Tales from the Academy
Chapter 22
The shuttle rocked and shuddered as it plowed its way through the upper atmosphere. Anny clutched her seat and tried not be nervous. She wasn't nervous about the reentry. The key to survival at the Academy was preparation, Commodore Koudelkas had told her. So she had tried to prepare for every conceivable situation; academic, tactical, social. But in her wildest dreams she never imagined herself in a situation like this! What did she know about leading a crew of firefighters? Just about as much as anyone else, it seems.
That was, perhaps, the most frightening thing of all. No one seemed to know what to do. As Captain Vorwallace had said, nothing like this had ever happened before. The last major forest fires had occurred during—and been caused by—the Cetagandan occupation and no one had worried about fighting them—they had other things to fight. No doubt there had been fires during the Time of Isolation, but in those days the only thing anyone could do was to get out of the way. Barrayaran fire-fighting techniques were sadly underdeveloped. Anny had stayed up half the night pulling up everything she could find on her hand computer, but it was mostly stuff from Old Earth and centuries out of date. Apparently they didn't have forest fires on Earth anymore… or anywhere else in the wormhole nexus.
"Going subsonic, ETA, six minutes," came the pilot's voice over the com. "Hang on back there, Anny." Across from her Jer just rolled his eyes. Apparently Kev Kershaw hadn't given up yet.
But she had other things to worry about. In a few minutes her company was going to be landed in a remote section of the mountains with orders to cut a fire break through the forest. It was a centuries-old tactic and apparently still the best one available. Captain Vorwallace had said that shuttles and large cargo carriers were being adapted as water-bombers, but they wouldn't be ready for several more days and there was no time to spare.
"Are you sure there will be tools waiting for us?" asked Jer. It was about the fifth time he'd asked the question.
"That's what we've been promised." Her troopers had been stripped of their combat armor and weapons (except for her and her two lieutenants who still had their hand plasma arcs per the regulations) and carried only their survival gear and what tools the ship had been able to lend them: a few cutters and hand-tractors.
"I hope they keep their promise. We can't uproot trees and move them with our bare hands! It's a shame they can't just blast a firebreak with heavy weapons."
"Unfortunately, the only thing they've got really suited to something like that would be heavy plasma arcs and they would set more fires than they would stop. Captain Vorwallace said something about kinetic impact weapons, but they're worried the effects are too unpredictable. They're bringing in tanks and bulldozers where they can, but most of the terrain is just too rough."
"So it comes down to us poor grunts wandering through the forest chopping down trees," said Jer shaking his head.
"Looks like."
"ETA one minute, Anny," said Ensign Kershaw. "Damn, there's no place to land. You're gonna have to rappel down, I'm afraid."
"From how high?" said Anny, alarmed.
"Twenty, thirty meters. I'll get as low as I can. I'll come in first, the other two will circle." Her company filled three shuttles and they were coming in as a group. The other companies were being dropped in a long line to either side. The fire had grown to a monstrous size, stretching hundreds of kilometers along the mountains. Regular military units as well as thousands of civilian volunteers were moving to help, but the cadets would be among the first to go into action.
"Right." Anny and Jer unfastened their safety harnesses and stood up. They grabbed two cable units out of a locker and clicked the ends to the forward bulkhead. "Okay!" she called out. "We're landing the hard way! Make sure your harnesses are secure and get ready to hook on!" Her troopers looked as nervous as she felt, but they started getting ready. We've all done this before… you've done this before! She was suddenly sweating.
The shuttle banked and Anny had to put out her hand and steady herself on the shoulder of one of the cadets. It turned several more times and seemed to bump into something. "Low as I can get!" said Kershaw over the com. "Get ready, I'm opening the hatch!"
Anny inserted the cable into a gizmo on her harness called a rig descender. A moment later the rear hatch of the shuttle opened, letting in sunlight, swirling dust, and the roar of the shuttle's engines. She clung to the cable and moved to the edge of the deck and looked down. The ground was about thirty meters away, but it looked like a hundred. Tall pines were on all sides. She spotted someone on the ground waving frantically. She tossed the free end of the cable unit out and it unwound itself as it fell. Jer did the same.
"Corporal Mederov!" she screamed. "You're the anchor! Check each man as they prepare to go, then bring up the rear!" Patric waved his acknowledgement and came up to stand beside her.
"All right! Let's go!" She took a deep breath and jumped out of the shuttle. She fell a couple of meters and then the rig descender gripped the cable and let her gently down. Well, almost gently, as soon as she got below the shuttle, the blast from the thrusters buffeted her like a hurricane. She was wearing goggles, but bits of debris stung her face and she was glad when her feet touched the ground. Jer, on the second cable, was only moments behind her. She looked up and saw the next pair already coming down. She unhooked from the cable and looked around.
They were on the floor of a rock-strewn forest high up on the north side of a ridge. The fire was to the south, on the other side of the ridge. Anny wasn't sure how far, but she could smell the smoke. The trees were close together, obviously wild growth rather than a managed forest. Kershaw's shuttle had actually pushed a smaller tree aside to get as low as it had. There was a narrow trail leading up to the left and down to the right. Two men in green and brown Vorkosigan Forestry Service tunics were standing there, looking up in awe at the shuttle. There were two mountain motorcycles leaning against trees with large bundles strapped to their backs. She went over to the older of the two men.
"I'm Cadet-Captain Payne!" she shouted. "What are you guys doing here? We're in Vormuiran District, aren't we?"
"No access from the south!" said the man in reply. "Fire's in the way! We were sent up here to meet you. Mighty glad to see you fellows! We gotta hell of a job if we're gonna keep the fire from crossing over into our district!" He held out his hand. "Name's Istvan, Cam Istvan!" She took his hand and shook. With her fatigue cap and goggles it was obvious he didn't realize she was a woman. Well, no time for that now. Her cadets were clustering around her awaiting orders. Patric slid down the cable and that was the last of this load. He touched the controls on the cable units and they wound themselves back into the shuttle.
"Kershaw!" she said into her com. "You're clear!"
"Right! I'll be back later with supplies!" The engines went to a higher pitch and the shuttle lifted away, the bent pine sprung back and waved from side to side. Within moments the second shuttle eased down into the same position and started dropping more troopers. Anny turned back to Istvan and got out her hand computer and brought up the map of the area.
"Okay, we're right here. I've been told that we're supposed to cut a firebreak about ten kilometers west and link up with D Company who'll be working from that point. F Company is landing east of us and will work this way."
"Ten kilometers?" said Istvan. "How many men you bringin' in here?" He looked up at the troopers rappelling down.
"Sixty-five."
The man snorted and shook his head. "Shit! With that many it'd take a week! We got a day, day and half before the fire will be right through here!"
"With the proper tools we can fell trees and move them pretty fast. You got the sonic cutters and hand tractors, right?" She looked to the bundles on the 'cycles.
"We got saws and axes and shovels, boy!" said Istvan. "And even if we had the fancy tools, you ain't seen this country! Hell, you'd have trouble just walking those ten klicks in two days, let alone cuttin' a break!"
"Damn!" said Anny. "Well, we'll have to do what we can…"
"Unless you can cut a solid break, at least thirty meters wide, it'll be wasted effort!" cried Istvan. "Three kilometers of break ain't worth shit with a seven klick gap in it! What the hell were you folks thinking?"
"Maybe they weren't thinking anything," growled Anny. "Hold on." She clicked her com circuit to the command frequency. "C Company to battalion, come in." There was an infuriating delay, but eventually she got through to the battalion commander.
"Captain Ramsey here, go ahead C Company."
"Payne here, sir. We've completed our landing and made contact with the local officials. But, sir, they only have unpowered tools for us and according to them even with the proper tools we'll never be able to complete our section of the break in time. Request instructions, sir."
"Yes, we're finding the same thing all along the line, Captain," said Ramsey. She could hear the irritation in his voice. "I've already talked to higher command and our orders are to proceed as planned. We'll be flying in more tools and reinforcements as quickly as possible. We'll bring additional companies into the gaps and hopefully you'll only have to go a few klicks. That's all I can tell you, cadet. Now get to it."
"Yes sir!" She turned back to Istvan. "They're sending help. In the meantime we get cracking. Jer, break out those tools and hand them out. Now, sir, if you can give us some advice on the best way to drop trees and build this break, I'd be grateful."
Istvan looked skeptical, but then he shrugged. "Okay, let's give this a try."
They went to work. They had three of the sonic cutters which could slice right through a large tree in a matter of seconds. They used them on the big ones and left the smaller ones and brush to the men with the axes and saws. Their three hand-tractors moved the fallen trees and other cuttings and tumbled them down the slope. The men with shovels turned over the turf and small bushes, trying to cover anything that would burn. But it was hard, brutal work and after a couple of hours their break was still only a few hundred meters long.
"Istvan's right," gasped Jer. "We're never gonna make it without a lot more help."
"It's coming," said Anny in reply, wiping sweat out of her eyes. "Ramsey tells me the whole Academy is on its way. Regulars, too. Four full regiments of infantry will be here before dark. They're mobilizing everything they can lay their hands on."
"Good! Feels damn lonely out here all by ourselves. Nothing at all like Komarr…" He looked at the towering trees, shook his head, and turned away and went back to work.
An hour later a shuttle landed in their break. It carried more power tools along with water and other supplies. They were glad for the water, their canteens were nearly empty. It was hot. There was a brisk breeze which helped, but that same wind was carrying the fire ever closer. When they could see the sky, there was a solid haze overhead now and the smell of smoke was stronger than ever. When the shuttle lifted out it was carrying Cadet Jerwood who had fallen and smashed his knee. The ground was rough and minor injuries were mounting. Anny requested that a medic be sent. She hated losing the man, but she was heartened by the nearly continuous sound of shuttles flying over. Ramsey called to tell her that a company from 4th Battalion was landing a few klicks to the west.
"They're sending the plebes?" said Jer in surprise when she told him.
"They're sending everyone, Jer! Anyone who can work. The Commandant is on his way to take command of this sector of the line. The Emperor is in Hassadar to observe."
"Holy shit."
The additional power tools helped and they made better progress for a while, but they couldn't keep up the pace. Anny's troopers were exhausted and she was, too. When they stopped for dinner, their break was barely a kilometer long.
"We gonna try to work through the night, Anny?" demanded Jer. "The boys are nearly shot." She wasn't sure what to say, but just then her communicator pinged. It was Ramsey.
"Attention all cadet-officers," he said. "You're ordered to use your Dynatrim tablets. Repeat, have your men take their Dynatrim tablets. Sorry about that, but there's no choice. Good luck, Ramsey out."
Anny looked at Jer. "We work through the night."
[Scene Break]
"Tim-ber!" shouted Alby Vorsworth. Anny looked to see a huge tree toppling over with a roar. Her night-vision goggles showed it all clearly. Alby looked at her and grinned. At least someone was having fun. It was two hours before dawn and they were still at it. In addition to making Alby slightly loopy, the drug had given them an inhuman energy and stamina and they had made quite a lot of progress. But would it be enough? There was an ominous red glow tinting the whole sky to the south and it wasn't the dawn. Reports said the fire was leaping up the opposite side of the ridge. It wouldn't burn as quickly once it was over and trying to burn downhill, but the wind was still driving it forward at a frightening pace. Ash had been falling since midnight and they were having to detach men to look for embers that might start new fires beyond the break they had cut. At least their IR gear would make it easy to find them. And they'd lost four more cadets to injuries, two serious with broken bones. Anny was running out of manpower.
But they were getting close. Somewhere down in the dark to the east was the break that the company from 4th battalion had started. Her map told her it couldn't be much more than five hundred meters away and she was curving their break to link up with it. She'd sent Patric and another cadet down there to try and find it. They ought to be back soon.
"We might make it after all," said a voice. She turned and saw it was Cam Istvan. The forestry man was filthy and looked exhausted—probably just like she did. A dozen more of the locals had joined them during the night, but they only had the hand-tools. Still, every bit helped.
"With a little luck we just might." They nodded to each other and Istvan went back to work. Anny moved down to the right of the line and smiled when she saw Patric's large form trudging up the slope toward her. She was slightly surprised to see that there were seven other people with him instead of just one. "Did you find it?" she called out.
"Yeah!" he shouted back, quickening his pace. "Right where it's supposed to be. About four hundred meters that-a-way. Oh, and I brought some reinforcements."
"What? Who?"
"I think you know them." Patric was grinning.
She did.
Anny stopped in her tracks and stared in confusion as the six young women who lived in the room next to hers came up and saluted. "What… what are you doing here?"
"We've been assigned to you, sir," said Abigail Burn.
"All of you? But you're in three different companies!"
"They lumped us all together on the shuttle, sir," said Elin Vlydak. "They said we were to join up with you when you got close."
"They had us carrying water and making coffee while the boys worked," growled Marissa Carges sourly.
Anny frowned. Yeah, she could believe it. "We'll we can find real work for you here, cadets!" Alby! Get over here! Patric I'm assigning Cadets Dunvich and Kresge to you. Show them the ropes."
"Yes sir!"
A moment later Alby trotted up and did a double-take. "Cadet Worth, you will be in charge of cadets Burn and Lempic. Put them to work."
"But…"
"You heard me."
"Right… sir."
"You other two, you're with me. I need some runners."
"Yes sir."
She clicked to the company circuit. "Everyone listen up! We've got four hundred meters to go. Four hundred! We can do this! Now get cracking!"
They got cracking.
Just before dawn they could clearly see flames at the top of the ridge. The wind was picking up even more and there was a roaring sound and a strange noise, almost like distant artillery. "What's that?" asked Jer Naddel.
"I was reading that in a really hot fire the trees can just blow up as the water in them flashes to steam," said Anny.
"Great, so we gotta dodge shrapnel, too?"
"We might. But let's get this done so we can stand back a ways."
Meter by meter they carved the break. Cadets posted back along way reported that burning embers were falling and they were snuffing them out as best they could. Shortly after that a shuttle landed and delivered a few dozen water tanks with backstraps and spray nozzles that Anny distributed to the troopers along the break to help with the embers.
Four hundred meters, three hundred, two hundred, they were getting close. But so was the fire. The smoke was thicker and the noise of exploding trees was getting louder. A couple of shuttles flew in low and dropped a load of water on the fires, but it didn't seem to do much. "Pissing on a bonfire," growled Cam Istvan.
Dawn came, but a solid roof of smoke turned the sun to a faint red orb.
"All right! One last push!" cried Anny. "Cutter men, slice it all down! Don't wait for the hand tractors, just cut a swath straight through to the other break! We'll clean up behind you!" Trees fell and crashed and they redoubled their efforts. Cadets Vlydak and Carges worked at her side. Sweat poured down faces that were blackened by soot. Even with the drug Anny could feel her muscles knotting with the effort. She could feel the heat on the side of her toward the fire. Damn, it was close!
But then another tree fell and she could see the other break only a few dozen meters beyond. They could do it! "Go! Go! Go!"
They sliced down the brush and tossed it away, the shovel men frantically threw dirt on everything. The roar of the fire was like a hundred shuttles hovering overhead. Anny coughed and put a kerchief over her mouth. The last section of the break was swept clean of combustibles.
"That's it! Get to the downslope side! Everyone fall back! Look for new fires across the break! Marissa! Run back up the break and make sure everyone got the word to fall back!" The girl sprang away like a deer. "Move, people, move!"
They retreated away from the onrushing blaze and spread out, back along the break. The trees to their immediate front whipped wildly in the wind and began to erupt in flames. The heat was so intense that it drove them farther down the slope, forcing them to crawl and stumble across all the trees and brush they'd dumped there. The power of the fire was unbelievable, terrifying. Primal. Anny began to worry about what the hell they would do if the fire did jump the break. Where could they run?
Small fires did flare up on their side but they managed to douse them with the water canisters. The men with the hand tractors continued to drag trees and brush farther away from the roaring flames just across the cleared area. The fire was spreading all along the length of the break as far as they could see in either direction, but bit by bit it started to die down as all the fuel was consumed.
Anny felt like she'd been holding her breath for an hour and she finally let it out as the flames lessened. Blackened tree trunks stood in serried ranks all along the upslope of the ridge and white smoke drifted upwards in immense clouds. But…
"We stopped it," gasped Jer. "Did we stop it?"
"Looks like…" She turned and looked downslope. Hectare after hectare of greenery met her eyes. Untouched, unburned. We did it. Some of her cadets, the few with the breath for it, began to cheer.
Anny stood and watched, too drained to do anything else until a hand touched her arm. It was Istvan.
"Captain? Captain, thanks." He gestured up to the smoldering forest. "Without your help that would have rolled right over us."
"Glad we could help. Your people did a hell of a job, too."
"We were fighting to protect our homes, Captain."
"Yeah. Yeah, me, too."
"Eh?" The man looked puzzled.
"I'm from Red Rocks," said Anny and she was amazed at the note of pride that crept into her voice. "Over that ways a fair piece, but this might still have gotten there."
"Well I'll be damned, er, darned,' said Istvan. "Sorry." Anny grinned. She wasn't quite sure when the man had realized her true gender, but at some point during the night he'd stopped cussing in her presence.
"Don't worry about it. I hear that all the time. I'm a soldier."
He looked her right in the eye and then nodded and stuck out his hand. "I can see that, Captain. I can see that."
A sudden thrill went through her unlike anything she'd ever felt before. The damn drug could do screwy things to your emotions, but Anny took Istvan's hand and shook it firmly. She was still standing there thinking about it when her communicator pinged.
"Third battalion companies! Report your status." It was Ramsey.
"C Company, all secure on our front," said Anny immediately and proudly. "We've stopped it cold, sir." The other companies started reporting in. The news sounded good. They had done it!
"Good work, people," said Ramsey, but Anny tensed. The man's voice didn't sound like that of a victorious commander… "All companies will fall back to grid coordinates F-97 and await pick-up for redeployment. On the double, people—and bring your tools."
"What… what's happening, sir?" asked Anny.
There was a long pause and then Ramsey spoke again.
"It's broken through."