22. Field Exercise I: A Spy Among Us

The pack was heavy on his back and the rifle was heavy in his hands as Avocato stood at the head of Squad 3 and listened carefully as Drill Instructor Tompkin detailed what was expected of them for the next week.

"The acting officers have orders to guard a stretch of road between two marked positions. It must be held against the opposing team at all costs. Their duty is to figure out the logistics and placement of soldiers and machines. Your duty is to do exactly what your acting officers order. Nothing more, nothing less. You will listen, obey, comply, and do not question. Each and every one of you will be debriefed after the fact. You are not allowed to offer suggestions beyond your chain of command or the scope of your duties, even if one of your acting officers makes a mistake. Short of marching off a cliff, you're to do what you're told."

"And enjoy it," whispered Kedi, immediately behind Avocato. Being in the front row, Avocato didn't dare smirk, but he silently agreed with the sarcastic sentiment.

It was another semester, and another field exercise.

Squads 2 and 3 of Class 984 were playing the role of ground infantry for two teams of fourth-year cadets in the command track. Squad 3 had not initially been slated to be part of this exercise, but a spate of ear infections had hit Squads 1 and 4 hard, and so Squad 3 was substituted.

Avocato didn't mind the last-minute switch. Not really. It was part of being a soldier and breaks in routine were always welcome, for the most part. It delayed an oral presentation he had to give, but inconvenience was a way of life in the military. Better to get the field exercise done while it was just cold and raining, not freezing, windy, and snowing. He knew some day it would be him in charge of such an exercise, so this was an excellent opportunity to see what it was like to look after a company. This was also a lesson as much in what to do as what not to do. Still, he would have preferred being on the yellow team under Purrina's command. Perhaps he was biased, but he was more familiar with Purrina than his own acting commander, Pawl, and he had more faith in what he knew than what he didn't.

Colonel Cataloupe stepped up to address them. Like his cadets, he was dressed in camouflage gear, and unlike them, it was clear he was looking forward to the exercise and getting away from the academy for a few days. Of course, odds were he'd be sleeping inside and eating hot meals versus field rations, so he had every reason to be chipper.

" . . . and each team will have three observers embedded with them," he told them, sweeping his gaze over the ranks, from Avocato so tall at one end to tiny Pawlette at the end of the fourth row as he wrapped up a speech that told them what they already knew. "Myself, Major Inka, and Cadet Lin will be with the yellow team. Major Miku, Major Kimber, and Cadet Meowie will be with the red team. We may interact with you, but otherwise, you are to ignore our presence and follow the instructions of your acting officers as Drill Instructor Tompkin directed." He paused, then grew stern. "Be advised, Class 984. One of you, by previous arrangement, is an enemy agent, working to undermine your side. This person will not admit their role if asked, but given the opportunity, will work against you. So be alert, be aware of your chain of command and use it, and no heroics. We'll leave as soon as the shuttles arrive. Dismissed."

Released for a few minutes, the cadets relaxed without moving far. Avocato lowered his rifle and gazed around at his classmates, wondering which of them was the spy. It was an interesting twist, and he wondered if the acting officers were aware of the situation. Many of the cadets had the wherewithal to pull off something like that, others . . . not so much. A few paces away, Kitner and his cronies were already conjecturing on who it was, vowing empty promises to catch the individual if they tried anything. If Kitner was the agent, he'd be the sort so overt that he was covert. Ditto Stergar and their latest hanger-on, Graylind. Avocato thought about his own friends, mentally ticking off their chances. Pawlette, who had all the subtlety of a blunt instrument, was definitely a Kitner-class enemy agent, as was Toshi. However, FannFee, for all her love of gossip, excelled at drawing people out and getting them to talk. Felice might have a chance so long as he didn't have to keep things to himself too long and wasn't required to keep a straight face. Nikos would be absolutely lethal if he wanted, while Kedi's disarming charm could easily draw people in for the kill.

"It's you, isn't it?" Kitner abruptly asked, squaring off against Avocato with a fed-up sneer. "You're the favorite, so it's always you."

Kitner – and many of his clique - had yet to recover from, well, all of last year. By virtue of being tallest in their class – possibly in the whole academy - Avocato had been chosen to carry the squadron's guideon, landing him front and center for every drill. He had been picked just so everyone could see him and know where to line up, not by having achieved anything beyond a grand display of recessive genes. Kitner refused to be convinced he'd gotten the honor by anything other than some underhanded tactic. With his coloring and pedigree focusing so much attention on him, the conflict with the whole of the third-year class, finishing first, and being tapped for the command track, Avocato stood ears (literally) and whiskers (if he had them) over the rest of his class. This year, the burden of guide had passed to Cadet Belle, next tallest, and Avocato was the squad leader. The added responsibility was his reward for being first in class 984. Kitner, of average height, color, lineage, and still, to his everlasting horror, on par with Nikos academically (or even trailing a little), was rather desperate for distinction. Catching an enemy agent would be a pretty accomplishment, even if he was on the wrong trail entirely. Avocato was certainly not Cataloupe's agent, though there was no way he'd convince Kitner otherwise.

Avocato sighed with feigned dramatics. As if he lived to betray his friends. "Well, you found me out, Kitner. There go all my clever machinations."

"Outwitted already," Toshi declared with a huff, throwing his hands up in mock frustration. "Am I that obvious?"

Menti peered around Kitner with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Thank you for taking the fall for me, Avocato. You're an excellent distractor. Keep it up!"

"Ha!" said Mochi. "My cover is safe. Oh, wait . . ."

"You heard it here, cadets! It can't possibly be me," FannFee said from down the line a bit. "Just carry on and act as if I'm not watching you and taking notes."

"Actually, I'm the enemy agent, thank you very much," Muser chimed in, whispering loudly behind his hand. Anything to take a dig at Kitner.

"You, too?" asked Kedi, his golden eyes wide.

"Double or triple?" wondered Mochi.

"I thought I was the only one," Currant declared.

"I'm turning all of you in," Belle announced. "A battle of attrition. That's the plan. I'll be the last woman standing. With the flag."

Avocato smiled, then raised his voice over the sound of an approaching shuttle. "Squad 3! Fall in!" As his class obeyed, he looked at Kitner and quietly advised, "Don't start anything. We have enough to carry in our packs already."

Seething at their mockery, even if he had brought it on himself, Kitner glared. "You're the squad leader, not the acting officer, Avocato."

"Fall in," ordered Avocato with a cold voice and colder smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

By the fourth day, Avocato was sure if he had typed out his 'what not to do' list for this exercise, it would be longer than his tail.

He felt perhaps he should give his acting officers the benefit of a doubt. They could be working under constraints he wasn't aware of, ones that severely limited their decision-making options, but at the same time, he didn't feel that was the case at all. No, it just seemed glaring inexperience and an overwhelmed command staff.

None of the acting officers addressed him, as squad leader, to find out the particular skill sets and education tracks of Squad 3. Avocato could have told them who were the aspiring medics, weapons experts, engineers, administrators, and so forth, to use each person according to their strengths. He could have told them who were experienced hunters and trackers to send scouting, who had an artistic bent to assist with camouflaging their camp, who fed morale and who sapped it.

But they didn't, and he could not offer suggestions. He could only follow orders. So he bit his tongue and did exactly as he was told.

Used as they were to drill and practicing maneuvers, setting up camp and guarding positions was nothing new. The simple fact that they had established a camp seemed a bad move to Avocato. If he had been in charge, Avocato would have cached the shelters and hidden in the hills, not advertised his presence for the opposing team, or even set up a small decoy camp further away. Mobility at a moment's notice was key in these situations, yet Pawl seemed determined to utilize every scrap of equipment he'd been given. Avocato suspected Pawl just didn't want to sleep in the rain. A camp made for a larger target and more space to guard, which he discovered the hard way.

Which was another, more serious problem.

Their acting lieutenant had told Cadet Yanako to set up a sentry duty schedule, fully expecting – but not specifying – her to rotation it through everyone in the squad. She had, instead, appointed all the unfortunates she disliked to this duty, making sure Kedi, Avocato, Nikos, and Mochi always got the second-to-last of the two-hour watches every morning, which were the hardest to do since they got the least sleep. With tents up it was impossible to see his fellow sentries at all times. Their lieutenant hadn't checked on Yanako's work, nor had Avocato ever seen him up and making sure the guards were alert. Another mistake, but a very important one.

"You should make a rotation so everyone has a turn standing at every shift," he'd pointed out as soon as he'd seen what she had done.

Yanako gave him a condescending look. "Afraid of standing watch, Avocato?"

"Hardly. It's a question of following regulations."

"I was ordered to make a schedule, not a rotation," she said with a smirk. "I'm doing exactly what I was told to do, and unlike you, I'm not questioning orders. Go cry to the lieutenant if you don't like it."

"That's fine," he said with a smile of his own. Yanako's day of reckoning would come. Soon. They would see to it. Those stuck on sentry duty made it a point to talk outside her tent just loud enough to wake up the people within every time they changed shifts. There were nuts on the ground from the surrounding trees, and Kedi would whip a few at Yanako's tent when he paced by. Poor, bony little Nikos was suffering badly in this weather, even with multiple layers of protective gear. Avocato was anxious his roommate might get ill with so much exposure to the cold. If that happened, Yanako would never know another moment of peace. But even more than Yanako, Avocato held their acting officers responsible for the situation. They weren't following up and making sure their men were rested and everyone took turns with the worst duties. It was a breeding ground for apathy and resentment. He was living proof of that.

"Don't forget, we'll be debriefed," Avocato reminded his fellow guards when they complained to him. "When twenty of us tell the same story, the colonel will boil over. Until then, we just have to stick with it."

Nights standing sentry duty and days spent on patrols and other tasks were wearing them out. The cold weather and lack of sleep was catching up to the unfortunates slated to guard at night. Only Kedi was unaffected by the cold, but he was just as tired as the rest of them.

Very early in the third morning, Major Miku and Cadet Meowie had been checking the perimeter and been stopped by Kedi and Nikos. The following morning, Avocato and Nikos stopped them again. By the light of three moons, Avocato saw the observers exchange a surprised look. Major Miku identified himself and immediately asked Nikos,

"Weren't you on duty this time last night, Cadet . . .?"

"Nikos, and yes, I was, sir."

He frowned. "You haven't been rotated to another watch time?"

Avocato chimed in. "If I may, Major Miku. A sentry duty schedule was established, not a rotation."

"And you're scheduled for this shift . . . ?" asked Meowie.

Nikos replied. "Every night we're out here, ma'am."

"So every shift has been the same people every night?"

"Yes, sir," they said together, and they delighted to see the shock on the observers' faces.

"Have you slept?" squeaked Meowie.

"Very little."

"Have you said something?" she asked, looking between them anxiously.

"I spoke to Cadet Yanako when she posted the roster, reminding her of regulations and the need for a rotation, but she said she was simply doing as she had been ordered by the acting lieutenant and refused to update the schedule."

"Have any officers been by to check on you?" pressed Miku.

"Cadet Muser stopped Acting Lieutenant Kaze on his way to the latrine last night, but no inspections or checks I know of, sir."

The major nodded, his pale eyes narrowed. "Carry on," he ordered, and he and Meowie continued their inspection.

Nikos and Avocato watched them go, then exchanged a look. They had to fight not to laugh out loud, as they were wearing identical grins.

This was not over yet.