Chapter 22

The sun was hot and the air humid and sweat trickled down Anny's back, but she didn't care. Jer's hand was in hers and they walked very close together and didn't give a damn who might see them. And there were plenty who did see them. Crowds of people were all around them, talking, laughing, eating and drinking.

The Sixty-First's Regimental Picnic was an annual affair dating back decades, but this was the first time it had ever been held off Barrayar. Anny didn't know who had decided to continue the tradition on Novo Paveo but she was very glad they had. She hadn't seen Jer in over a month and she had missed him terribly.

The picnic was being held on an abandoned estate just north of Milagres. Tents and awnings had been erected, sports and game fields laid out, and food brought in. Lots of food. Lots and lots. Most of it was being provided by the regular mess personnel but some delicacies had been donated by the regimental officers' mess and some well-vetted local vendors had been invited to come. There was other stuff that Anny had no idea of the origin. But it was all marvelous.

"Missed you," she said for about the twentieth time.

"Missed you, too." He leaned closer and kissed her.

"Watch out, Payne!" said a familiar voice. She stiffened and so did Jer. Adrien Vorkerkas and several of his pals were walking by. "Lover Boy might not have any strength for you these days."

"Yeah, you've got competition!" said one of the others.

Jer gave a low snarl and started to move, but she held him back. "Bring them on," she said smiling sweetly. "I can hold my own." She pulled Jer a little closer. "But I guess holding your own is about all you've got these days, eh, Adrien?" Jer snorted and even Vorkerkas' companions laughed. Vorkerkas wasn't amused, but a group of senior officers came by from the other direction just then and he cut off any retort and moved off.

"Doesn't he ever get tired?" said Anny, shaking her head.

"Little things for little minds."

"I assume he was referring to the women in your militia company? Actually he better have been referring to the women in you militia company, Mister Naddel!" she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yes, that's all Lieutenant Payne. You have nothing to worry about, Love." Jer had been keeping her informed about his work with the local militia and the fact that there were a lot of women in his company.

"Even that Levine woman? How's she working out?"

"She's got the makings of a good soldier, I think. In some ways she reminds me a bit of you…" Anny stiffened and Jer noticed. "Her drive, I mean. She doesn't give up…"

"I thought you said that she had given up."

"Anny! I meant on her soldiering and you know it!"

Anny laughed. "Yes, I'm just giving you a hard time—like old Adrien."

"Great. I can't escape it anywhere."

"Nope, there's no hope for you. But you say Levine is doing well?"

"Yes. And I think she's got officer potential. I'd like for you to have a talk with her sometime. A shame she's on duty today."

Anny nodded. With nearly the whole regiment at the picnic, the militia companies were handling much of the routine security work. It was their first real mission. Not unsupervised, of course; several platoons of armored-up Sixty-Firsters were on rotating duty throughout the day to keep an eye on things. There had been no trouble on Tamborete in weeks, but no one was going to take chances. A very sophisticated defensive perimeter ringed the picnic site. "Well, maybe I can come up to your camp next week to see her. It'd be a nice excuse to see you again." She smiled.

"Not a bad idea at all," agreed Jer. "Will you be able to get away, do you think? How busy are they keeping you?"

Anny sighed. "Busy enough. I now seem to be the poster-girl for the Benevolent Barrayaran Occupation Forces. The first talk I gave to the school kids went so well—or at least the edited version looked so good—that I've been doing two or three a week all over the island. I have to convince the locals that I'm not a savage, blood-thirsty, baby-eating monster."

"Good thing none of them have seen you in combat."

"Hey, I never ate any babies."

"True. So it's working out?"

Anny shrugged. "Who can tell? Everyone smiles and nods their heads when I talk to them, but who know what they're thinking? For all I know they go home and start building bombs to attack us with. If nothing else, my Portuguese is getting pretty good."

"There have hardly been any serious incidents since we got here and none recently. Maybe this whole plan will really work."

"I sure hope so. Sometimes I get to talk to the locals after my presentations and I can tell they just want this to end. They've really suffered a lot and most just want peace—no matter who's running things." She fell silent and they just strolled for a while, watching the various activities all around them. Quite a few locals had been invited and they stood out in their colorful clothing.

"They're good people," said Jer after a while.

"Yes," agreed Anny immediately. "I've become quite fond of Paulo and his teacher, Ines Da Silva, is very nice, too. I invited them to come, today; I hope they can make it. Oh look, there's Patric and Lyra."

"They seem to have patched things up," said Jer.

"For the moment. I honestly don't know what's going on with those two." Their friend from the Academy had been having an on-again, off again love affair with Med-tech Lyra Gunderson. During the one shore leave on the way to Novo Paveo it had definitely been on, but then Lyra, perhaps worried about regulations, had cut things off cold for the rest of the journey—much to Patric's dismay. But since arriving here it appeared to be on again. In fact, when it came to the women in the hospital companies there were quite a few in the on mode. Chris Tropio had taken up with Sven Estaban and Anny knew of a half-dozen others who seemed to be in serious relationships. It was still all against regulation, but no one appeared to care about that anymore. It was amazing how attitudes changed once the energy bolts began to fly. Anny suddenly laughed. "All those years at the Academy and I didn't dare tell you how I felt about you, couldn't even appear to be attracted, and now here I am, the only Barrayaran woman on the planet who can have a lover and not worry about the regulations!"

Jer laughed, too. "Still blazing the trail, are you?" He pulled her close and squeezed. "We gonna be able to blaze any trails tonight, do you think?"

"Sure hope so," she replied with feeling. "In fact, I've been trying to find some spot where we can sneak off to for a few shenanigans right now."

"Might be a little difficult with this mob! But I'm game. Let's try off over that way; the crowd seems thinner."

Their path took them past the sports fields where spirited games of thugby, crossball and soccer were being played. Groups of the locals were looking on with interest and a few had even joined in the soccer game. One other sport was being played which must have been a local invention. It reminded Anny of polo, but without the horses. Mobs of people armed with sticks chased a small ball around the field to no purpose that she could see. But they did seem to be having fun and she and Jer stopped to watch for a bit.

While they were watching, Colonel Fetherbay and a few of his staff came by. He stopped when he reached her. "Ah, Lieutenant Payne," he said, "I was hoping I'd bump into you."

"Sir?"

"Yes, we're finally getting caught up with the paperwork at HQ and I wanted to tell you that your AAR of the assault on Milagres made interesting reading. I think those news stories you've been sending home have sharpened your writing skills."

"Oh, uh, thank you, sir." Anny was surprised and also felt a little guilty that she was way behind on the stories she'd promised to send to Corporal Kane for the newspaper back at Fort Vorolson.

"I also wanted to let you know that I've approved all the recommendations you've made for commendations for the men in your company and forwarded them to brigade HQ. From what I've heard, they will all probably be approved. They're getting very open-handed with medals these days."

"That's wonderful, sir. They deserve it and I'm glad they're going to be recognized." She'd recommended no fewer than twelve men of C Company for decorations—over and above the fifty-six wound medals that would go out automatically. Sadly, three of the medals would have to be awarded posthumously…

"However," he continued, "there is one other recommendation that I've sent along that, quite naturally, you couldn't know about."

"Sir?"

"The one for yourself, Lieutenant."

'What?"

"I've recommended you for a Distinguished Service Star. You've already got one, so now you'll have a matching set." Fetherbay smiled.

"Sir, I didn't really…" began Anny in protest.

"Yes you did, Lieutenant. Really. I'm not talking about what you did with that bunker, Anny. And by the way: try to not do that again, okay?"

"Captain Vorstang told me the same thing, sir."

"As well he should have. A platoon commander, maybe. But you were commanding a company and that's why you shouldn't have done that and it's also why you'll be getting the medal." Fetherbay paused and looked at her intently. "That was a hell of a job you did. One of the very hardest things any officer can face is having to take over when your superior goes down. We try to train for it, prepare for it, but no amount of preparation can match the reality of it. Many an officer—many a good officer—has fallen apart, been crushed by the sudden load. But you didn't. You took command and did what had to be done and did it well. That deserves recognition and you'll get it. Got it?"

"Uh, yes sir, got it."

"Good. By the way, how is Ensign Vorstuban working out?"

"Fine, sir. He did really well with 3rd platoon, as I mentioned in my report. He has a good grasp of the tactics and is a good leader. His skill level in the battle armor still needs some work, but he's coming along."

The Colonel nodded. "That's good to hear. Not all of the… additions to the expedition are working out so well from what I've heard. Perhaps Vorstuban will make an assault trooper. Well, enjoy the picnic; you, too, Naddel." Fetherbay moved on and Anny let out her breath.

"Well, congratulations, Anny!" said Jer. He was grinning ear to ear.

"You deserve a medal more than I do."

"Well, maybe I'll get one. Fetherbay didn't say anything about H Company. Maybe Andronov was late getting his recommendations in."

"Maybe. But here, this will make up for it until he does." She leaned forward and kissed him.

It lasted quite a while but when they finally pulled apart Jer said. "To hell with the medal; this is a better reward!"

"Glad you think so. But let's keep looking for a private spot."

"Sounds good." They moved on, away from the open fields and into a wooded grove. They couldn't go too far or they'd run into the security perimeter. But there were other people in the woods, some who appeared to have the same idea they did. Men with med techs, men with local women, she half expected to bump into Alby and Izabella. Maybe they would just have to wait until later and go back to their quarters…

"How about over there,' said Jer pointing to a large bushy tree whose branches reached down to the ground. Anny looked the spot over with a tactical eye and nodded. Good concealment. They slipped under the branches and sat down next to the trunk and started some serious necking.

They hadn't gotten too far along when Anny's wrist com pinged. She ignored it the first time, but when it sounded again, she sighed and disentangled herself from Jer sufficiently to look at it. Sergeant Kay. She signed again. "Yes, Sergeant? What is it?"

"Sorry to bother you, sir. Do you have a moment?"

""Is it important?"

"Well, it's a kind of a situation, sir. I don't think I can deal with it."

"What kind of a situation, Sergeant?"

"Easier to explain in person, sir."

Anny looked at Jer, who just smiled and shrugged.

"Okay, I'll meet you by the thugby field in five minutes."

"Thanks, sir! See you there!" He clicked off.

"This had better be good," grumped Anny refastening her tunic.

A short while later, they were at the agreed meeting area. Anny spotted Sergeant Kay threading his way through the crowd. He had Private Wingate, one of the men from her platoon, with him and Wingate was towing a local woman behind him.

"Oh, now this looks interesting!" said Jer.

"He can't have gotten her pregnant," said Anny, frowning. "All the women here have the contraceptive implants."

The trio arrived and stopped in front of Anny. Kay saluted. "Lieutenant? Wingate, here, asked to see you."

Anny turned her attention to Wingate. "Yes, Private?"

The man was blushing but seemed excited. He pulled the woman forward a little. "Sir? This is Antonia. And… uh… well, we want to get married, sir!"

[Scene Break]

"We have a game just like that. We call it 'rugby'."

Alby glanced at the thugby players and then back at Izabella. "Really? That's probably where it comes from, then. Earth, I mean. Not that any Barrayaran would admit it, of course."

"Why not? Almost every galactic cultural trait can trace its origins back to Earth in some fashion."

"Ha!" snorted Alby. "You're probably right, of course, but you'll never convince most Barrayarans of that! If you believe our legends, the Firsters lost every last thing they brought from Earth—apparently their memories, too—and had to rebuild Barrayaran society from the ground up, starting with inventing dirt."

Izabella laughed, but then stopped. "I don't suppose I should laugh. Earth has its own share of cultural snobs, too. They take the opposite tack: every last thing you non-terrestrials have or do was given to you by us benevolent Earthers."

Now Alby laughed. "Yeah, I guess there's a lot of that going on. Hell, talking about snobs, look at the Cetagandans! Talking with Rad Benin, you'd think that humanity was invented by the Cetagandans—and then discarded as defective."

"The truth is somewhere in between, I suppose," said Izabella. "Some parts borrowed, some parts modified, some parts invented new."

"Probably," said Alby, "but hey, why am I standing here with a beautiful woman on my arm discussing galactic sociology?"

"Why not? What would you rather discuss?"

"Oh, I don't know. You, me… us."

Izabella arched an eyebrow. "Alby, you know very well that the only 'us' is the one that exists here and now."

"Sure, sure."

The woman sighed wistfully. "And I'm afraid that this here and now might be the last one for a while. Maybe ever."

Alby stiffened. "Why? What's going on? Your squadron's not going back to Earth, is it?"

"No. not yet, anyway. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but it's going to be common knowledge soon enough. The scouts we've sent through the Back Door are reporting a build-up of EnBee naval units. A significant build up."

"They're planning a counterattack?" asked Alby in surprise. The EnBee naval units, completely overmatched by the Alliance armada, had fled through their secondary wormhole exit early in the campaign and had not made any sort of trouble since then. "But even given the Alliance ships that have left, we've still got a big superiority, don't we?" The thought of the Alliance fleet being driven off and the ground forces being stuck down here with a hostile enemy overhead was rather alarming.

"Not as big as we'd like anymore, but yeah, enough to handle anything the EnBees would be likely to send way out here. Even so, there are a number of new ships out there, including some capital ships. We don't know what they're up to, but the admirals plan to shift nearly all of our heavy units out to the wormhole just in case and my ship will be among them. Depending on what the EnBees do, we might be out there for a while. I don't think I'll be getting any shore leave until this is resolved."

"Well, damn."

"We've still got today. And tonight. Oh, and before I forget, here's that stuff you were asking for." She handed him a small data disk.

"Oh great. Thanks! Any trouble getting it?"

"Captured TrafCon data going back forty years? Not exactly highly classified. But what on Earth do you want this for?"

"Oh, just a little project I've been working on. But come on, if we've only got here and now, let's make the most of it!"

[Scene Break]

"Da! Da! Look! I got a letter from Anny!"

Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan looked up from his comconsole with a smile. His daughter Helen came bounding into his study waving her own small computer pad, a look of delight on her face.

"Really?" he asked, even though he'd seen the ImpSec list of incoming messages for his children that morning and knew Anny Payne's letter was among them. "What does she say?" That he didn't know. He trusted Anny—and his children—sufficiently that he restrained himself from that sort of prying. Bit by bit he was putting his ImpSec days behind him.

"She's still on that No-vo Pa-ve-o place. And she got another medal! It's just like one of the other ones she already has, but it's new." Helen smirked. "She's catching up with you, Da."

Miles chuckled. She'll have to earn them faster than this—or be a thrice twenty year man—to do that. But he hoped she would never catch up. Not because of his own vanity, but because of the price she'd have to pay. He'd seen the report about how Anny had won her latest decoration and she'd been lucky not to be coming home in a cryo-pod. The thought of that dynamic, wonderful young woman reduced to a mass of torn flesh made him cringe.

"What else does she say?"

"Oh lots of stuff! Things about the planet she's on—when are we going to go see other planets, Da?"

"You've been on two other planets, Squirt. You haven't forgotten Komarr and Sergyar already, have you?"

"I mean planets outside the Empire!"

Miles smiled. "Three worlds aren't enough for you, heart-of-my-heart? Most people never get more than one. But we'll take a real trip when your siblings are a little older. What else does Anny say? Is her friend Jer all right?"

"I guess so. Yes, she says he is, right here," she pointed to the screen of her 'pad. "But she'd got a new friend, some boy named Paulo."

"Really?" said Miles suddenly alert. Had Anny broken up with Jer Naddel?

"Yeah. Anny says that he's ten. She met him right after the battle where she got her new medal."

"Oh! I see."

"And she's going to a wedding! One of the men in her company is getting married!"

"Well, how about that? A local woman?"

"Guess so. I wonder if Anny and Jer are ever going to get married? She loves him, you know."

"I think I'd heard that somewhere."

"Well, it's true. But soldiers shouldn't get married until they retire."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Not sure… Uncle Ivan, maybe."

"Typical, the hypocrite."

"I thought Uncle Ivan was a dip-lo-mat."

"Same thing."

"Oh. But the wedding should be grand. It's not for six weeks. Could we go?"

"It's a four month trip to Novo Paveo, Love. Just fast messages like the one from Anny take almost two months. The wedding's probably over already."

"Pooh! Well, when I get married, it will be so grand! Rows and rows of soldiers holding their swords up for us to walk under, just like in the vids!"

"That's only for military weddings, Honey. You'd have to marry a soldier…"

"No, silly! I'll be the soldier, Da!"

"Helen…"

"Aral's going to the Academy, isn't he?" demanded his daughter.

Miles stared at her. Was he? His son was the future heir to the district and it was almost unheard of for a count not to have spent some time in the military. Well, Lord Dono hadn't, but then almost everything about Dono was unheard of. He'd discussed this with Ekaterin and she was resigned to it. But he'd had letters from his mother reminding him that even though she was a veteran of several wars, herself, she felt that some traditions didn't need to be carried on. Miles honestly didn't know how he felt. He was proud of his service, but the price…

"Isn't he?"

"Well, maybe…"

"Then I will certainly go, too! I bet I win more medals than him!"

"We'll discuss it some other time. That's years and years in the future. Ah, here's your mother! I think it's time for school."

"There you are!" said Ekaterin. "Come on, you scamp! You'll be late!" Helen protested briefly, but then kissed him and went off. A few minutes later Ekaterin returned. "Did she show you Anny's letter?"

"She told me about it, but I didn't read it."

"I did. Miles, how much longer are they going to keep her and the others out there? One of these days that luck of hers is going to run out and…"

"You're really fond of her, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I know you are, too."

"Yeah." Miles sighed. "But, in answer to your question, maybe not too much longer. There's a bill up before the Council that would authorize the dispatch of replacement units that would allow the regiments there to rotate home."

"Oh, thank goodness! But can't Gregor just order the troops there? He's the commander-in-chief, after all."

"Yeah, that's true, but it's still got to be paid for and the Council holds the purse strings."

"So, do you think it will pass?"

"Gregor's asked me to put all my weight behind it. It's going to cost like crazy, but I think if we spin it correctly, we can push it through. Some of the counts have relations out there they want to get back in one piece, while others have relations who didn't get to go with the first batch who still want their chance to win medals."

"Medals!" snorted Ekaterin."People are dying!"

Miles just shrugged. "In any case, I think we can get it passed. I'm hoping we can get the vote scheduled before I'm off to Kibou-daini."

"Gregor is still sending you there?" Ekaterin looked annoyed. "And arranging this vote? He's got other people working for him, Miles!"

"We live to serve, Dear. And this thing on Kibou-daini is looking stranger and stranger. Laisa got some inside information and Gregor thinks it's a job for an auditor and since it's off world…"

"You get stuck with it."

"Right."

"The next new auditor Gregor names better have some galactic experience!"

"I've mentioned that to him. And that might be coming very soon, Vorparidjis is fading fast, I've been told."

Ekaterin was silent for a moment. "But you say the vote on the replacements could be soon? It would be such a relief. And I'm not just thinking about Anny. I've kept in touch with the women's groups we set up at her regiment's base and this has been very rough on them, too. They'll be so happy to hear their men are coming home."

"Well, even if the vote were to pass tomorrow, it will still be a while. Allowing for the usual delays… six or seven months before the new forces could even get there and another four months for them to get back. Close to a year before we'd see them again, I'm afraid."

"Six months until she's out of there... A lot can happen in six months."

"Yeah."

[Scene Break]

"A happy day, miss. The Regiment needs more happy days like this."

Anny looked at Jac and smiled. Her dog-robber was in especially good spirits today, it seemed. Lance Corporal 'Jac' Jacowitz loved the Regiment more than any man she'd ever met. And when the Regiment was happy, Jac was happy. But sometimes it seemed to Anny like Jac was always a half-step away, an observer rather than a participant. That was why she'd insisted that he come to the wedding today rather than just hear about it later.

So here they were, Jac, Jer, herself, and a whole lot of other people, mostly from the Sixty-first, but many locals, too, all in the main square of Milagres, waiting to congratulate the new Private and Mrs. Wingate. The ceremony had ended a half-hour earlier in the large church that fronted the square. But the local customs then called for the wedding party and all the guests to leave the church, and march completely around the square before reentering the church, where the bride and groom would welcome everyone. The line of guests extended well back into the square. She wondered what they did if it rained. But there was no sign of rain today.

Anny couldn't remember ever seeing Jac in his dress greens before and she was impressed by the collection of medals on his chest. He had a lot more than she did, that was for sure, although the highest award was one step down from her MCG.

And she had a new medal on her own tunic. Fetherbay's recommendation had been approved and she now had two Distinguished Service Stars. Somehow Jac had managed to get one for her to wear and he'd even scrounged another tiny star to add to her assault landing badge. Ironically, that was hers for the completely unopposed landing on Novo Paveo many months ago, not for the blood-soaked landing on the beaches of Tamborete. That hadn't been a landing from space, so it didn't qualify.

"Yes, a happy day. I just hope that the Happy Couple can stay happy," she said.

"Yeah," agreed Jer from beside her. "Seems like a kind of… risky action to take. I mean they're from opposite ends of the Nexus and they've only known each other, what? A few months?"

"Deployment Weddings are a bit iffy, it's true, sir," said Jac. "I've seen a lot of them over the years, but most seem to work out. Why, I first met Polly when I was garrisoning Port Samsonov during Vordarian's War. 'Course we didn't actually get married then, but not too long afterwards."

"But what happens when we pull out of here—if we ever do? Is the girl going to go with Wingate? He sure can't stay here!"

"One would assume she'd go with him," said Anny. "One of the things Wingate wanted to be sure of was that she'd be allowed transport as a dependent when we leave. And… considering the situation here, I suppose his wife might be eager to go."

"Yeah, maybe, but she's gonna be in a hell of a fix if they get back to Barrayar and she can't stand it or the marriage fails. How'll she ever get home? The military won't pay for that!"

"No, probably not. But from what I heard, the woman is practically an orphan—lost both parents to the war. She was nearly destitute and… Well, Wingate says he met her in the town here. We can hope things work out for them."

"I guess. At least she's technically a citizen of the Empire now so she's got some protection."

"Young Wingate did right by her, I think," said Jac. He chuckled. "At least he doesn't already have a wife at home."

"What?" asked Jer.

Anny laughed, too. "Didn't you hear about that? Some man over in F Company put in for permission to marry a local girl. They turned him down when the personnel officer discovered that he was already married!"

"Oh wow!"

"Knew a man once who had three wives on three different worlds,' said Jac. "They didn't keep such good records back then. Don't think any of the wives caught on until he died and they all wanted his pension."

They all laughed at that while the line slowly inched forward. Another few minutes and they'd be back inside the church. Anny would be glad to get in the shade. It was turning into a hot day and dress greens were warm.

As they neared the door, Anny suddenly saw Ines Da Silva approaching. She'd seen her earlier during the wedding ceremony but hadn't had the chance to talk to her. Anny started to give a greeting, but then saw the worried expression on Da Silva's face. "Hi Ines, is everything all right?"

"Oh yes," said the teacher. "But, Lieutenant Payne, could I have a word with you for a moment?"

"Sure." Anny invited her to go ahead.

"Uh, could we speak over there?" She pointed to a spot away from the crowd. "Lieutenant Naddel is welcome, too."

Anny glanced at the line behind her.

"I'll save your spot, Miss," said Jac, smiling.

"Okay." She and Jer followed Da Silva until they had privacy. "What is it?" she asked.

The woman seemed nervous. "Uh, yes, I have something very serious to talk to you about, Lieutenant, and I wasn't sure how I…"

Da Silva's voice was lost in an enormous roar that blotted out all other sound. Something snatched the air out of Anny's lungs and then the tall stained glass windows of the church exploded outward.

Anny was slammed to the ground as smoke engulfed her, blotting out the light. Something heavy fell on her and consciousness fled.