Tales from the Academy

Chapter 6

Dear Drou,

I'm sorry that I haven't written before now, but this is the first time I've been able to get access to a comconsole since I've been here. They don't leave us much time for writing letters, either! I did receive the four letters you sent and I want you to know how much they meant to me. I can't thank you enough. Please say thank you to the Commodore for the notes that he added as well. Word from home is very welcome!

Anny paused in her typing and sighed. She hadn't received anything at all from her real home. Granted, that letter writing was a chore for both her mother and her sisters, but still. None of them understood what she was trying to do. Her mother probably still believed that she would give up and return home any day. She should probably send her a letter, too, but this was the first time the cadets had been given a Sunday afternoon off and she had so much else she wanted to do.

I've been here three months now and despite all my preparation it has been much different than I expected. Harder, more challenging, but with unexpected rewards, as well. That's not to say all the preparation I received from you and the Commodore wasn't needed. Far from it! I never would have made it past the first week without your physical training. The close-combat instruction has also been very useful. The instruction we receive here is pretty rudimentary compared to what you gave me. In fact, our new instructor (the first one was transferred) has made me his assistant in some of the drills.

Anny paused again. She didn't know who might look at this message before it made its way to Drou so it was probably better to stick to generalities and not include any serious complaints or criticisms. But she had been so relieved when Sergeant Jervis was transferred. The thought of having to deal with him again was enough to make her physically ill. But she had never seen him again after that day and Sergeant Major Szytko had taken over the close-combat training. She had no idea where Jervis had been sent, but she hoped it was to the other side of some collapsing wormhole.

We got our first snow here yesterday and many of our activities are being moved indoors. All during the autumn nearly all of our training was of the physical variety, but now we are starting to get some classroom instruction, too. I'm looking forward to that. So far things have been going pretty well. I did get into a little trouble a month or so ago (stupid mistake on my part) but it only led to administrative punishment and it's all been forgotten now—except by me. An important lesson learned.

Administrative punishment seemed to consist of cleaning latrines. She had done that for two weeks after the review by the Commandant. But only during her 'free' time, so it really hadn't amounted to much. She had scrubbed floors and sinks and toilets and urinals but only in the classroom and administration buildings. They had not let her into any of the barracks as that would have been too disruptive. Most of the cadets probably never knew she even had the punishment. Certainly, no one had mentioned it.

I have made a few friends here and that has really helped me keep my spirits up. As you can imagine, not everyone has been very friendly, but I'm learning to deal with it. The members of my own company seem to be coming to accept my presence. If this trend continues, I should be okay.

Actually, there was a trend taking place in C Company and it was not nearly as reassuring as her words to Drou. Following the incident with Sergeant Jervis (and all the incidents following the incident with Sergeant Jervis) there had begun a slow but steady trickle of cadets out of C Company. They weren't resigning or being kicked out, they were transferring to other companies. Normally, the Academy didn't allow that: you sank or swam with the company they assigned you. But somehow cadets were getting out—and they were all Vor. Clearly, they were using their connections to get the rules waived. And since the Academy also liked to keep its companies nearly the same size (the drill looked prettier that way) they were transferring cadets in to C Company to equalize the number—and all the incoming cadets were not Vor. At the start, Anny guessed that over two-thirds of the cadets in C Company were Vor. Now, the percentage was probably less than one-quarter. And unfortunately, many of the cadets who were being transferred in didn't exactly seem to be the cream of the crop. Apparently, the other companies when told they had to send a few cadets to C Company took the opportunity to get rid their inept and their goof-offs. This influx had resulted in a noticeable deterioration in their drill, which annoyed Anny quite a lot.

Please tell the Commodore that I was selected to fill the second sergeant's post for several weeks and since then I've been rotated around to some of the other NCO positions. Thanks to his instruction, I've been able to perform well in each post. Oh, and I'm afraid that there was a bit of an accident that happened to the Countess' gifts to me. I feel really bad about that. If you have a chance, please pass on my apology to her.

There! That might get a subtle message across to them. She wasn't going to complain openly, but she was still angry about the incident. Perhaps if this piqued the Countess' curiosity she might use her formidable resources to investigate further.

Well, I have to run. We are supposed to get some leave at Winterfair. I don't know if I'll be able to go anywhere, but if I can get away I'll try to drop by and see you.

Fondly,

Anny

She shut down the comconsole and stood up. She was in the library and this was the first time she'd been allowed to use the facility. She checked the time and saw that she had nearly four hours until evening formation. What a luxury! She had some reading to do for one of her instructional classes and some laundry to do, but she might even be able to take an hour for an actual nap! The pace had been grueling and she was lucky to squeeze in six hours of sleep a night. She was tired, that was for sure.

Anny sealed up the front of her overcoat as she left the library building. Some very cold weather had followed the snowstorm and the forecast was for a hard winter. They had gotten about twenty centimeters of snow the day before and there were enormous piles of it around the edges of the parade ground. The daily dress parades had to be done come rain, sleet or snow and the Academy had a small fleet of ingenious power sweepers that could shove the snow off the parade ground without damaging the grass. Most of the sidewalks and roads were cleared that way, too. She followed the swept paths towards her quarters, but she would still have to trudge through a half-kilometer of snow since the plowing program didn't include the little path through the woods. At least the Sergeant Major had provided her with a few portable heaters so she didn't have to depend on the fireplace to keep warm.

She had nearly reached the woods when her wristcom pinged. There was a text message on the tiny screen reading: C Company, 4th Battalion: Assemble at the front of your barracks immediately. "Damn," she muttered. "Now what?" She reversed her course and headed back the way she had just come. The cadets were just starting to pour out the door when she arrived. Patric Mederov spotted her and came over. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Don't know. We just got told to get our coats on and come out here." The rest of the company quickly arrived and Anny nodded to Jer and Alby. After a few minutes Sergeant Byrne came up with an officer she'd never seen before. He was wearing the white cord of a staff officer on his overcoat. Byrne bellowed at them to fall in. Anny's current assignment was as the fourth sergeant, which put her two paces behind the main line of cadets. She took her spot and waited.

"Company, attention to orders," said Byrne. "This it Lieutenant Vordura, the Officer of the Day."

Vordura stepped forward and looked them over. "C Company, you have reached the next step in your training." For a moment Anny grew excited. Did he mean that they were going to have their permanent NCOs and officers assigned? Perhaps they would finally be allowed to participate in the dress parades and Sunday reviews. But why would he be only telling that to one company?

"It is a long-standing and time honored tradition," continued Vordura, "that the duty company for the week be selected from the First Form class. Up until now your training schedule hasn't allowed for that, but that is about to change. It is also policy that from within the First Form battalion the duty be given to the company with the greatest number of demerits. C Company currently holds that honor. Congratulations. Sergeant, take over." Vordura exchanged salutes with Sergeant Byrne and then walked away. Byrne watched him go for a few seconds and then turned back to face them.

"All right, you heard the man. We are the duty company for the next week. That means we provide all the sentries and also do any other work that needs to be done that isn't handled by the normal maintenance personnel." A number of cadets groaned at this news. "There will be a schedule set up that will allow you to continue with the rest of your normal duties. We'll relieve the current duty company on guard at 1800 hours. But for the rest of the afternoon we have a lot of snow to shovel! I hope you all brought your gloves!"

[Scene Break]

Anny pulled her scarf more closely around her head and tried to stop shivering. God, it was cold! A biting wind was sweeping down from the northeast and it seemed to cut right through her despite the many layers of clothing she had on. She shifted the rifle to her left shoulder and stamped her feet. She was standing sentry duty at one of the more remote gates along the Academy's perimeter. It was still an hour until her relief was due. She walked back and forth in front of the gate to try and keep warm. It wasn't working.

C Company was nearing the end of its week as the duty company. During that time they had shoveled snow, unloaded trucks, run errands, and mounted the guard. The only mercy was that they didn't have to scrub latrines. Apparently, that was a privilege reserved for individual screw-ups rather than entire companies. It still irked her that her company had 'earned' this duty. Prior to the exodus of the Vor and the influx of the 'dregs', the company had been one of the best in the battalion (at least in her opinion). Well, the week was nearly done.

She was stamping her feet some more when she noticed a figure approaching. She was very surprised when she realized it was Alby Vorsworth. Alby was acting as corporal of the guard for this shift, but he wasn't due with the relief party for another hour. What was he doing out here in this cold? As he got close, she went through the ritual motions—there was no telling who might be watching. "Halt! Who goes there?"

"Just me, Anny," replied Alby. Who'd ya think it was?"

"It is pretty hard to not recognize you," she admitted.

"God! You look just like that painting in the library, Anny!"

"Which one?"

"The one with the sentry standing in the snow. You know: General Piotr's army that winter in Forge Valley during the Cetagandan invasion."

"Oh, right. I hope I don't look quite as bad as that poor fellow."

"Almost."

"So what brings you out here in this delightful weather?"

"Anny, we have a problem."

"Oh no, what now?"

"I think we're screwed."

"What do you mean?"

"This duty company thing: are you enjoying it?"

"About as much as you are, I would guess."

"Yeah. Well, how would you like to be the permanent duty company for the next year?"

"What?"

"I've been doing a little research."

"What kind of research?"

"Oh, just looking through the Provost's records."

"What? How?"

Alby's cheeks were already a rosy red from the wind, but it looked like he was blushing. "My… uh, hobby has always been computers," he said. "I'm really good with them. Really good. And the security systems here are years out of date…"

"Alby! You mean you hacked into the Provost's computer system?"

"Yeah, it was a piece of cake."

"You could get in so much trouble!"

"Only if I get caught, which I won't. Do you want to know what I found?"

"What?"

"We're screwed."

"You said that! How do you mean?"

"The duty company is selected from the company in the battalion with the most total demerits, right?"

"Yes."

"Note that the regs say the most total demerits, not the most demerits for any given week."

"Right, and when they transferred in those guys from the other companies, some of them had a lot of demerits."

"Well, what is not in the regs, but what is very apparent from the Provost's records is that the standing policy here is that during the week the duty company is on duty they don't accrue any more demerits."

"Okay, that makes sense," said Anny. "Considering that the duty company will have less time than ever to clean the barracks and shine their shoes, they would probably collect a bunch of them and never get out of their hole… wait, are you saying that's what's happening to us?" A wave of panic swept through her.

"Exactly. I was only able to go back about ten years in the records, but every duty company was listed as having the same number of demerits at the end of its week as it did at the start. Every company except us. We've already accumulated seventy-five new demerits this week."

"Which means we'll be the duty company again next week."

"And the week after that and the week after that until the new incoming class reaches this point next year. That's assuming that any of us are even still here by then."

"What do you mean?" she demanded, afraid that she knew exactly what he meant.

"It's a feedback loop, Anny. The more demerits we get, the more extra duty we get which means we'll collect even more demerits the next time around. Anny, they can kick some people out if they get too many demerits."

"I know that. By 'some people', you men the non-Vor!"

"Well, yeah, although you're probably safe."

That was true: she had almost no demerits for the simple reason that no one ever came to inspect her quarters or her kit. She could guess why that was, too. But for the other non-Vor in the company, people like Jer and Patric…

"This isn't fair."

"Welcome to Barrayar."

Anny thought furiously, now unmindful of the freezing weather. There was only one reason they would have changed a policy that stretched back years and years.

"They're doing this because of me. That's why they let most of the Vor transfer out."

"Seems very likely."

"Hell. So what do we do?"

"Anny, I don't know. Once the others figure out what the score is—and it won't take them long—morale in the company is going to be rock bottom. And… and…"

"They'll blame me."

"Probably. Whoever is behind this is very clever."

"Then you do think someone really is behind this?"

"There has to be. Those earlier incidents could have just been cases of small-minded individuals acting on their own. But this is bigger. You can bet Lieutenant Vordura didn't come up with this all by himself. Nor the Provost."

"But… but I can't believe the Commandant is behind it!"

"Maybe not. But he wouldn't normally be concerned with minor stuff like this. He might not want to interfere with his subordinates—especially if there is someone powerful outside the Academy pushing this. Anny, I promised I would help you any way I can, but I don't know how much I can do. Unfortunately, my father is one of the one's who is not in favor of what you are doing and don't even ask about my grandfather! They'll look out for me, but not for you. I suppose I could write my mother…"

"Alby, I'm not going to quit!"

"No, you definitely shouldn't do that. But I'm afraid things are just going to get tougher. Of course, there is one thing I can do…"

"What?"

"Well, I could go back into the Provost's computer and erase a few hundred demerits…"

"Alby! Don't you dare!"

"Why not? They're screwing with us, why don't we screw with them?"

"You couldn't possibly get away with it and then we'd all be in trouble. Plus, I'm honor-bound to turn you in if you try."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "You would, too, wouldn't you? You really believe all this honor and duty crap they sell us."

"Don't you?"

"I refuse to answer. Just let me say that the view from inside the Vor class is a bit different from the view outside it. But, no, you're right: I couldn't get away with it. If I'm right about this, there is someone who is expecting us to be duty company again next week and if we suddenly weren't they would get suspicious. And the preliminary company demerit reports are still done by hand on flimsies. No way I could alter those."

"So, what can we do?"

"I don't know. Like I said: we're screwed."