Tales from the Academy

Chapter 20

"Anny, what's going on?" demanded Jer Naddel. She looked at her First Sergeant and gave him a grim smile.

"Trouble. What else? Sorry to drag you back here early, but I needed to give you a heads up."

"What sort of trouble? And what's that all about?" He pointed.

'That' was a new wall that had been constructed across the end of their barracks floor, sealing off about a quarter of the space. A pair of workmen were putting on the final coat of paint as they watched. A single door was set in the center. It didn't have a handle.

"The door has a palm-lock," said Anny. She held up her hand. "I'm told that I am the only one in the entire universe who can open that door—from either side."

"Do I want to know what's on the other side? That used to be our study space, you know." Anny nodded. The floor had originally been designed for one hundred cadets, the normal size of a plebe company. Natural attrition had whittled them down to sixty-five and the spare room had been taken over as a study/lounge. Now that was gone.

"Sorry about that. But as for what's on the other side, well, there's a small room for me…"

"You're moving in here?" interrupted Jer. "You're not in your cottage anymore?"

"No. There's my room, a toilet/shower room and there's bunk space for six cadets."

"Six cadets? But what… oh Dear God, you don't mean…?"

"Yes, six cadets. Six female cadets."

"Saints preserve us, as Sergeant Byrne would say. But… but are they going to be part of our company?"

"No. Count your blessings. They're just plebes and they'll be assigned to plebe companies just like I was. But they bunk here. I imagined you noticed the new exterior stairway that's been constructed."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that."

"That's how they come and go. There's a palm lock on that door, too and it will only open for me and them. There will never be any reason for them to use this door here. They should never be in this part of the barracks."

"Why even have the door?"

Anny shrugged. "I guess they were trying to be nice to me since I do have business here. Trying to save me the trouble of walking down three flights, coming over to the other door and walking up three flights—as if I'd care after having to walk half a klick each way from my cottage."

"So I'm assuming that you've been assigned as some sort of mother hen for these girls?"

"That's the idea," nodded Anny. "But there's more to it than that. That's why I wanted to meet with you early."

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" said Jer.

"Yeah. As well you should."

"Great. You gonna explain why or just leave me dangling here?"

Anny let out a long sigh. "Well, the Commandant feels that since all you fine, healthy, testosterone-filled, young lads of C Company have managed to go two full years without gang-raping me you can be trusted to guard the honors of the six newbies."

"That's perhaps the most back-handed compliment I've ever heard," muttered Jer. His eyebrow quirked up and he smiled. "But I'm reminded of the legend of how the young lovers managed to avoid having the girl sacrificed to the monster since they only took virgins. There might still be a way out of this…"

Anny snorted, but it was a measure of the trust that had grown up between her and her first sergeant that they could even joke about such things. "Too late for that, I'm afraid. Although you should know that the Academy regulations have been amended so that sex between cadets in now officially against the rules."

"You mean it wasn't? But are all these girls from Barrayar?"

"No. Three of them are. One is from Sergyar and the other two are from Komarr—neither from your dome, I already checked that."

"So what exactly are we expected to do to 'guard their honors'? What the hell do we do if they don't want to have their honors guarded? Komarran girls aren't quite so straight-laced as Barrayaran ones."

"It's all a bit vague," replied Anny, frowning. "Other than me, we have no specific orders or duties regarding this. We are to—and I quote: keep our eyes open and help the newbies stay out of trouble, unquote."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Beats me. The Commandant seemed kind of… flustered explaining all this to me. But I'm remembering a conversation I had with Lord Auditor Vorkosigan last year. The Emperor is hoping to open up Imperial service to women. Other important people are backing him, but there are those who oppose the idea…" Jer snorted loudly. "Yeah. But anyway, the people supporting this have to walk a fine line. They need to protect the women from unfair persecution…"

"Like they did with you?" demanded Jer sarcastically. "Some protection!"

"I'm still here," said Anny with a shrug. "But they also can't appear to be unfairly coddling the women or the opponents can justifiably claim that it doesn't prove anything if we succeed."

"Yeah, I can see that. But I ask again: what are we supposed to do?"

"About the only thing I can think of is for you guys to sort of act like big brothers to these girls. Don't follow them around—we're not supposed to be bodyguards—but if you see them being harassed, try to intervene. Maybe let it be known that you won't take it kindly if your 'little sisters' aren't treated with respect."

"Oh, that's gonna go over real well with the other cadets!"

"Hey, we're third form now. The girls will have the most contact with the first form. You can't tell me you guys can't lean on a bunch of plebes!"

"True," said Jer. "And we don't even have to beat them up. There are so many different ways we can make their lives miserable." He grinned.

"Don't overdo it," warned Anny. "Remember how they tried to get me to quit when I was a plebe."

"They made us all miserable and tried to get us to blame you for our misery," said Jer nodding. "Yeah, we have to be careful."

"Can we do it?"

"Maybe. I'll give some thought about how to properly motivate our guys. But tell me: with this new batch of women here can we expect fewer attempts to target you? I'll tell you, Anny, some of us were getting tired of dodging shrapnel from the grenades tossed at you."

"I hope so, Jer. I really hope so."

[Scene Break]

Anny left Jer to his calculations and passed through the door into what was officially the Women Cadets' Barracks. She imagined it would pick up a few less savory names as time went by. Other than smelling of fresh paint it looked like a miniature version of all the other barracks. Well, that wasn't quite true: despite being on the third floor, there were metal security screens over the windows. She glanced into her room. She'd spent the morning getting everything transferred from her old cottage. She was going to miss that place—sort of. Once it had been fixed up it had been a quiet and peaceful refuge. But it had also been lonely out there. Despite the new worries that came with it, she was sort of looking forward to being in the middle of things.

She checked the time and spent a few minutes making some final adjustments to her quarters. She had to set a good example for the girls. But then she had to go. She trotted down the new steps and out onto the campus. It was nearly deserted. The cadets wouldn't be coming back until tomorrow.

Except for the six who were arriving today. Arriving right now, actually.

She made her way to the monorail station with two minutes to spare. She stood at parade rest until the train slid, almost silently, into the station. The doors opened and a number of officers, Academy staff, she supposed, got off. She came to attention but they didn't come close enough that she needed to salute. A few did glance in her direction. Farther down the platform she spotted her charges. The Commandant had told her that all six of them had been ordered to report to Vorbarr Sultana so that they could travel here in a group. They were in civilian clothes and carrying commendably small travel bags.

They looked around nervously until they spotted her walking toward them. They snapped to attention and saluted her awkwardly as she approached. "As you were," she said, not returning their salutes. "I was told that you were all well prepared, but apparently that was incorrect. I see you haven't read the Academy regulations."

"I did!" cried one of the girls, Abigail Vorburn. Anny had memorized their names and faces as part of her own preparations. The others were all nodding as if to say they had read them, too.

"Indeed?" said Anny. "Then what did you all do wrong, Ms. Burn?"

"Uh, we saluted you, ma'am," said another, Jenna Lempic, one of the Komarrans. "We're not in uniform. We shouldn't salute, ma'am."

"Correct, Ms. Lempic. And in a situation like this, you can call me 'ma'am', but on duty call me 'sir'. The regs haven't quite caught up on that yet." She smiled briefly. "All right, grab your bags and let's go. We have an appointment with the Quartermaster." She turned and marched away, assuming the others would follow. Silently she sighed. They were so young! Fresh-faced, bright-eyed and probably completely ignorant of what they were facing. Did I look like that? No, she'd been a year older and she'd had months of priceless training by Drou and Commodore Koudelka. She'd come here as prepared as it was possible to be—and she'd still very nearly been crushed. How many of these girls would survive the hammer and anvil? And what the hell were they even doing here? Surely they weren't all trying to fulfill some impossible promise made to dead relatives!

Just because she could, she ordered the double-quick and they all trotted to the warehouse building where the girls would be issued their uniforms and gear. She was pleased that none of them were even breathing hard when they arrived. At least they'd had some physical training it seemed. The Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, a man named Sheads, was waiting for them with a bemused expression on his face. Anny remembered the first time she'd encountered him. He appeared to be better prepared to deal with the situation than he'd been then. He even had a state-of-the-art body-size scanner now. He'd nearly died of embarrassment when he'd had to use an old-fashioned tape measure on Anny two years earlier.

"'Mornin', ladies," he said. "I'm all ready for you." he indicated a row of tables where small mounds of gear were laid out in six piles. "Everything's there except your clothing. Just pick a pile and stand there. I'll take your measurements and you can pack the rest of the stuff while I get your uniforms and such." He paused and reddened slightly as he turned to Anny. "I… uh… Cadet Captain, I'm assumin' that the ladies are still responsible for their own… uh…"

"Undergarments?" replied Anny with a smirk. "Yes, Quartermaster Sergeant, that hasn't changed." The man looked relieved. He took up the scanner and used it on each of the girls. Just a quick up and down motion and then a read of the codes off their IDs and it was done. The Sergeant went off to collect the clothing that was automatically being pulled out of inventory. Meanwhile the girls began packing their other gear into enormous duffle bags. Anny observed for a moment and then called them to attention.

"I don't see any of you comparing what you're packing against the master list of gear on those clipboards on the table." The girls looked nervously between her, their duffles, and the clipboards. "You have to sign for everything on that list. If anything's missing from the list and you need it later, you'll earn demerits the same as it you'd lost it. The QMS is very efficient, but mistakes do happen. I'd suggest you do your own inventory."

It wasn't an order, just a suggestion, but she was happy to see them all pulling out the stuff they had already packed and then start again, checking each item with what was on the lists. They were nearly done when Sheads returned with two assistants carrying big piles of clothing. They placed a bundle in front of each girl and Sheads nodded approvingly when they counted the items and checked them off the lists and packed them away.

"All accounted for?" asked Anny when they were finished. A chorus of yes ma'ams came in reply. "Good. Sign the sheets, take your copies and let's go. Thank you, Quartermaster Sergeant."

"My pleasure, Cadet-Captain. Good luck." Anny just barely caught the "You're gonna need it," that he muttered as she turned away. She led her charges back toward the center of campus, across the vast parade grounds, and up to their barracks, pointing out buildings of interest along the way. The girls waddled along with the enormous duffle bags on their shoulders. She showed them the palm lock on the door and had each one try it to make sure it worked. It did. She then took them up the steps.

"These are your quarters," she said. "All other barracks are off-limits to you. The rest of the Academy facilities are open to you as your duties permit, but you will never enter any of the other barracks even under a direct order from an upperclassman. If any of them try to tell you otherwise, you tell them you have orders from Commandant Sylvanus to the contrary. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Unpack your gear and get squared away. Your footlockers and wall cabinets have combination locks you can set yourselves. When you're done, change into your PT gear and we'll go for a little tour. You have one hour."

She left them to their unpacking and went into her room and shut the door. After a bit she could hear some talking and giggling through the wall. The wall separating the Women's Barracks from the C Company side of the floor was built like a bank vault. For sound insulation the Commandant had said; Anny suspected it was to keep any peep holes from being drilled. But the walls within the Woman's Barracks were paper-thin. She couldn't quite hear what was being said, but she could certainly hear the girls. She tried to put them out of her mind and study her course schedule for the coming year. It was going to be a lot different from the previous two years.

Unlike some other worlds, Barrayar had a single-service military. There was no separate army, navy and marines. Personnel served wherever they were needed and it wasn't unusual for people to shift from one branch to another during their careers. The current academy curriculum was divided into four phases. In the first year it was all the basic stuff: physical training, discipline, marching, basic weapons drill. The second year, the one Anny had just finished, was devoted to ground combat training—plus all the non-combat stuff they had to fit in. This year it would be space combat training plus space-oriented technical instruction. At the end of this year she would have to choose a specific career track and her fourth year would be tailored to fit that. She was looking forward to the space training. The idea of getting out into the wormhole nexus was very exciting. Unfortunately, despite Barrayar's powerful fleet, ten times as many officers were needed in the ground forces than in space. Ship assignments were coveted and very hard to get. Well, she'd do her best…

A knock on her door roused her from her planning. She opened the door and all six girls were standing there in their PT gear: shoes, shorts and T-shirts. "Uh, you told us to report to you in an hour, sir," said Kara Dunvich. Anny was chagrinned. She hadn't realized an hour had gone by and she wasn't in her own PT gear. She didn't want them to realize that they caught her unprepared. Well, there was no regulation that said she couldn't run in her fatigues! A large part of leadership, she'd learned, was to always at least look like you knew what you were doing.

"All right. Let's go." She led them back outside and then on a jog around the Academy campus. As they went, Anny fired off a continuing barrage of questions about basic regulations and procedures. They managed to get most of them right although she stumped all of them when she started demanding to know who the various people were who the Academy buildings were named after. "That one over there's just been called 'The New Classroom Building' since it was built," she said, pointing at one of the newest structures, "But they're going to rename it Vorsworth Hall in a ceremony next month. I imagine you all know who he was." The girls answered in the affirmative; Alby's grandfather had been in the news for weeks right after he died. "I got to meet him once, just before he died," she added and they seemed impressed.

The tour ended at the enlisted staff's mess hall. The main cadet dining hall wasn't open yet, but a lot of the Academy staff were already there, preparing for tomorrow's influx. Anny was able to wheedle the mess sergeant into feeding her brood. There were a lot of NCOs there getting their lunch and the appearance of seven young women in their midst drew many stares and more than a few comments. None of the comments were especially rude, however. Sergeant Major Szytko kept a tight rein on the Academy NCOs and they had all been reasonably polite to Anny—with one notable exception. She wondered what he thought of this new influx of females, but she didn't see him in the mess hall.

Despite the lack of overt rudeness, Anny could see that a few of the girls were uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "You'd think they'd never seen a woman before," said Elin Vlydak, the other Komarran girl.

"Get used to it," said Anny.

"Yeah," said Marissa Carges, "if this is the worst that we have to deal with, we'll be lucky."

"I guess… I guess you had to deal with a lot worse, sir?" said Tabitha Kresge. She looked nervous.

"A bit." She resisted the urge to elaborate. She didn't want to spook the girls—or sound like she was complaining. "But the main thing is to control yourselves. Bullies do what they do in order to get a rise out of you. If you react, you've put them in control and only invite more. If you refuse to take the bait they'll lose interest. And as plebes you have to expect—and accept that the upperclassmen are going to pull all the tradition bullshit with you. They can order you to do damn near anything—with a few very obvious exceptions—and you've got no choice but to obey."

"That's hardly fair," said Jenna Lempic.

"Welcome to Barrayar." She looked at the six faces around the table and sighed. "Girls, I've been ordered to look out for you and give what help I can. I'll do that because I've been ordered to and… well, because I've already been through the mill. But there are limits to what I can do. And there are limits to what I should do. Despite the fact that there's no war going on right now, each and every one of you has to realize that we're being trained as officers. If a war should break out, we'll be expected to be able to lead men in combat. That's too important a responsibility to give to half-baked officers. The Imperial Service Academy was considered to have one of the toughest courses of any such institutions in the wormhole nexus even before they let me in. They didn't make it any easier because of me and they won't because of you. The only thing I can do is try to make sure they give you the same chance as they give the boys. But the rest is up to you! If you can't cut it, don't expect me to save you. I can't and I won't. It wouldn't be fair to the men you'll be in command of someday. You are looking at the toughest four years you'll probably ever face. Each of you has your own reason for wanting to come here—you have to decide of it's worth the price you'll have to pay to make it through. I'll do my best to see that you get a fair chance, but you have to take that chance and run with it on your own. You understand me?"

The girls looked very serious, but after a moment they all nodded. "Fair enough, sir," said Abigail Vorburn.

"Good," said Anny. "Now come on, I'll show you the obstacle course."