Tales from the Academy

Chapter 10

"Almost time, Cadet-Captain."

Anny Payne looked up to see Cadet First Sergeant Jer Naddel standing in her doorway. She smiled and waved him inside.

"That's acting Cadet-Captain, Sergeant," she corrected.

"Bullshit," snorted Jer. "If you're not the captain, who is?"

"Good question. How do I look?"

"Like the captain. You look fine, Anny, come on, we can't be late. Not today."

She lingered for one more moment in front of the small, cracked mirror hanging on the wall. She was wearing her cadet dress grays for the first time (well, the first time on duty) and she wanted everything to be perfect. She was so glad the vandals hadn't managed to ruin these when they got her other stuff. They'd been stored in a rear closet and since the other cadets hadn't been issued them yet, they hadn't thought to look for hers. The tunic and trousers were closely tailored and standard issue would not have fit her well. The gray fabric, picked out with black piping, looked very different from any other uniform worn by the Barrayaran military—and that was the whole point: cadets were not real soldiers yet.

But today, a whole batch of cadets would become real soldiers. It was Graduation Day for the senior class and it was an even bigger event than the Vorbarra Pentathlon. It would be a day of pomp and circumstance and everyone would be a part of it.

Anny brushed a few microscopic bits of dust off her uniform, checked for the hundredth time to make sure that her rank tabs were on straight and then carefully set the dress shako on her head. The leather-and-felt contraption added almost twenty centimeters to her height—forty if you included the tall black plume. The gold double-headed eagle, symbol of the Imperium, gleamed on the front of it. Damn, it looked sharp!

"Anny, come on!" growled Jer.

She picked up her sword from the table and clicked the carriers onto the scabbard and then hooked it to her belt. They went out the door and Jer picked up his rifle from where he'd left it leaning against the wall. As an officer—acting officer—she carried no rifle.

It was a beautiful spring day, the trees were in full-leaf and you couldn't ask for better. They walked side-by-side, in perfect step, down the path. Anny quickly put the weather and the trees out of her mind and started worrying about the upcoming ceremony. Winning the Vorbarra Pentathlon two months earlier had not only eliminated all their demerits and relieved them of being the duty company, it had also automatically made them the battalion Honor Company. In every battalion formation, C Company would have the post of honor in the center of the line and would have the color guard attached to them—once they had been given their colors.

That was going to happen today, too.

Just as cadets were only considered potential soldiers, the members of the First Form were technically just potential cadets. They had so much to learn and usually had so many people flunk out, that they were not formally integrated into the Regiment of Cadets until the very end of their first year. Today, after the senior class was graduated and their battalion disbanded, each of the other classes would move up. The First Form class would become the Second Form and they would receive their battalion colors. This would call for the honor company to come forward, receive the colors from the Emperor's own hands, and then 'troop the colors' back and forth across the battalion front.

Anny was a tad nervous about being in command of that.

If, indeed, she was going to be in command of that.

She was still amazed that she had been selected to be the cadet-captain of C Company. Normally, the top slots always went to the Vor. But C Company only had a few Vor left in it and those that remained had made it known that they would not accept the post of cadet-captain even if it was offered to them. She suspected Alby had a leading hand in that small bit of near-mutiny. Discounting a Vor-birth, the selection of officers and NCOs was usually based on grades, demerits, and most importantly, the recommendation of the veteran sergeant who had been the acting commander through the year. Sergeant Byrne had made his recommendations and Anny had been at the top of his list.

Not surprisingly, this had not pleased a certain group of people.

Having Anny in the Academy at all was bad enough. Having her the team captain of the upstart winners of the Pentathlon Howitzer Haul was worse. But to have her standing out in front of her company with cadet-captain's tabs on her collar! Well! Outrageous!

She had heard that Sergeant Byrne had been put under tremendous pressure to change his recommendation, but he had stuck to his guns and apparently the Commandant was refusing to overrule him. Even so, there had been a series of 'delays' in actually confirming her promotion. So, even though all the other companies had been assigned their permanent officers and NCOs and C Company had all of its junior officers and NCOs, for some reason, C Company's cadet-captain was just the acting cadet-captain, and Sergeant Byrne continued to command at all the battalion formations.

"It's gonna look damn silly if Byrne is still leading us today," said Jer, suddenly.

"I was just thinking that."

"I know. As First Sergeant, it's part of my job to read your mind. But honestly: one guy in dress greens in the middle of a whole line of gray cadets? He'll stick out like a sore thumb!"

"Well, the battalion staff are all still regular officers, so he won't be the only one in green, but you're still right."

As they reached the barracks, they saw that the object of their conversation was standing there and the cadets of all the companies were spilling out the doors. Jer hurried to take his post.

"C Company! Fall in!" he bellowed.

Anny walked up to Byrne. "Good morning, sir," she said and saluted. He returned it very formally.

"Good morning, Cadet-Captain." He had not said acting! Anny's eyes widened. She stood there, watching Jer form up the company with one eye, and glancing at Byrne with the other. When all was ready, Jer came up and saluted both of them.

"Sir, the company is formed." Byrne returned the salute, but Anny did not, as she was not technically in command. Jer went back to his post and Byrne stepped forward, pulling a flimsy out of his pocket.

"Company, attention to orders,' he commanded. "By order of the Commandant, Imperial Service Academy, Cadet Andreanne Payne is hereby confirmed as cadet-captain of C Company, 4th Battalion, effective this date. Signed, Colonel Emory Sylvanus, Commandant, et cetera, et cetera." He turned to face Anny. "Congratulations, Cadet-Captain."

A cheer began to come from the company, but Jer snapped out: "Quiet in the ranks!" and it died aborning. Anny stood there blushing and flustered. The silence dragged on for several seconds until Byrne raised his eyebrows and looked at her expectantly.

"Oh!" said Anny, even more flustered. Remembering her duty, she stepped directly in front of Byrne, came to attention and her hand flashed up to her shako's visor in salute. "Sir, I relieve you."

Byrne returned the salute. "I stand relieved." His hand came down, but not all the way to his side. Instead, he extended to Anny. She took it and squeezed.

"Thank you, Sergeant. For everything."

"No thanks, necessary. I didn't recommend you for this position because I like your smile. You're smart, you work hard and you showed some outstanding leadership. You've earned this." He released her hand and stepped back. "Now, give 'em hell, kid." Before she could think of any reply, he faced about and marched off.

Anny watched him for a moment and then turned back to the company—her company! She suddenly felt incredibly nervous. Byrne had been letting her run the company for the last month in everything but the battalion formations, but somehow, now that he wasn't there looking over her shoulder, the job seemed a whole lot bigger than it had before.

"Cadet-Captain?" said Jer.

"Yes?"

"Permission to cheer, sir?" His face broke into a grin.

"Uh, well, I suppose so. Just not too lou…" her caveat was drowned out by a very loud 'three-cheers' that had all the other companies looking in their direction. Anny blushed redder than ever. "Thank you," she said quietly when they were finished. She cleared her throat and tried to regain control of herself and the situation. She checked the time and saw that they had quite a while to wait before anything happened. "First Sergeant, open the ranks and we will inspect the company."

"Sir!' Jer did as she directed and for the next half-hour she went up and down the ranks inspecting the weapon, uniform, and gear of each cadet. They were all in perfect order, even Alby who was notoriously sloppy. Just as they were finishing up she spotted the battalion adjutant coming her way with a small group of cadets. Ah, the color guard.

The adjutant was only a lieutenant, but he was a real lieutenant, so Anny saluted him when he came up to her. His return gesture hardly qualified as a salute, but she could see that he was looking rather harried so she didn't think it was deliberate disrespect. "Payne," he began immediately, "I don't have to tell you how important that there are no screw-ups today. As Honor Company, you are going to be right out in front of everyone. You are the 5th Company in the line. You understand what you have to do?"

"Yes, sir. I've studied the procedures thoroughly and we've been practicing it all week." As you well know!

"Good. Now the color guard goes on the left end of your company, in three ranks…" Anny patiently allowed the adjutant to tell her a lot of things that she already knew. He personally arranged the color guard, even though she was perfectly able to do so herself. The guard consisted of eight corporals and a sergeant, one man taken from each of the other companies in the battalion. The sergeant would be the one actually carrying the flag. Except… "…of course we don't have the colors yet," droned on the adjutant, "but you should just pretend that we do. I'll be standing out on the color line with the general guides and you come up to me and pretend to take the flag. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," said the color-sergeant, a cadet named Paley.

"Good." The adjutant turned to Anny again. "We'll be starting in about thirty minutes, Payne. Remember: your company steps off as soon as the bugler starts playing 'To the Colors'. The rest of the companies won't start moving until the call is finished, so don't get flustered that you're out there all alone, okay?"

"I understand, sir." We did this a dozen times last week—with you watching us, of course I understand!

"All right. I have to go. No screw-ups!" The adjutant hurried off.

"Cripes!" said Jer after he was out of earshot. "That guy better throttle back or he's gonna have a coronary!" Everyone laughed.

"I guess this is the first time for him, too," said Anny. Heck, he's probably only five or six years older than we are.

As the minutes slowly passed, Anny walked up and down the lines of her company, exchanging a few words here and there, exchanging nods or smiles elsewhere. There were still a few hardheads who resented her being there, but just a few. For the most part, the company seemed to be solidly behind her now and that was more flattering than the praise of Sergeant Byrne or the Emperor or even the two tiny pins on her tunic for winning the Howitzer Haul and the First Form Vorbarra Pentathlon. Comrades. They're my comrades. What more could I possibly ask for? A wave of affection passed through her. Jer and Alby and Patric were her friends, but the other sixty-four members of C Company were her comrades. They had suffered and endured and worked together, side by side. They had come through the fire together and they were all better people for the experience. I wasn't really sure what I wanted when I came here. Now I know: I want this.

"Looks like they're getting ready, Anny," said Jer. Yes, out on the vast parade ground, the four battalion adjutants and their general guides were moving into position. The adjutants of the other three battalions were all carrying their colors, but not 4th Battalion. The battalion command staffs were also out there and the regimental band was taking its spot on the far right of the line. A crowd of spectators was growing on the far side of the field: family and friends of the cadets, here to watch the ceremonies. A large reviewing stand had been erected opposite the place where the senior class would be, but it was too far away for her to see anyone clearly. She supposed the Emperor was there along with a lot of important people.

Oh yes, he's here all right…

A pair of officers with ImpSec insignia on their collars came down the line of companies and ran a scanner over everyone in the company, including her. No chemical explosives, no high-energy power cells, no poison gas or toxins, no assassins. They don't seem to be worried about our swords or bayonets… The pair moved on to the next company. A few minutes later a bugle call rang across the field, calling them all to attention. Anny drew her sword, brought her troops to shoulder arms, and waited. A few more minutes passed while some last-second adjustments were made and then the bugle sounded again.

To the Colors was one of Anny's favorite bugle calls. It sent chills down her spine every time she heard it and this time was no exception, even though she had no time to stop and listen. "Company! Left—face! Forward—march!" She led her company out onto the field. The color companies of the other three battalions were doing the same. The adjutant and the two general guides, sergeants carrying the small battalion guidons, were posted on the color line at the exact center of where the battalion was supposed to be. Anny directed her line of march to a spot about forty meters to the right of them. Halfway across the field, the bugle call ended and there was a crash of drums and a blare of brass as the regimental band struck up a lively march. As they did so, all the other companies began to move. Forty parallel columns of troops moved in unison. When Anny had watched the upper classes doing this months earlier, she thought it was the grandest thing she'd ever seen. Now she was a part of it and she swelled with pride.

They neared the color line and she ordered a turn to the left. She led them just past the adjutant and halted with the color sergeant directly opposite him. "Company—front!" The color sergeant stepped up to the adjutant and Anny posted herself slightly to his left. She looked down the line and saw Jer step out and position himself in line with the two general guides. "Company, Left—dress!" All the cadets, in both ranks, moved up into position, heads turned to look at her and lined themselves up precisely. "Front!" Every head snapped back to look straight ahead.

The other companies of the battalion were now approaching on either side of them, four on their right and five more on their left. The captain of the 6th Company halted right beside her. Anny stepped back and he took her spot and dressed his company to the right. When he had finished, Anny commanded: "Fifth Company, Support—Arms!" All her cadets brought their rifles up onto their left shoulders. Each company, one by one, did the same thing. Eventually, all ten companies were on the line, dressed and at support arms. The adjutant stepped back and looked them over.

"Battalion! Shoulder—arms! Guides—post!" Anny moved across the rear of her company and took her post on the right in the front rank. Jer was right behind her. The battalion commander put them at parade rest and she let out a sigh of relief. That had gone very well. No screw-ups that she had seen. She could relax for a while.

The ceremonies involving the graduation of the senior class went on for nearly two hours. There were speeches and awards and Anny didn't pay a great deal of attention, except when it came time for the graduates to swear their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor. That she listened to intently. Far down on the right of the formation, the graduating class, dressed in their new red-and-blue parade uniforms, knelt down and took their oath to Gregor Vorbarra, Emperor of Barrayar. The wording was carefully chosen to have the maximum emotional impact and Anny found herself tearing up. Someday that will be me!

Finally, the ceremonies drew to a close with an enormous cheer from the graduates. But the day wasn't over yet. There was still the Grand Review of the entire regiment, but before that could happen, 4th battalion had to receive its colors. Anny was suddenly very nervous. Jer nudged her in the back. "Just like we practiced, Anny."

"You're getting too good at this reading minds business, Jer," she whispered back at him.

"I can lie real good, too: hell, I'm sweating bullets back here! You ready for this?"

"No choice."

There was a stir in the crowd off to her right and shortly she saw a party headed her direction. A pair of Vorbara armsmen led the way in full dress uniforms. The Emperor, and a short woman who surely must be the Empress, were guided to a position in line with Color Sergeant Paley. The Commandant and a few aides followed, one of them carrying the flag in its case. The battalion commander, a regular captain named Veluska, marched up to the Emperor and saluted. They exchanged a few words and then he saluted again. He turned around, stepped slightly to the side and then bellowed:

"Fifth Company! To the front and center!" This is it! She took two paces forward, turned left and moved to the exact center of her company and then faced front.

"Company! Shoulder—arms! Forward—march!" The company stepped out and marched straight forward. This was the easy part: no turns, no fancy maneuvers, just keep going until… "Company—halt!" They stopped with the color sergeant exactly four paces short of the Emperor. "Company! Present—arms!" With a slap and a crack, her troops brought forward their bayonet-tipped rifles and saluted their emperor. Anny brought the hilt of her sword up in front of her eyes and then slowly lowered it until the point was near the ground. The Emperor solemnly acknowledged the salute and Anny ordered them back to shoulder arms.

The officer with the flag removed the cloth case and unrolled it and then handed it to Commandant Sylvanus. He stepped forward and presented it to the Emperor with a bow. The Emperor tilted the pole slightly and shook out the folds. A gold imperial eagle floated on a dark blue field. A red scroll was in one beak that read: Imperial Service Academy. Another scroll in its claws identified it as the banner of the 125th Class of Cadets. The 122nd class was graduating today, in three more years it would be their turn. The Emperor put the butt of the flag pole on the ground and began to speak:

"Cadets of the 125th class, it is my honor and privilege to present to you this day the banner of your battalion. It represent the long and proud tradition of this Academy and a long and proud tradition of service to the Imperium." The Emperor went on with what was obviously a prepared speech. Anny tried to remember every word, but about halfway through she suddenly realized that the Empress was staring right at her. She had scarcely noticed the short, slightly plump woman, but now she was unable to look away. Her gaze was piercing. They locked eyes for a dozen heartbeats and then the woman smiled slightly, nodded almost imperceptibly and then turned her attention back to her husband. Anny fixed her eyes on a distant building and forced herself not to look at the Empress again. Almost.

The Emperor kept his speech blessedly short—it was turning into a very long day—and then the battalion commander stepped forward again. "Color Sergeant! Three paces forward—march!" Cadet Paley, must have been the most nervous person on the field, but he took those three paces without tripping or passing out and stopped directly in front of the Emperor. The Emperor lifted the pole and handed it to Paley who took it and set the butt end into the socket attached to his belt. "Color Sergeant! To your post—march!" Paley, slowly walked backwards until he was back in his spot. Now Captain Veluska's eyes were on Anny. "Fifth Company! Troop the colors!"

Okay, this was the tricky part. They had to swing ninety degrees to the right and march down the line. But they couldn't do their wheel from where they were without forcing the Emperor to give way and that wouldn't do at all. Equally unacceptable was to do an about face and turn their backs on him. So, the only thing left was to march backwards until they had room to wheel. "Company! Backwards, half-step—march!" Slowly, carefully, the company walked backwards. Anny silently thanked God that Alby kept his mouth shut. During practice—every damn time—Alby had made a beep beep noise like they were a truck with its back-up alarm! But this time he was quiet and the lines remained reasonably straight until they had opened up enough room to maneuver. Anny halted them and then commanded: "Company! Right wheel—march!"

The whole company swung to the right like a door on its hinges. Jer Naddel was the hinge and at the left end of line, Cadet Sergeant Lindvig was the swinging edge of the door. To keep the line exactly straight, each cadet had to adjust the length of his step depending on his position in the line. It wasn't easy, but today they did it just about perfectly. As the swing neared ninety degrees, Anny ordered forward march and they headed down toward the right end of the battalion. A light breeze made their new flag billow out nicely. During the Time of Isolation this was more than just a ceremony, it had an important practical function. Regimental banners often had very unique designs and it was vital that the troops knew exactly what their own banner looked like so that they could spot it in the smoke and confusion of battle and know where to rally. Today, all the banners were nearly identical and were never carried into battle, but the tradition remained.

As they approached the end of the battalion, Anny ordered another right wheel. This time they had to do a full one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn to come back the other way across the front of the battalion. The line bent a little bit during the swing, but not too much and they made it around and headed back the other way. As they passed by the Emperor they did an 'eyes right' and Anny saluted him with her sword. Then they went down to the left end of the line and on past. A pair of left wheels in close succession took them behind the battalion and then one final left wheel brought the company back into its proper place in the line. Anny halted them and dressed the line and then stepped back into her position on the right of her company.

"Whew! Well done, C Company!" she whispered.

"Damn right," said Jer.

"Battalion!" cried Captain Veluska. "Present—arms!" One last salute to the Emperor and the ceremony was over. He acknowledged it and then the Imperial party headed back to the reviewing stand.

"One more thing and we're done, guys," she said. "Hang in there."

The Grand Review would conclude the events of the day. Fortunately, it was fairly simple. The entire regiment, all four battalions, presented arms to the Emperor and then all forty companies wheeled to the right simultaneously into a column one company wide and forty companies long. The band took the lead, followed by the Commandant and his staff and then all the rest followed along. First they marched to the right and then two left wheels reversed their direction to bring the whole regiment right by the reviewing stand where the Emperor waited. The band peeled off to the left and the Commandant and his party to the right and the regiment passed in between.

The newly graduated officers were in the lead and 4th Battalion was last, so they passed each other at the halfway point. Anny thought that her own battalion was looking pretty sharp, but she had to admit that the seniors made them look shabby by comparison. Their ranks were laser-straight and they moved in perfect unison, like they were a machine. Someday… someday we'll look that good—or even better!

The 4th battalion reached the turning point and made its counter-march to come past the reviewing stand. The band was playing one of Anny's favorite marches and the hair was standing up on the back of her head. As each company marched past the reviewing stand they made their salute to the Emperor and he returned it. But now it was C Company's turn and they were the Color Company. "Company! Eyes—right!" commanded Anny. Every head snapped to the right and she saluted with her sword. Color Sergeant Paley brought the staff of the flag to a forty-five degree angle and dipped the battalion's colors. The Emperor returned the salute as he had for all the companies, but every other person in uniform on the reviewing stand—and there were a lot of them—saluted the colors as well.

As they marched past, Anny noticed a short figure in a brown and silver uniform to the right of the Emperor. And just behind him was… The Countess! And there's the Count! Wait, was that Drou…? But the company moved on and she didn't dare twist around and search the crowd. I'll have to look for them later! But the thought that the Countess and the Lord Auditor and maybe Drou and the Commodore were here and that they had seen her filled her with an incredible pride. I didn't fail you, My Lady! Somehow the full realization of what she'd accomplished only now began to sink in. I did it! I really did it!

She became so caught up in her own thoughts that she nearly forgot to give the order to wheel when they reached the turn at the far end of the field. But they avoided disaster and shortly the entire regiment was back where it had started and all the companies wheeled back into line. One final present arms and it was over. The senior class gave an enormous shout and tossed their hats into the air and their formation disintegrated as the 122nd Class of Cadets figuratively and literally was dissolved.

The other battalions were not dismissed in such a chaotic fashion, but it was just a short march back to the barracks where they were dismissed. Anny gave her company a heartfelt well-done and then let them break ranks. "Remember," she called after them, "our leave doesn't begin for another week. We've got the day off tomorrow, but there's an inspection the day after! No slacking off!" That brought some laughter and a few groans, but the cadets quickly dispersed, either to get out of their stiff uniforms or perhaps to find family who had come to watch. Speaking of which… Anny started walking back toward the parade ground in hopes of finding Drou and the others.

At first it seemed pretty hopeless. Nearly two thousand cadets and former cadets and easily five times that many spectators were swirling around the field. Trying to find a few specific people out of the mob… Why don't I let them find me? She took off her shako and just stood there. Her hair had grown out a bit (although it was still within regulation) and as the only woman in uniform on the parade ground, she hoped she would stand out.

She did. But the attention she attracted was not from the people she was looking for. Lots of folks paused and gawked, but where were…?

"There she is!" cried a familiar voice. Anny turned and…

"Drou!" The older woman wrapped her arms around her and she nearly dropped her shako.

"Anny! Oh, Anny, look at you! I'm so proud I could burst!" Drou had tears on her cheeks and alternately hugged Anny and then held her at arms' length to look her over.

"Thank you so much for coming! I had hoped you would."

"Well, we weren't going to miss this," said the Commodore who was coming up behind his wife, leaning on his stick. But right beside him was…

"Sergeant Major Szytko," said Anny in surprise. "Do you know the Commodore?"

The Commodore laughed. "Oh, we've run across each other a few times over the years."

"Just a few," said Szytko. He looked at Anny and then at the Commodore. "But I should have known that someone had given Ms. Payne some training: she was just too damn good to be a raw recruit." Anny frowned, she had mentioned the Sergeant Major several times during her 'debriefing' at Vorkosigan House at Winterfair, but the Commodore hadn't said a word about knowing him—the scoundrel! But then she smiled.

"I thought I saw the Countess on the reviewing stand."

"Yes," said Drou, "she's here with the Count. And then there's Miles and Ekaterin and Martya and Duv and Alys Vorpatril with Simon Illyan and a whole gaggle of others. They're not all here to see you, of course," she laughed.

"Of course not," said Anny in a small voice.

"But most of them will be expecting you for dinner at the officers club."

"Uh… but, cadets aren't allowed…" protested Anny in near-panic.

"No, but cadets can be guests of people who are allowed," said the Commodore.

"I… I ought to go and change out of this uniform…"

"Don't you dare!" cried Drou. "You look fabulous just as you are! And a Cadet-Captain, too!"

"Yes," said the Commodore. "No more back-talk, cadet! Fall-in and come with us!"

"Yes, sir," said Anny.

[Scene Break]

Something was pounding inside Anny's head and she groaned. The pounding got louder and she dragged the pillow over her head, which muffled it slightly.

"Anny! Come on, wake up!"

Wait, that wasn't inside her head… She reluctantly pulled off the pillow and squinted when the light hit her eyes. Someone was calling her name and knocking on her door. She rolled over and a dagger of pain shot through her head.

"Ooohhh, damn… There's a regulation against cadets drinking, why the hell didn't someone enforce it?" The memory of last night's (she hoped it was last night's) 'dinner' at the Academy's officers club slowly returned. The food had been wonderful and the company even better. The look of pride on the Countess' face had made all the pain and effort of the past year more than worthwhile. It had been a marvelous evening… but all those toasts! Anny's tolerance for alcohol was small, but there was no avoiding the toasts. She had probably drunk more last night than she had in her whole life leading up to that point. She had always smirked when she heard other people talk about hangovers. "I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't!"

"Anny! Are you in there? Come on, Cadet-Captain, we have work to do!"

It was Jer Naddel. What the hell was he doing here? What time was it? "Whaddaya want?" she mumbled. "No duty today. Go'way!"

"Anny, it's 0900 and the day's wasting! Get up!"

"All right! All right! Give me a minute." She forced herself to a sitting position on the bed and the room spun around her. A wave of nausea swept through her and she grabbed the nearest container in case she vomited. Fortunately, the spell passed. Doubly fortunately, she realized when she saw that the container she had grabbed was her dress shako. Her dress grays and gear were scattered on the floor. She had no memory of taking them off. In fact, she had no memory of how she got back here… She searched around for something else to wear and finally found a set of utility coveralls and dragged them on. She was still wearing her shirt and underwear from yesterday.

"Anny!"

"Coming, damn it!"

She stumbled out of the bedroom and yanked the front door of the cottage open, ready to bite Jer's head off. "What the hell…" she snapped—and then stopped.

All of C Company was standing outside.

She blinked in the morning light. A crowd of cadets, all wearing coveralls just like hers, had gathered outside her cottage. But what was all that junk they were carrying? She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Bundles of pipe, coils of electrical conduit, buckets of paint, boxes of tools, rolls of carpeting, sheets of plywood… what the hell…?

"What the hell…?"

"Cadet-Captain," said Jer, "as you mentioned yesterday, there will be an inspection tomorrow. And it has come to our attention that the quarters of our company commander—our very own company commander—is an absolute disgrace."

"Yeah," said Alby Vorsworth, "and if you think that after all the work we did to get rid of our demerits that we're going to let you start piling them up again, well! You got another think coming! Sir."

"Exactly," continued Jer. "Therefore, we have decided to take matters into our own hands and fix this dump up! So, if you'll just stand aside, sir…"

"But…" Despite her protest, Jer and some of the others began pushing past her. Another group had already started scraping old paint off the outside walls. Still others were digging a trench, apparently to lay new pipes and conduit. They even appeared to know what they were doing. A lot of farm boys in the company, they know how to fix things.

She briefly tried to tidy up inside and hide her personal items, but gave up. Well, if they haven't noticed by now that I'm a woman, I guess it's time they learned! She went back outside. She was amazed at all the tools and materials and she grabbed Jer when he came past. "How'd you get all this stuff?' she demanded. "I'm not going to be bailing you out of the stockade for theft, am I?"

Jer laughed and pointed towards the wood. "Ask him." She turned and saw a figure standing among the trees. It didn't surprise her a bit that it was Sergeant Major Szytko. She walked over to him.

"I understand I have you to thank for this, Sergeant Major."

"Not at all," he replied. "But I did happen to see Commodore Koudelka huddled with Captain Vorthalon outside the OC last night. This morning Vorthalon ordered me to put together a detail to deal with this. Amazing what a little rank can accomplish."

Anny nodded. "But you still have my thanks, Sergeant Major. I owe you another one."

"I'm not keeping track."

No, but I am.

[Scene Break]

Anny decided that she had packed everything she needed and zipped up her bag. Drou would be there in about an hour to pick her up and she wanted to be ready in plenty of time. Two weeks leave! As hard as she had fought to get here, she had to admit that she'd be very glad to get away from the Academy for a while. Of course, now that she had such nice quarters, she was almost tempted to stay. The boys had done a marvelous job. Lights, running water, fresh paint, even carpet on the floor and curtains on the windows. I am one lucky girl.

She was certain that the next three years would present her with all sorts of challenges, but she was confident that she could meet them now. That first step had been a doozy, and it landed her flat on her face. But she had picked herself up and kept going. And that was all she had to do: keep going.

After wandering through the cottage about a dozen times, Anny decided she didn't want to wait inside any longer. She'd take a walk through campus and meet Drou at the landing field. She slung her bag over her shoulder and went out, locking her door behind her. The boys had worked on the path leading to the cottage, too. The trail was paved with gravel and the undergrowth cut back on either side. There were no sentries at the end of the path: nearly everyone was on leave. She didn't know if the duty companies would be posting sentries there in the future, but if they did she would manage.

Anny emerged from the woods and wandered aimlessly for a while. Large sections of the campus were almost unknown to her: classroom and laboratory buildings that she had never been inside. That would all change in the coming years. This year had been almost all physical training and learning basic procedures. Next year—that was to say in about two weeks—she would begin training for the career path she would follow as an officer. She looked forward to that eagerly.

She checked the time and turned toward the landing field. Drou was going to take her back to Vorkosigan House. She wanted to spend some time there before the Countess left again. She supposed she really ought to go home—to her real home—for at least a few days. But the few communications she'd had with her mother since she left had been strained. She wasn't looking forward to it. Alby had invited her to come visit him in his home and she was seriously considering it. Maybe I'll just sleep for a few days…

She turned a corner and noticed a cadet with a travel bag heading for the monorail station. She recognized Cadet Fallon. On impulse she trotted to catch up. "Fallon, wait up." He stopped and turned toward her, looking surprised.

"Cadet-Captain?" he said, his voice and face expressionless.

"Headed home?"

"Yes."

"Uh… I never got around to asking… I mean, when I asked you why. You said it was a long story. Have you got time for it now?"

"I suppose." He didn't look at all happy.

"If you don't want to, it's all right."

"No, I guess I owe you that much." He set his bag on the ground and then grimaced. "Levey put me up to it, as I'm sure you've guessed. I didn't want to. Not so much because I objected to it in principle, but because I didn't want to be stuck in the duty company forever. But Levey promised… well, never mind. Anyway, after you caught me and I found myself on an aircar to Kyrill Island with the Sergeant Major, well, it's a long flight up there. The Sergeant Major doesn't talk much…"

"No, he doesn't" agreed Anny.

"Have you ever taken a look at all those ribbons on his chest? A close look?"

"Not really," she admitted. There were so many of them…

"You ought to sometime," said Fallon. "Ask him about them. He'll open up like you wouldn't believe. By the time we got to Kyrill I was amazed. He's been just about everywhere and done more stuff than you could imagine. A real hero. A real soldier. And then after we got up there, the way all the troops there—including the officers—treated him! Everyone seemed to know him and you'd think he was a general the way they acted. We spent a couple of days up there—just killing time—and I talked to some of the people." He paused as if searching for the right words.

"Szytko is a better soldier… a better man than I could ever hope to be. That's not an easy thing for a Vor to say about a commoner, but it's true. And well… he… he seems to think a lot of you. That's not something I could ignore. So we talked. About things like loyalty." Fallon looked her right in the eye. "You stand by your comrades not because you like them, but because they are your comrades. You do it or you're no good. That's about all there is to it."

"I see," said Anny. "Well, thank you for telling me. And thank you for…"

"I don't want your thanks!" said Fallon angrily. "Don't misunderstand me, Payne: I'm your comrade, not your friend! Not your friend and not your admirer! I don't like what you're doing here and I don't like you!" He paused and a long silence ensued while they stared at each other. "I'm your comrade and that's all!"

"Well," said Anny, "I guess that will have to do."

Fallon picked up his bag and turned away. Anny watched him until he vanished behind a building.

Not my friend, but a comrade I can trust. Fair enough.

She laughed out loud.

"Welcome to Barrayar."

End of Book One

Author's Note: The drill described in the story might seem a little strange to anyone who has had military service. I'm a Civil War reenactor and I've based Barrayaran close-order drill on that used during the American Civil War. With one or two exceptions everything described here is accurate to that period.