AN: It would seem this chapter was rather ill-named. Perhaps it should have been 'Prelude to the Battle' or similar. Oh well, too late to change it now.

After Vladimir's speech, with salutes received and given, the men departed, the Colonel calling some, including Igor, to remain. There was Captain Ivanovich, the leader of SG-2, the fast response team, who Igor knew from several missions. A capable and bright officer, the Captain was about ten years Igor's junior, and struck up a conversation with Suslov, who was Vladimir's deputy in military matters. There was also the commissar, Basin, Captain Konovalov, and Major Markhov, the science officer.

"I must admit," said Konovalov, leaning in, "I didn't expect a month ago that I'd be sitting by the fire on an alien planet. They said when I joined up that it was an opportunity to see the world…"

"But they were underestimating what there was to see were they?" asked Igor wryly.

Konovalov chuckled.

"What were you doing a month ago then?" Asked Igor, "You're from Moscow aren't you?"

"I was on Minister Vasilevsky's staff yes," the Captain said, "it was busy, and though I doubt I did anything of great significance there, I like to think I made a contribution. This though… this is much more…"

"More?"

Konovalov laughed again, "Yes, just 'more', more than I thought it would be anyway. I didn't think I'd be going off world."

"Ha!" exclaimed Igor, "A few years ago I was Professor of Archaeology, now I'm Professor of the Stars!"

Basin was gnawing his pencil and speaking quietly with Vladimir, too quietly to overhear anything of.

"What was the word in Moscow?" Igor asked, he knew soldiers liked to gossip.

"Oh plenty of rumours, you know how it is." Replied Konovalov, "I was speaking with a Serbian officer, who had been with the partisans in Greece. Apparently there was a raid on some prison island, that freed many of the democratic fighters. Half the Royalist forces there were fighting for the fascists you know. Even now they've got German uniforms and rifles."

Igor made some noise of interest, though he had little.

"It's terrible there, the fascists rounded up anyone who objected to their evil, and now the Royalists are doing the same, but the democrats-"

"Comrades!" announced Vladimir, and the group immediately stopped talking. "Comrades," said the Colonel again, this time at a more conversational volume, "Ordinarily this discussion would be one of strategy, however in this case, I've come to the conclusion that we'll be here longer than we thought."

Vladimir paused for a moment. "We'll talk about that more once we figure out what's actually going on here," he said, "first then, our enemy… What does he want?"