was right, I'd've lost my stripes over that, see? Only it's not, so all I got was a chewing out from Sand and double from the major. Why's that?" He leveled a pipe-sized finger at Auk, who shook his head.
"I'll tell you. "Cause both of them know Sand wasn't authorized to give anybody orders in the first place, and I could've told him dee-dee if I'd wanted to."
"Dee-dee?" Oreb peered quizzically at Hammerstone.
"You want the straight screw? I felt pretty bad when it happened, but it was a lot worse when I was talking to them. Not 'cause of anything they said. I've heard all that till I could sing it. 'Cause they didn't take my stripes. I never thought I'd say that, but that's what it was. They could've done it, only they didn't 'cause they knew they didn't have authority from the Caldé, and I kept thinking, you don't have to tell me to wipe them off, I'll wipe them off myself. Only that would just have made them feel worse."
"I never liked working for anybody but me," Auk told him.
"You got to have somebody outside. Or anyhow I do. You feeling pretty good now?"
"Better'n I did."
"I been watching you, 'cause that's what Patera wants. And you can't hardly walk. You hit your head when the talus bought it, and we figured you were KIA. Patera sort of liked it at first. Only then, not so much. His essential nobility of character coming out. Know what I'm saying?"
Dace put in, "That big gal cryin an' yellin' at him."
"Yeah, that too. Look here-"
"Wait a minute," Auk told them. "Chenille. She cried?"
Dace chuckled. "I felt sorrier fer her than fer you."
"She wasn't even there when I woke up!"
"She run off. I was over talkin' ter that talus, but I seen her."
"She was around when I came to," Hammerstone told Auk. "She had that launcher, only it was empty. There was another one, all smashed up, where we were. Maybe she brought it, I don't know. Anyhow, after I talked to Patera about you and a couple other things, I showed her how to disarm the bad one's magazine and load the SSMs in the good one."
Dice told Hammerstone, "She got her'n up the tunnel whilst the augur was fixin' you. This big feller, he was off watch, and didn't nobody know rightly how bad he'd got hurt. When she come back an' seen he wasn't comin' 'round, she foundered."
Auk scratched his ear.
"You've broke your head-bone, big feller, don't let nobody tell you no different. I seen it afore. Feller on my boat got a rap from the boom. He laid in the cuddy couple nights 'fore we could fetch him ashore. He'd open the point an' talk, then sheer off down weather. We fetched him the doctor an' I guess he done all he was able but that feller died next day. You're in luck you wasn't hit no worse."
"What makes it good luck?" Hammerstone asked him.
"Why, stands ter reason, don't it? He don't want ter be dead, no more'n me!"
"All you meatheads talk like that. Only look at it. No more trouble and no more work. No more patrols through these tunnels looking everywhere for nothing and lucky to get a shot at a god. No more-"
"Shot god?" Oreb inquired.
"Yeah," Auk said. "What the shag are you talking about?"
"That's just what we call them," Hammerstone explained. "They're really animals. Kind of like a dog, only ugly where a real dog's all right, so we say
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