The First Test
Copyright CS Dunn 2015
They ran for six days and most of three nights, averaging 55 milmetris for each day and 45 for each night. Shadow pushed them for some extra effort the last two days and they reached the Sea of Sand, 500 milmetri from their starting point. The only stop they made was at the nomad’s hut to pick up extra supplies and water, and they had to sneak into the hut in the darkest part of the night because the guard posted at the hut was very alert. Pax put a sedative in the water trough and they waited for a full hour after he’d drunk from it before he drooped at his post.
Before they left, Shadow sent Gheis to secure the food vats and to put their supply chit on the casks to confirm their visit. He had turned to Pax and told Pax to do it.
“I told you to do it, Gheis. So do it. Now.” Shadow turned to Pax, tried to unknot her stomach.
“You,” she looked at Pax and pointed to the guard, “check that he’s alright.” The words still had a snarl to them. She turned back to Gheis, but he had gone. Was he doing what she told him to do? Would she need to check on him? No. If he didn’t do his job, take responsibility for the tasks she gave him, she’d find out, and … and … well, if he didn’t do it, she’d make him sorry. If he cost her success, if he caused the mission to fail, she’d make him pay. And pay and pay and pay. There was only ever one chance to be the first to succeed on the first mission.
Shadow emptied the water from the trough and turned off the valve so the water wouldn’t automatically start flowing from the low level gauge. It would be a sign to say they had been there – and gone. The first part of their test successfully completed. Despite Gheis’ lack of effort.
She wanted to give him other tasks, get him out of her hair, but she had to finish the mission with all her troopers, and they all had to be alive. If he made one more comment, if he stepped in front and led the way one more time, if he even looked at her the wrong way again, she would dong him. Hard. He may be tall, he may be big, but at that moment, he was a pain in her backside, a pain in her head, and he wasn’t letting her be the troop leader. He wasn’t following her lead.
Shadow had started in the lead; she led them through all the areas she knew well, and she knew the how to avoid the ambush areas, the guarded zones. But Gheis picked up the pace and got in front. Three times he had led them into areas of risk. Three times she had told him to get back into the tail-end position. Three times he had gone back, but not to the tail. He only went behind her, and left Pax to guard their rear.
Pax was not the best person for the tail end; she was slow to do the turns, she was heavier and her tracks were deeper. Gheis should be there to ensure the tracks weren’t too obvious; to ensure they could not be easily tracked. That was his job. That was supposed to be is job.
The Sea of Sand was their second destination, and even though exhausted, they needed to dig in before the herders passed. Shadow could see the dust from the herds moving from the south west towards their position near the waterhole.
She positioned Pax furthest from the trail, and her hide was in a clump of saltbush. After they checked it for snakes and other bities, Pax lay on the ground while Shadow put the canvas over her and Gheis covered her with branches of saltbush. They peppered the canvas with red sand and stood back. Pax was invisible to the casual look. Shadow handed in the three dark red stay-awake berries. Pax folded them into her hand.
Gheis dug his hole closest to the trail, and after Shadow covered him in brush and sand, only his eyes were visible when she checked from all angles. She was satisfied. As long as he didn’t move, he would remain unseen. Shadow backtracked from both hides with a clump of brush to scuff away their tracks.
Her hide was easier – a slight overhang of red sandstone surrounded by clumps of windmill grass. It had the best view of the trail and was higher than the other two. She dug herself in sideways so she wouldn’t be completely under the overhang. She took out a small pouch of food and her water bag, put the pack at her feet, and pulled clumps of the grass to her sides and front, tossed several shrubby clumps on top, left only a small opening at the front to watch.
She settled in, pummelled her hooch into a swag roll and laid her hands and chin on it. She knew they would be here for several hours at least, maybe even a whole day, and she knew the herders were coming this way. This waterhole was the only place to water stock before reaching the grazing lands east of Lake Teeni. She hoped they didn’t stay more than one day.
Shadow watched the ‘enemy’ approach. The herders and shepherds, with their dogs and horses and camels, raised a dust cloud that was visible several hours before they came into sight. Now she could smell them – the camel pong was the strongest, but the goat smell was almost as rich. She hadn’t seen the goats on the trail; however, she did smell them.
She signalled Pax and Gheis, indicating number of enemy troops and their distance from the target. They had been watching all day, waiting for just this moment. She snacked on the seeds and nuts she had put into her front tunic pocket, and swigged a mouthful of water from her small pouch. If she was careful, she could last another four days on her food supplies. She hoped they wouldn’t be here that long. Water was always the most important item, no water – no life, and even with a full water bag, she only had enough for two days.
She was glad she packed the extra water bags. Especially if the herders stayed for more than one day. It was better if they didn’t have to move just to get water from whoever carried it. In this arid land, water would make or break people. And it always broke the invaders. She stretched her legs and arms and neck, careful not to move too quickly or to let any part of her body leave the hide. She wrote down the numbers, the date and the time and put the notes back into her inner vest pocket. Her earbud clacked out a message.
–. ..-. DaDaDit DitDitDaDit
Rude, but she smiled anyway. Gheis was probably hungry, thirsty and cramped; he would have to wait until the herders left before they could come out. He either had no food left, or hadn’t thought to take some out of his pack. And his big body would be aching from the enforced stillness. They were still at least two tasks short of accomplishing the mission. She tapped her crystal earbud to reply with the usual message:
..-. .-.. .– .–. .-. -.-. -.. .-. DitDitDaDit DitDaDitDit DitDaDa DitDaDaDit DitDaDit DaDitDaDit DaDitDit DitDaDit
Flw prcdr (Follow procedure).
The ‘enemy’ for this exercise were the sheep, goats, shepherds, three sheep dogs and several horses and camels which were either being ridden or used as pack animals. If they didn’t respond in any way to the hidden danger – her team – the second task of the exercise was accomplished. This was the role of her group – to stay hidden and relay messages. She watched the shepherds unpack and set up camp. One of the dogs was agitated and wary. He must have picked up on something. Shadow watched him carefully as he sniffed in circles, raising his head occasionally to sniff at the air.
They would have to be diligent or they would be required to do the exercise again, this time with the camel or horse herders, and they were almost impossible to hide from. Shadow settled her body into the sand, trying to ignore the itch and burn of the sandflies zooming in on her exposed skin. She would have to ask Pax for some lavender oil next time so she could use it to keep the pests away. The smell – would that give them away? They could not use anything that would make it easy for someone to find them, so no stink-pretty, and these shepherds and their dogs had good noses.
She would have to put up with the buzzing, biting, bleeding things. It was bad enough putting up with the flies – these sandflies were worse; they stung. And the itch that came after – she had almost scratched herself raw on one arm. She dribbled a tiny bit of water on the red welts. It didn’t help, and it wasted water.
The shepherds set up camp at the water trough. Some of them worked through the night, pumping water to the trough, fetching water to the animals, putting out feed, and walking the perimeter boundary lines. At least one dog accompanied the person on perimeter guard. Shadow fought off the dull heaviness, the gritty feeling of sand scratching at her eyes. She needed to stay awake to ensure their cover and to watch the dogs.
Dawn was just beginning to lighten the sky to the east. She had watched the camp all night; watched their night-watchers watching the darkness, as they listened to the night sounds, as they sniffed at the air for sign of predators and enemy.
Shadow watched as the ragged purple streaks from the Narowi massif to the north began to lighten, and the peaks shimmered to the blue and grey hues of the daylight. Even though it was more than 500 milmetri away, the massif was still intimidating. She couldn’t even see the highest peaks, and the cloud at the top was permanent. It took on the same hue of the massif, making it look as if it went all the way to the top of the world and beyond. For all she knew, maybe it did.
The chill would become worse for the next hour, the heat would kick in, the light ground mist would burn off, and from the sea of sand to Hell’s Gate the sun and heat would scorch anything stupid enough to be in the area. Hell’s Gate was their next destination, and it would be hell. She sipped at her water, rolling it around her mouth before swallowing. She scratched absent-mindedly at her arm.
They would move on to Lake Teeni, where at least they would have water and trees, and maybe even a swim. Their final destination was Ulamba, the sacred cave, where they would meet up with one of the Master Judges for their debriefing and grade. The route from Lake Teeni to Ulamba was rocky and harsh, and would probably take them at least four days, even if the distance wasn’t that far. The rocks would hold the heat, and there was no water or food between Lake Teeni and the cave. It was the worst part of the mission. They would need to be fully stocked and rested before they started on that leg.
Shadow knew she would get the best score. She was the best student, the top of all her classes except healing, and her talent for disappearing made this task easy. She knew the guards posted along their route had not seen them, and now the second part of the test was almost over. An easy task.
And it looked like it was over. The shepherds were packing up and preparing to move; they would head to Lake Teeni and the Wild Horse Plains. The dog was still wary, and Shadow watched him closely. His tail was straight back, his ears up, his nose down, his belly low to the ground. He definitely had something on his mind. The dog went to a crawl, and his ears dropped back and down. He sprang. The rabbit didn’t stand a chance. One growl, one shake, and the dog carried his trophy back to camp, wagging his shaggy tail.
A rabbit. Thank the One for that, but it was still too close to Gheis. He’d better not move, or she’d kick him all the way back to Aramel, five whole days away, two if they used the sand kites from the nomad resupply hut. She liked the idea of kicking him for five days if he blew their cover, or argued with her again, or …. Well, any reason would do. He was beginning to annoy her with his comments and suggestions. She was the leader of this troop; she would be the one to say how, say when, say what. That was the role of the leader.
The mission was to hone and test their skills before graduation from the military academy. The last examination before they could take their adult name at the ceremony that covered both graduation and name-day. Shadow did not know what her adult name would be. She liked the name Shadow. Jeffers gave her that name, the man who had become her foster father. A military man to his bones, a Pongo for life.
Would she carry on his tradition? She didn’t know, and as R’Cci was going to be at the ceremony, she didn’t know if she had a choice, or if R’Cci would ask something else of her life. After all, R’Cci had claimed her, and the H’Rucca had final say in all things of Narrung. Shadow didn’t remember being captured by Jeffers, didn’t remember anything before she went before the Council, but Darkan loved the story, so Jeffers told it many, many times.
