Princess Rescue Inc (95 page)

“And
what are we going to be doing?” the Sergeant asked.

“Well,
first you’re going to get them to clean that camp up, latrines too. Triage the
wounded. Get it set up the way it should be. Get them food and water too. Sort
them out. The wolves from the sheep, segregate the wolves for later then get
the sheep settled in. Keep it light till we get things sorted out. I want each
man interviewed and a witness statement taken.”

“Ah,”
Waters nodded. “Might I suggest a health check?”

“Good
point, should have gotten to it,” Ryans shook his head. “Deidra and I will
handle the stiff upper lip crowd,” he waved to indicate the castle.

“What's
to be done with them?” Deidra said coming over to them.

“Well,
we were just discussing that. Since we're pardoning the Duluth, why the Master
Sergeant here thought we should pardon these people too... or at least have
them serve a short term in our own army before they go,” Ryans suggested.

Deidra
froze and then nodded slowly. “They need food and drink. Medical attention as
well.” She turned on the hapless guard captain. He looked defeated. After a
moment he nodded.

“As
you will it, so shall it be done your majesty,” he bowed and left quickly.

“Duke
Emroy should have been more careful,” Deidra said looking around. “He's usually
a kind soul with a gentle hand to his people.” She seemed deeply disturbed by
this.

“The
burnt hand though,” Waters said waving. “He may have heard stories of his own
people doing dirty deeds, lumped them all in one category and then decided to
wash his hands of them, permanently.”

“Yeah,”
Ryans nodded. “We'll get it fixed. And the guilty
will
be punished.” He
nodded to Deidra. He smacked at a blood sucking insect.

“Damn
mosquitos or whatever the hell they are. Let’s go see what other havoc we can
cause,” he grinned at Deidra who smiled back. She hooked her arm in his and
they walked off. Her guards followed in their wake.

<==={}------------>

Deidra
smiled as they walked into the great hall. He smiled back, and she fanned him.
The feather tips brushed his cheek. He chuckled softly as she grinned. She was
no longer in her combat armor but she was dressed for riding.

“What's
the meaning of you countermanding my orders Ryans?” the general bellowed. They
turned to see the portly general starting to stand next to the seated Duke
Emroy. Pendragon was back in native attire, red cheeks full of wrath.

The
elderly Duke's eyes were rheumy but flared in anger. “Is this true?” he asked
darkly.

“I'll
say it is! This... This... youth dared pardon the traitors!” the general threw
his hands up in the air.

“One
moment,” Ryans said holding up a hand. He touched his throat mike. “Master
Sergeant Waters, bring Brom to the great hall please, on the double.”

“Aye
aye sir,” Waters answered. “Three clear.”

“Ah,
Six clear,” Ryans blushed a little at the implied rebuke over his poor radio
discipline and then shrugged it off. He turned to the audience. “Sorry, I'm
having Sergeant Waters bring a person for you to meet.”

“Traitors
should be killed quickly before their treason festers and spreads,” the general
snarled.

“Aye,”
Duke Emroy said. The Duke's shoulders stiffened and then slumped back into the
chair. “Aye,” he said again shaking his head and rubbing his brow. He pulled
the stained bib off his chest and tossed it down on his plate. “Tis dirty
business but it must be done.” He looked away.

“I
have recently found five of my knights, their men, and two of my lords did open
their doors to Duluth soldiers. They did turn their back on their countrymen
and aided the enemy,” he said softly. His elderly fist slammed into an arm
rest. “My own men,” he snarled.

“And
what did you do with them?” Deidra asked.

“They
fled. Those that survived the battle. They will be found and hung,” the Duke
said.

“Most
likely they will flee to the greenwood to live as bandits,” the general growled.
“Scum.”

“Those
that survive the animals there you mean,” Ryans said fingering his scarred arm.
“
basilisks
aren't happy about intruders you know.”

“Aye,
there is that,” the General nodded. They turned as the great doors creaked open
once more and the Master Sergeant came in, Brom following.

“What's
this?” the Duke asked. “A boy?”

“A
witness, one of your traitors actually,” Deidra supplied, watching the old
man's eyes widen.

“He
is, is he,” the Duke said. He flicked his hand. “Send him away.”

“No,
I think this will be an educational experience,” Ryans said smiling tightly.
“Have a seat gentlemen.” He waited as the General sat. “Brom, why don't you
tell the Duke and the General just how you were recruited by the Duluth.”

The
boy looked uncertainly at Ryans and then bowed as he recognized the princess.

“Go
on son, they won’t bite,” Waters growled. The princess smiled encouragingly.

Slowly
the boy's story poured out of him. When he was finished Waters nodded. “I took
the time to confirm their story. They were rounded up during raids and kept as
prisoners in the camp. They were given little food and drink. The women were
used as sport for the Duluth soldiers. Many didn't survive. All were not armed
until the battle began. Even then they were given sticks or broken weapons,”
Waters said.

The
Duke slumped a little. “So?” the general asked in contempt.

“So
they weren't given a choice. They were cannon fodder,” Ryans answered, glaring
at the other man.

“Cannons?
Those great things you used? The ones with the dragons bellow?” the Duke asked
in confusion.

“It
is a term from Earth. It means they were sacrifices.”

“Indeed,”
Deidra said with a nod. Waters nodded as well.

“Like
the animals that were loosed before the battle began,” Waters said.

“Something
like that.” Ryans indicated a nearby chess board. “May I?” he asked. The Duke
nodded. Ryans went over and picked up a pawn.

“Cannon
fodder refers to men who are sacrifices. They are driven forward by others,
into the arms of prepared enemy to soak up their energy with their own bodies
so others behind them can go over, around, or through them to make the real
attack.” He put the pawn down in front of them. “Pawns in other words.” He gave
Deidra a look. “They weren't armed until it was necessary to fight, then only
given blunted weapons and poles, then driven to fight with soldiers nipping at
their heels ready to skewer any who faltered or tried to turn away.” He turned
to Brom.

“Son
would you have fought for your Duke?” he asked softly. The boy's eyes widened
then turned to gaze to the Duke.

“Of
course!” He hopped up and down. “Duke Emroy is a great lord! It's he who helped
when there was famine two winters ago, when the crops died. When the river
flooded last spring it was he who sent men from the castle to build dams to
channel it away so we could rebuild!” Slowly the child knelt. “My lord gladly
would I serve you.”

The
lord's shoulders slumped even more. He took a look at the boy, head bowed,
tears dripping and got up. He groaned softly as he moved and then touched the
boy on the shoulder. “And I would have been glad of you by my side,” he said
gruffly. He looked over to a guard. “Your sword.”

The
guard hesitated and then removed the belt and handed his lord the entire
package. The old lord took the sword from the scabbard then set the scabbard on
the back of a chair. He touched the tip to the kneeling boy's shoulder gently.

The
boy trembled. “I take you into my service Brom. You will serve me and mine and
protect your countrymen,” the old Duke said. He sheathed the sword as the boy
looked up beaming. The Duke pulled a copper out of his pocket and then caught
the boy's hand.

“Here
you have taken my money and so you are now part of my household. Report to
Squire Kinset for your duties as a page.”

The
boy got up and bobbed a bow and then rushed off. He stopped at the door to give
them a questioning look. He opened his mouth but the nearby guard stopped him.
He whispered something to the boy and then went back to standing at attention.
The boy looked at the man, bowed slightly and then rushed off.

“Getting
directions,” Waters said nodding. “Smart kid,” he said quietly. He nodded to
Ryans.

The
General looked uncomfortable. Ryans sighed. “Look, I agree, the wolves should
be stripped from the sheep and dealt with.” He held up his hands. “I'm all for
that. Men who helped rape and kill their own people should be severely
punished. But let's not kill the entire flock for the actions of a few.”

“And
what do you propose we do with them?” the general asked, color returning to his
throat.

“Ryans
has an admirable suggestion,” Deidra smiled to him. She turned her steely gaze
on the general. “We're going to recruit them for the army. Those that are too
young can serve as pages like Brom. We had to elevate most of our pages before
the war started to have enough squires for the knights... so it fills a need.”
She smiled at the Duke. “Just as his grace just did.”

The
Duke's eyes twinkled. “And in keeping them in the royal army you will keep a
watchful eye on them?”

“But
of course,” she smiled, fanning herself. “They can help rebuild their country
and rebuild their own reputation. A period of say... three years should
suffice.” She looked at the General who looked thoughtful and then nodded.

“It
is done then,” she nodded to Waters.

Waters
looked mulish but turned to go. Ryans walked with him to the door. Both men
knew three local years was a long time, the equivalent of six Terran years. But
at least the men and women would be fed and kept alive.

“What
would you have them do? We can't force the natives to change overnight Master
Sergeant. At least we're keeping them alive,” he murmured.

The
Sergeant gave a tight nod as his jaw tightened. “And we're giving them an
education. Right. Got it,” he said gruffly. He walked out as Ryans paused at
the door. He shrugged and then walked back to Deidra and the others.

<==={}------------>

Max
smiled as the first truck rumbled into the garage courtyard. Now that the
Duluth army was a thing of the past they could get down to more important things.
Like building and maintaining what they had. Galloway had secured the hidden
caches when he had arrived, using the construction equipment to rebuild and
reinforce the wall. Now that the war was over the tractor trailers had been
sent out a week ago to pick up the remaining gear. They'd made good time and
returned fully loaded.

He
wasn't sure what he was going to do with the reactor. He wanted to set it up in
the capital but Ryans was reluctant. He wanted the natives to have their own
locally made power sources, not reliant on the gaijin for some strange reason.

“Easy
with that lads!” he called, watching nervously as a pair of men unloaded the
Torchmate CNC machine from the back of the truck. It had been a last minute
addition, really a luxury, but something that could prove its worth in whatever
precious substance he wanted in the next coming months.

Another
group was hauling out the seventy ton hydraulic press. The thing was a brute;
they were using a portable shop crane that had been rigged to handle the gun
carriages.

“What
does this do?” Sung Li asked, pointing a long finger to the press.

“Hydraulic
press. With that we can do all sorts of stamp work,” Max explained and then
grinned. “I'll show you when we get the machine shop up and running. We've got
to rewire some of it; these babies need a lot of juice.”

The
Asian woman grimaced and then nodded. “I look forward to it.”

“You
think the press is cool, wait till you see that Torchmate in action!” he
laughed, pointing to the table and boxes of parts the men had stacked near the
back wall. “With that we can make stuff in minutes!” He was grinning, hands on
his hips. He couldn't wait to get all the shop stuff set up.

“Well,
we can just as soon as you get your fat ass out of the way that is,” a worker
grumbled as he wrestled with parts from a drill press. He dodged, then decided
to pitch in.

“Hurry
up!”  the driver yelled. “I've got to refuel and make the run to the mine.
The shift manager's been chasing the lord around since we missed the last pick
up,” he said. He waved a packet of papers. Max grimaced and then shrugged, not
his problem.

<==={}------------>

Deidra
commented wistfully about having a nice icy snack right about now. Ryans
grimaced. “True, the summer heat is a pain.” He turned from the balcony, wiping
his face with a handkerchief. Despite it being after sun down it was still hot
and muggy. He smiled at Deidra.

She
was carrying a Japanese fan, idly fanning herself with it. She was dressed in
what could only be a silk kimono. His eyebrows rose. “Nice, get the idea from
Wanda?” he asked amused.