Gabriel Landowski

CHAPTER II

The stag slowly stepped to the edge of the field and raised its antlered head. The morning breeze blew a collage of scents across his snout and he carefully tried to pick out the doe.

Cool air from the foot of the mountain tops flowed over the waving field of grass on the gentle slope. The stag looked about the small clearing and considered the best direction to continue pursuit.

Something drew him to the right and he began to trot softly along the edge of conifer trees. The scent of the doe was strong in the general area and she must have passed that way only a few minutes before.

He continued to breathe in the scent of his desire, and pictured where she was heading. It could be down by the water for a cool drink, or on the opposite side of the field, where younger trees might provide a safe place to rest. All he needed to do was catch up with her.

At the base of a grassy patch the trail turned uphill and the stag followed. As he neared a jutting piece of wood another scent alerted his senses. It was a peculiar odor unlike anything he had ever known before. As he approached a dense thicket of brush he slowed his pace and grew more wary of the smell which he could not place.

Not quite spooked, he halted and stared hard at the dense brush a few lengths off trying to discern motion or shapes. The smell was overpowering and the stag knew that this was definitely something that he had never encountered before. As alarm grew he turned his head to the left and ensured that nothing crept up on him from behind. Instinct directed that he should back away and pursue the doe by the route he had considered earlier.

*KPOW!*

There was a tremendous blow which smashed the air from his lungs. The blood in his head began to rush with adrenalin. The stag tried to run but his step simply dissolved and he slid to the ground in a heap. For a brief moment he laid there and tried to catch a breath that would not come. The stag could taste blood in its mouth and every fiber of his being screamed for him to run.

But he could not.

After a few moments he heard nothing but his rapid heartbeat; as it began to slow the world faded to an eternal black.

* * *

Kyle felt his heart jump in his chest as the rifle fired. The magnificent stag had come to within twenty meters of their hide position before Corporal Kelly dropped it. The entire experience had been surreal.

The two troopers had spent the predawn darkness creeping out to the edge of the grassy field. As silently as possible, they quickly crawled into their hide position. Kyle recalled from the previous instruction that any excessive noise, movement, or smell could spook their prey.

It had been a month since the emergency landing on the surface and the troopers had remained as vigilant as they possibly could during that time. As the first week passed an expected enemy attack failed to materialize. Subsequently, the priority then became making life more comfortable. Above all, was the constant search for food.

The ranking officer was First Lieutenant Taylor who had ordered a defensive position be established. The troopers set to work digging underground bunkers in which to hide from hostiles and the elements. The next order of business was food and water to sustain them as the combat rations were in short supply. Finding water was easy enough with numerous mountain streams to choose from. The rocky terrain, however, had not lent itself to the growth of edible plants beyond wild onions and a type of dark purple berry. The only remaining alternative was the local game animals.

An initial foraging party had gone out and found a series of small trails no bigger than a foot path. Observation teams were then placed to watch the most likely traveled routes. They discovered the only traveler was a type of small deer with a blotched coat of brown and mossy green. The camouflage helped the animal to blend in with the surrounding terrain and made it nearly invisible when it stood motionless.

With the combat rations reduced to one packet a day the troopers would be starving in less than two weeks. The berry and onion collection produced a good amount of vegetation to eat but no man wanted to live on a stinky fruit salad. The small streams turned up some small fish, and the rocky crags an occasional fowl or eggs, but there was not enough to provide a regular source of protein for so many.

After a brief conversation at headquarters, word was passed for anyone with hunting experience to report to the command post. There, the handful of troopers worked out a plan with Taylor and Holly guaranteed to bag some meat. Thus organized, the four volunteers set out to see what they could produce. The hope was that the little bastards were as tasty as they were cute.

Fortunately, they were.

After two days of selecting a good firing position and figuring out the best way to take the shots, the team settled in and waited for the early morning light to come. As the dawn grew in intensity the troopers easily spied a small herd of the deer grazing near a steep bluff and took four of them in the same moment. The shots sounded as one and echoed back down the valley to the hungry men. A brief radio call from Taylor confirmed that the team had been successful and the troopers were bringing meat within the next four hours.

The team emerged with their fresh kills swinging from portage poles. The meat was brought to the kitchen area and the assigned cooks went about the task of dressing it. A majority of the animal's diet appeared to be the thick stalks of the wild onion.

To stretch the food supply, a large stew was made inside a sterilized container lid; it contained a generous amount of onion and the more recently discovered mushrooms. The result was generally agreed to be gamey in nature and most thought the double dose of onion too much. In the end, starving troopers could not be choosey and the stew was quickly consumed allowing the diners to bitch about the lack of quantity.

With this newfound success each trooper was then ordered to learn and master the art of hunting. Each squad would take turns providing food for the unit and conduct limited patrols in search of good hunting spots. Corporal Kelly was the designated primary instructor who taught Kyle and squad how to bag and tag the little beasties. Having grown up in the outskirts of a major city, hunting and gutting animals were alien concepts to them.

Kelly motioned to Kyle and Buster to retrieve the stag he just shot. The two rushed out from the concealment of the brush at a crouched trot. The troopers scanned the surrounding tree line as they approached the stag and Kyle circled around the non-hoof side of the animal where it lay. He reached down with a stick and touched it to the animal's eye. It did not react. Convinced the animal was dead, the two troopers slung their carbines across their backs and took hold of it by the legs.

It took the two troopers a minute to carry the stag back to the trees as it was much heavier than its small size suggested. As they neared the edge of the brush several others jumped out to help them maneuver the catch further into the woods. The animal easily weighed over a hundred pounds, and the antlers were miniature but impressive with twelve unflawed points. Kelly looked down at his prize with a large grin on his face and whispered in an excited voice,

"Check that out boys, check that out! He may be tiny but that rack is just a beaut!"

Everyone smiled as they stood around and looked at the deer up close for the first time. The troopers engaged in small talk as Kelly continued an initial inspection of his prize. The corporal then pointed out some characteristics that distinguished males from the females and listed different warning signs which might indicate sickness in the animal. With the preliminaries completed it was time to get down to the business at hand.

"Alright you bad-ass killers, time to get bloody."

Kelly reached into his hip pouch and produced a small folded blade which he then offered to Kyle. It was a little nerve racking to consider the first cut into an animal that had been breathing less then five minutes ago. Kyle looked down at the opened glassy eye of the stag and felt a slight quiver of pity.

Sorry dude. I'll do my best not to waste what you have to offer.

He placed his hand on the chest of the animal and found it still warm to the touch. It reminded Kyle of petting the family dog back home, and he had to push the thought out of his mind.

Alright, enough of that. This isn't a game and you don't have time for bullshit. Just gut the thing and get it over with.

Four other troopers took hold of the legs of the animal as instructed by Kelly. The corporal then explained to Kyle what needed to be done and what needed to be avoided. The others listened in silent anticipation while the security teams sat a little way off scanning for bad guys.

Kyle attempted to make the initial cut; squeamishness changed to annoyance as he found it difficult to pierce the tough hide of the creature. After several attempts Kelly leaned in and pinched a thick wad of the animal between his fingers and gestured to his student.

"Like this Evans, just grab up the skin to lift it off the ribcage and then push the tip of the blade into the sternum. This way if you go too far you hit bone and the internal organs won't empty all over your meat."

Kyle had done as instructed and the knife made easy headway after the tip managed to cut through. Thinking back to medical training in the classroom he expected to see an ocean of blood and gore. Much to his surprise the inside of the animal was very neat and organized. Kyle widened the cut as directed. The experience was more similar to a dissection than anything else. Kelly leaned in again and pointed out several items of interest.

"You'll also see that by taking this guy in the throat area I minimized the internal damage and avoided the guts. I want you to think about having to cut into the animal if I had shot him in the intestines. Remember: aim for the point above the front legs toward the chest of the animal. Never shoot from the front or you'll be digging through ruptured guts and eating shit tainted meat."

A little slice here, another one there. Cut loose this tendon, but don't puncture that sac.

Kyle was half listening when the tip of the blade caught for a moment, only to pop free and sink effortlessly into the knuckle of his hand. Examining his injury and inhaling through pursed lips, Kyle gently bent the finger until a large gash appeared in the skin.

Yep, I got myself good.

Cussing, he withdrew his hand and watched the wound until blood began to flow freely. Kyle let it bleed a second or two which helped to wash out the wound. He glanced up in silent frustration at Kelly who shook his head.

"Shit Evans, you think you'd be able to handle a knife by now, infantry boy. Pop out of there and clean that up before it gets infected. The rest of you, forget anything you might have heard about drinking or eating something raw from a kill to prove how much of a bad ass you are. If the animal has a virus you're taking that straight into your body and you'll likely make yourself sick and die. Don't be cool, be alive."

Reluctantly Kyle handed the small skinning blade to Buster, and then applied pressure to his finger to staunch the flow of blood. He poured disinfectant into the wound which caused it to burn like hell. Afterward Kyle had a little difficulty in opening the protective wrapper and placing the small bandage over the cut. The other troopers continued to watch Buster finish the job that Kyle had started.

A few moves of the blade later and the stomach accidentally burst with a wet popping sound. The smell of onion, decomposing grass, and blood gagged them all. The overpowering odor was similar to a filthy urinal after several weeks of summer heat.

Kelly laughed at them and then quickly demonstrated how to get the stomach contents off the carcass. If the troopers failed to recover the meat correctly all their hard work would be for naught. Kelly dumped out the internals and the men, fighting back the urge to puke, wiped the meat off as best they could. The corporal then picked through the guts and showed which were good eating and how to pack them for transport. With this done Kyle and Buster buried the unusable remains to help hide the smell of the kill.

After much cursing and swearing the squad earned the privilege of carrying the carcass back to the main post. The animal was now lighter but still heavy as hell. After they slipped and slid down the wet clay path for half an hour the exhausted troopers made it back. On arrival they turned their shouldered load over to the kitchen crew.

* * *

Two weeks later Kyle was selected to join the hunting detail for the squad. This time the troopers would be going it alone. Corporal Rey checked their equipment and clothing as the hunting patrol would be out for several nights. After a final communication check with the company Tactical Operations Center , the troopers passed through the defensive perimeter and disappear into the wooded countryside.

Rey led them in a loose column up the stream bed and toward a good hide position that he learned of from a buddy in the other platoon. The patrol approached the release point and Rey called a halt to quietly explain how he wanted to proceed.

"So when we leave the release point, Reeves and Buster will go to the left through the woods and wait at the end of the field. Once Kyle and I get into our hide position, I'll call you guys to start pushing. Make enough noise as you move across our front to drive anything in hiding without panicking it. The idea is for you to kick up and push any deer in front of you to where Kyle and I can get a shot at it."

The two troopers just nodded their heads in response. As they got up to leave Reeves commented casually,

"Just don't pop a round in our heads by accident Corp."

Kyle looked at Rey who just grinned.

"I'll shoot you in the ass just for the fun of it!"

Rey led Kyle forward on all fours as the two tried their best to not be detected. They kept a watchful eye for grouse that might burst into the air and warn everything in the vicinity. The birds were too small for eating but the troopers wanted to kill them anyway for the near heart attack they caused.

The hide spot was located behind a slight rise underneath some tall pines, which provided the hunters concealment and overhead cover as they waited for the prey. Although the weather had turned noticeably cooler, a dense mist kept warm air close to the valley floor. A thick carpet of pine needles underneath them guaranteed welcome protection from the cold ground.

The sniper rifle was pulled from a carry bag and prepared for action. Although the hunters had their carbines along, the rifle had more range and better stopping power. Like the other small arms issued to the common foot soldier it was powered by pressurized air. It, however, utilized a sabot slug which did an excellent job of slapping down a large target. The smaller penetrating projectiles of the carbines had a tendency to pass through the target and carried most of the kinetic energy with them. A regular experience was to hit the animal with a carbine and it would take off and survive most of the time whereas, the slug had a tendency to knock the creature down where it stood. Rare was the animal that took more than a few steps after getting whacked by the soft slug.

Once the rifle was assembled and the power sight adjusted, the two got comfortable and Rey hailed the push team via his helmet microphone.

"SLAUGHTER 1, this is SLAUGHTER 6, OVER."

The right headphone in the helmet Kyle wore was tuned to the squad frequency and echoed Rey as he spoke. Kyle laughed to himself,

Slaughter. It had better not be. If they slaughter anything then they can clean out the entrails!

"SLAUGHTER 1, this is Slaughter 6, OVER."

"SLAUGHTER 6, this is 1 - go ahead, OVER."

"Alright dudes, we're in position. You guys can start walking that far tree line to our front. BREAK."

Rey fragmented his transmission into short messages to make it difficult for an equipped enemy to pinpoint their location via triangulation.

"Remember to force the deer into the field where we can get a shot at them instead of further into the woods. BREAK."

"Make sure you stop when I say, or I might end up plugging one of you in the dome. OVER."

There was a brief pause and Rey glanced at Kyle.

"Roger that. OVER."

"SLAUGHTER 6, OUT."

The two waited and watched.

From their vantage point they could not see where Buster and Reeves were moving as the old growth of conifer trees hid any occupants. After a half hour into the push Rey keyed his helmet microphone several times in a row as a prearranged signal to the pushers. This way if the two were in a situation where they needed to remain quiet Rey would not expose them to unwanted noise from his voice.

"5 here. OVER."

"Where you guys at? OVER."

"We're up by the northeast corner of the field, about forty to fifty meters and heading south. OVER."

"Shit. We're not seeing anything. OVER."

Rey continued to scan the field to his front as he pondered. Kyle took the binoculars he was handed earlier and searched the right side of their hunting zone. After a few moments of thinking Rey keyed the microphone again.

"Alright, look. I don't want your scent all over the trees on that far side. BREAK."

"You guys come back the way you came in and we'll sit tight here for a bit. BREAK."

"Set up a second blind position about fifty meters to our left and we'll just watch the field until evening - say about 19:00 hours. How copy? OVER."

Reynolds replied with a tired voice.

"Roger that, moving back. OVER."

"6. OUT."

Rey sighed as he removed his helmet, and with a slight tinge of disappointment looked across the rifle stock to Kyle.

"Those guys in 1st squad told me this place was a regular traffic jam of the little bastards. Where the fuck are they all?"

Kyle shrugged his shoulders and glanced behind them briefly to make sure no one was sneaking up on them. Satisfied, he continued to scan with the binoculars and the two waited in silence.

An hour later they spotted Reeves and Buster about fifty meters to the left of their hide. The two troopers gave a quick overhead wave which Rey acknowledged with one of his own. Having established visual contact the troopers assumed their own hide position and got settled in. Both teams quickly fell into a routine of watching, eating, peeing, and sleeping. It was late afternoon when Rey woke Kyle up from a cat nap.

"Hey. Wake up high speed."

Kyle squinted his aching eyes as he tried to adjust to the penetrating light. Rey turned to look back out across the field.

"I'm tired and freezing from just sitting here. Let's go for a little walk and stretch our legs."

The two collected their loose gear and headed over toward the other hide position. As they arrived at the back of the second hide Rey crawled over to explain the new plan to Reeves and Buster. Kyle was under the impression that Rey felt the two had been a little careless and spooked off the deer into the opposite direction. After a brief conversation he crawled back.

"Alright - they're going to stay here and we're going to go up through the same woods they did. Only this time we're going to swing well out to the left and make sure that any critters in there get pushed out toward the field. Once we're near the northeast corner I'll call them and have them shift their rifle to the southeast corner. We'll push down the opposite side across from where we are now. There just has to be something out here for us to bag. I don't believe those guys would jerk me around when it comes to finding food."

Kyle nodded his head and the two quietly trod off through the thinning pines to their left.

The air grew crisp and Kyle noted that the mist had long since dispersed from the small valley they had previously occupied. It would be easier for the team to be seen and heard. Kyle briefly thought about the possibility that there were no more deer in the area. Perhaps the other squads had killed enough to make the little buggers think twice before showing their cute faces again.

The pair continued to move as quietly as they could, and Kyle became aware of the wide circle Rey made as they passed through the vegetation. On the left flank of the field the trees were less of a conifer and more of a mature hardwood, providing sight range out to around thirty meters.

After pushing the trees for almost half an hour Rey signaled a quick rest. Kyle almost sighed in anticipation and strode off to a small collection of young pines to relieve his bladder.

Always hydrating means always pissing!

He slung his carbine over his shoulder, loosened his waist belt, and swung the front combat pouches out of his way. Moving up to the dense cluster of needles he fumbled with his crotch buttons as the urge to urinate became unbearable. Without warning, he stumbled upon a man already engaged in relief of his own.

The two men lock gazed for a fraction of a second before the wild man, well hidden by the deer fur he wore, gave a fierce roar and launched himself at Kyle. Taken completely by surprise the trooper was sent flailing and stumbling backward from his attacker. With his left hand the native had Kyle by the throat in a flash. His right stabbed the trooper in the heart with a wicked hunting blade.

As the knife flashed high for another strike Kyle had done the only thing he could and struggled to flip the attacker. The two rolled down into a small depression and the wild man dropped the weapon, but now employed both of his hands in a choke hold. The world flashed by in a rapid torrent of light and darkness interspersed with the smell of molding leaves as the two thrashed about.

Kyle felt himself beginning to black out as the choke hold effectively cut off his air supply. He tried to blink past the darkness that quickly pushed in from his peripheral vision but the condition only became worse. As his arms began to slacken and his lungs burned for a breath of air a final realization occurred to him.

Holy shit, this is it! I'm going to die!

The world returned to him as suddenly as it was taken.

Kyle lay motionless on his back and stared up at the empty branches reaching into the sky above him. His vision cleared from the blur of flashing light specks, and the sound of rushing blood was replaced by the wind as it blew gently from above. His body felt drained of all energy and weighed down as if filled with sand. Kyle took slow, deep breaths to feed his oxygen starved blood and he suddenly remembered his attacker.

What the hell was that all about? Where did he go?

Carefully he propped himself up and could see the man sprawled in a heap of furs on the ground next to him. Rey appeared from the left with the rifle barrel still pointed at the native. Kyle was aware that Rey spoke but he could not hear nor understand the corporal through the fog of the trauma. As if to no one in particular he asked,

"What?"

"I said 'are you alright!?' Shit! He was stabbing the hell out of you! Check yourself for wounds!"

Rey took a knee next to Kyle with the weapon still trained on the native. The corporal made a cursory inspection of Kyle, who sat up and checked himself by running his hands over his chest. There was no obvious sign of blood but there was a series of gashes in his left breast pocket. Kyle stuck his fingers against one of the holes and felt the copy of Killer Angels which caught the stabs of the blade.

Thank you Michael Shaara!

Rey kept his eyes on the man he had shot as he spoke.

"You good?"

Kyle quickly checked his arms and hands. There was a minor defensive wound on the outside of his right palm but nothing more serious. As he spoke he sounded a little slurred.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Grab your weapon then and cover me."

Kyle forced his sluggish body to action and recovered his weapon from where it lay in the leaves a few meters away. He swept it around the area as he moved and stood in perpendicular stance to Rey.

Think clearly and keep a good line of fire. Do NOT shoot your squad leader!

Never lifting his eyes, Rey carefully circled around the attacker who remained motionless. It was obvious the corporal had no intention of repeating Kyle's mistake.

"You see anything else out there?"

Kyle looked as carefully as his fuzzed vision would allow. He searched past the swarm of zigzag blurs and it appeared that they were alone.

"I don't see anything. We seem to be clear."

"Alright then, cover me."

Rey placed his weapon against a tree and pulled his pistol from its holster. Kyle spun to point his carbine at the native and noticed the spray of blood droplets on the ground next to him. Rey carefully walked up to the furred figure and gave the man a solid kick in the thigh.

There was no response.

Rey, satisfied, holstered his weapon.

"He's not faking that - a shot like that would hurt like a mother. Keep your eyes peeled out there while I search him."

Kyle allowed his eyes to return to the terrain around them and it appeared they were still alone.

"We're still clear."

"Alright, I'm going to turn him over."

Rey grabbed the man by the ankles and rolled him over to expose dirty blonde hair and a short rough beard. His skin was weathered and tanned indicating a life spent outdoors. He was covered from head to toe in a patchwork poncho of deer fur. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be unconscious.

Rey reached down and felt for a pulse.

"SLAUGHTER 6, this is SLAUGHTER 5. OVER!"

Both Rey and Kyle jumped out of their skins as the headphones roared in their ears. Scared out of his wits Rey swore a fierce oath as he fumbled for the microphone key. Kyle carefully blew out a slow breath and calmed his already heightened nerves, aware of just how close he had come to pulling the trigger.

"SLAUGHTER 6, this is SLAUGHTER 5, OVER!!"

Rey keyed his helmet mike.

"For fuck's sake 5, you scared the shit out of me! What's your fucking problem? OVER."

"We've got people! We've got people in the trees! They're on the far side of the field and running!"

Rey and Kyle exchanged looks for a brief second. Kyle then dropped to one knee and scanned for the approach of targets while Rey keyed the microphone in reply.

"Which way are they heading 5? OVER."

"To the southeast from us. Was that you shooting? OVER."

Kyle relaxed a little.

Southeast means away from us. Thank god! That gives us a chance to get our shit in order before having to deal with someone else.

"Roger 5, keep an eye on them and let us know if they come back. OVER."

"Roger. OUT."

Rey felt for a pulse again on their victim and shook his head.

"He's dead."

Kyle looked again at the leaves and could now see a large puddle of bright red blood. It looked as if Rey had shot him through the side at the lower rib cage and the soft slug blew an exit hole in his flank the size of a fist. The face was that of a man asleep except it was drained of color and ashen. Kyle had to fight off the idea of similarity between this experience and that of hunting deer. Just the notion of gutting the man made him want to vomit.

Rey switched his helmet radio and tried to raise the company on the assigned frequency. After a few minutes of calling, the trooper on duty finally responded. Rey gave a contact and status report to which the operator asked for confirmation of a 'Killed In Action'.

Rey just stared at Kyle for a moment before confirming the message. They both knew that the report of an unknown KIA would spread like wildfire. The Lieutenant would definitely be interested in knowing why one of his troopers shot someone to death.

The order came back for the patrol to collect as much physical intelligence as they could. The body was to be cached until the Lieutenant could make it out to the site for a personal inspection.

Rey and Kyle quickly stripped the body of several rough metal and bone daggers. A few pouches, a small water skin, and a length of crude leather rope wrapped around a rolled hide made up the rest of the personal gear. The body looked like it was from the hills of Gaul during Roman times back on Earth. The revelation seemed to unnerve Kyle but he could not figure out why.

They wrapped the body in the rolled hide and placed it in the bottom of the shallow depression. The troopers then covered the body as best they could with dirt and leaves. After they checked for equipment or missed intelligence items, Rey quickly crossed himself and led Kyle back the way they had come. In less than twenty minutes the two linked up with Buster and Reeves and headed for home.

* * *

The patrol made it back to base in less than two hours without further incident. On entering the perimeter the four troopers were directed to report to the company command post where Lieutenant Taylor waited for them. After the orderly stepped out of the room, the Lieutenant sat back in his chair.

"What the hell happened out there?" he demanded in a low, curt bark.

Corporal Rey formally stepped forward and saluted.

"Sir. While conducting a hunting detail in the northern valley Private Evans stumbled onto an individual who attacked him. It was very fast and the man was extremely motivated, which forced me to shoot him or risk losing a member of my patrol. Shortly after this initial contact, Privates Buster and Reeves observed seven other individuals moving to the southeast away from the hunting location. They made no attempt to close with us and broke contact down one of the gorges. After checking on Private Evans and the other hunting team I called in my report to the company."

Rey fell silent and remained standing at attention. The Lieutenant scowled at him for a moment, squinting in the harsh over-head light.

"Stumbled? Stumbled! How the fuck does one of my infantry 'stumble' into anything?"

Rey said nothing and remained at attention. The Lieutenant shifted his glare over to Kyle who quickly snapped his eyes back to the front.

"Evans - you tripped on this guy?"

Kyle stiffened.

"Sir! I was going to relieve myself and approached a group of small dense trees. The man was already there and we surprised each other as I entered the tree line. He jumped me with a dagger and I was forced to wrestle with him. Before I knew it, Corporal Rey had shot him off me."

The Lieutenant frowned at him.

"You got jumped by a guy taking a shit?!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Taylor leaned forward, rested his wrists on the desk in front of him and touched his finger tips together.

"Do you feel that the shooting was justified?"

For a panicked moment Kyle sensed the nervousness in Rey and knew he had to be very careful with what he said next.

"Sir, I was able to ward off the initial attack but the hostile succeeded in pinning me to the ground with a strangle hold. I was about to go unconscious when Corporal Rey shot the man off me. It is my opinion that had the Corporal not shot my attacker the man would have recovered the blade and killed me before the Corporal could have physically prevented him from doing so."

Kyle could feel the gaze of the Lieutenant studying his face for a trace of deception. It sounded almost too well thought out and for a moment the private was worried that the Lieutenant would think it was a cover story. Taylor glanced back to Rey.

"That true?"

Rey nodded quickly.

"Sir. It is my opinion that at the moment before I fired the attacker would succeed in killing Private Evans. I was not worried about the knife since Evans succeeded in disarming the man."

The Lieutenant let out a sarcastic hoot and a slight sneer appeared across his face.

"'Disarmed' my ass. The guy probably 'stumbled' over Evans and dropped it by accident."

Neither trooper said anything in response.

The Lieutenant glanced angrily over at the platoon sergeant.

"Well Holly, it appears we have infantry in this outfit that can't beat a man with his pants around his ankles in hand-to-hand combat!"

Holly stiffened and growled,

"We'll remedy that immediately, sir. Evans will report to me tomorrow morning and I will instruct him - personally."

This declaration stunned Kyle but appeared to placate the officer. Prior to the whole incident, it seemed the Lieutenant was conscious of Holly as the most experienced soldier in the company. The whole back and forth dialogue was more of a show for the two troopers than anything else.

I'm pretty sure the last person in this unit the LT wants to alienate is the Master Sergeant.

The Lieutenant turned to Rey.

"You enjoy shooting that man today?"

Rey seemed to stiffen at the veiled accusation.

How the hell would Rey possibly enjoy killing another person? What kind of an asshole would ask such a thing?

Rey took a moment to compose himself and spoke in a deliberate fashion.

"Sir. I did what I thought was my duty. If I could have captured that man without risking Private Evans I would have. He tried to kill one of my men and I was forced to shoot him. Sir."

The Lieutenant seemed to hear the resolute tone in Rey's response and nodded his head absently. He looked again at Kyle and asked,

"How do you feel about what this man did for you?"

Kyle stiffened and his mind went blank.

How do I feel?

"Sir, I'm grateful, sir."

The Lieutenant growled,

"I don't want you grateful Private, I want you trained. Make sure you get with the program so the next time you subdue the son of a bitch yourself and your squad leader doesn't have to murder someone to bail you out!"

Kyle felt a mix of anger and shame.

What the fuck do you want from me? I barely got out of that one alive!

Lieutenant Taylor picked up some papers on his desk and addressed the group as a whole.

"My compliments on the fast thinking and action of Corporal Rey. It's not an easy decision and Lord knows I've never been faced with it myself. I just want it understood that we capture where possible as these people are harder to question once they're dead."

The Lieutenant glared at Kyle.

"Not to mention that it's a load off of the conscience. Regardless, a letter of commendation will go into Corporal Rey's permanent file. "

Rey muttered a reply,

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, fine. Drop your recovered intelligence items on the S2's desk and make sure that we know where that body was buried. If it's still quiet out there tomorrow we'll send a detail to bring it back. Once we've got all we need to know we'll give that bastard a proper burial."

He turned to Holly and gestured in the general direction of the four troopers.

"Master Sergeant, these cowboys are going back out tomorrow at o' dark thirty to lead the recovery patrol to the body and to serve as the litter team to carry it back."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

Their eyes went to Holly who motioned them out the door with a jerk of his head. With great relief all the troopers saluted and exited the office. Once the team was a safe distance away from prying ears Buster spoke up.

"Don't worry about it Evans. Shit happens."

Kyle looked at Buster but could not tell if it was a failed attempt at humor. His pride burned with a slow, steady humiliation and he had done his best to boost himself out of it. Kyle looked to Rey and spoke up.

"Thank you for what you did for me Corporal. I appreciate it."

Rey seemed to mull over the comment as they walked a short distance before he replied,

"Forget it. The way things are looking around here we're all going to have blood on our hands before any of this is over."

That night the whole squad cleaned its gear and prepared for the recovery patrol in the morning. They talked in hushed tones about what had happened with the other members in the squad bay until Master Sergeant Holly appeared in the doorway. At this, they all fell silent and Rey hopped up out of his seat for a brief conversation before the senior man left.

When the group was sure he was gone, a much quieter conversation continued. Kyle was glad to note the others in his platoon did not joke about his near death experience. To his relief, most of the troopers seemed proud to have an actual veteran now leading the squad. Rey did not offer what the conversation with Holly was about and no one asked.

Next morning the recovery patrol left the perimeter while it was still dark. Lieutenant Taylor accompanied the patrol as Rey, with the original hunting team, led the way. Sixteen troopers made up the column including the Lieutenant, Corporal Kelly, three fire teams of four men, and a light machinegun with a crew of two. Kyle had no idea what kind of trouble the Lieutenant expected to find but had no complaints about the extra firepower that came along for the ride.

The patrol slowly wound its way up a parallel path following the same stream bed used on the previous mission. The rest breaks were frequent, if brief, as the Lieutenant had a bug up his ass about getting to the site. An hour and a half later the exhausted and sore patrol arrived behind the hide positions the hunting team had originally occupied.

From there Reynolds and Buster answered questions about the small group they had seen across the field and showed the direction in which they had departed. After a few more questions the patrol was on its feet again plodding along the edge of the field toward the scene of the crime.

As they approach the exact location Kyle kept his eyes on the small group of trees where he had stumbled onto his assailant. Circling around it, he ensured the spot was clear of hostiles and led the others into a defensive perimeter. Rey met with the Lieutenant where the body had been cached no more than eight hours ago. The officer gave the corporal a hard look.

"You're certain it was stashed here?"

Rey nodded his head while he inspected a disturbed pile of dirt and debris at the bottom of the shallow depression. He held up several leaves stained with large amounts of dried blood for the commander to inspect. Corporal Kelly walked up after a brief inspection of the surrounding terrain.

"No scavenger dragged him away that I can tell. No scrape marks and no sign of feeding near here as there'd still be parts of the carcass or bone left over."

Lieutenant Taylor looked at the low spot and brushed aside some of the leaves with his boot to look at a pool of dried blood.

"Well, someone came and took him away. Any man who bled out that much would not even be able to crawl too far on his own."

It occurred to Kyle that the locals could be watching them at that very moment. The others seemed to get the same idea and began to scan their surroundings more thoroughly. Every shape and sound was suspect as the troopers barely dared to breathe.

A few moments later the Lieutenant got to his feet and turned back toward the way they had come.

"Either way we're done here. Keep your eyes open for evidence or other physical intelligence and let's get back to the post. We'll see about sending out some patrols in the direction you last saw them fleeing."

Rey looked to Kyle who could only shrug in reply. As best the two could tell they were indeed in the correct location. There was simply no denying the fact that the body was gone.

The two started out after Lieutenant Taylor and the rest of the men fell into a tactical column. The machinegun crew bitched quietly under their breath at having to lug the gun all the way out there for nothing. Such was life.

The entire trip home Kyle could not shake the feeling that they had been watched.

* * *