Tales from the Academy
Chapter 29
They spent the next several hours being shifted from one holding area to another inside the military base. Midnight came and went. Their ships were scheduled to leave orbit at 0600. Jer wondered if they'd be aboard. Officers came and questioned them several times, both singly and together. They seemed to be taking the incident very seriously. Jer wasn't sure if that was good or not. Anny confirmed that she had selected that particular tavern on Lieutenant Vorritter's recommendation, but had no clue that he or his friends would be there. Sometime, either very late at night or very early in the morning, they took Fallon away for a fast-penta interrogation.
"Guess we'll be next," said Patric uneasily after a half-hour had passed.
"Hey, we got nothing to worry about," said Alby. "We did nothing wrong!"
"We struck superior officers. We disobeyed direct orders…"
"Illegal orders! You remember the taped lecture from Count Vorkosigan on that topic, don't you? We can't be ordered to commit murder, or any other crime, or stand aside while someone else commits it. They were gonna… they were gonna…" he looked at Anny and blushed.
"They were going to rape me," she said quietly. Suddenly she huffed out her breath. It might have been a laugh. "I remember how before I got to the Academy the Countess and Drou Koudelka warned me, trained me to protect myself. Told me I might have to face something like this. But they—and me!—were all thinking about you! The other cadets, I mean! Being on the campus with all those thousands of boys all around. I never even thought about an officer trying something like this!" She paused and looked them over. "But it was the cadets who saved me from the officers." Her eyes were gleaming and a warm feeling passed all through Jer.
"It was just lucky we happened by," he said. "And it was just luck, Anny, we weren't following you or anything."
"Then I'm the luckiest girl in the universe," she replied, smiling. "Not just today, but every day since I met you." She paused for a moment, looked down at the floor and then opened her mouth to say something… But just then the door to the room opened and Fallon was led back in. He looked a little shaken up, but okay.
"Who's next?" asked Alby.
"I've got no orders to take anyone else right now," said the sergeant who had brought Fallon. "Just sit tight."
"Sit tight? Not much else we can do in here."
"How'd it go, Fa… Denis?" asked Jer.
"Weird… really weird," he replied slowly.
"But you told them what happened, didn't you?" demanded Alby.
"I guess so. It's all sort of jumbled together, but I think I told them everything. Man, I need some sleep!" He started to doze in his chair.
Almost an hour passed and then the door opened again and this time a major came in. He was the highest ranking officer they'd seen so far. They sprang to attention.
"At ease," he said. "Cadets, you are to return to your ship. A shuttle is waiting. Cadet-Captain Payne, you have been reassigned to the frigate Daring. Your gear is being sent over right now. You are all ordered to discuss the… incident with no one until you've been cleared to do so by your superiors back on Barrayar, understand?"
"Yes sir," Jer's relief vied with his surprise, but the relief won. The major left and they were escorted out by an NCO to where a shuttle was, indeed, waiting for them. Almost before they could catch their breaths they were boosting toward orbit.
"Well, thanks for the tour, Jer," grunted Alby, his voice strained against the gees. "A real interesting place, Komarr!"
"Sorry you missed meeting up with your folks," said Patric.
"There'll be other chances."
I hope.
[Scene Break]
Jer had never been in the Commandant's Office before. It had been two weeks since they'd gotten back from Komarr. Mid-terms were over and they were starting preparations for the Pentathlon. But the uncertainty over the fallout from the incident on Komarr had been a serious distraction for all of them. Fending off questions from the other cadets hadn't been easy, either. They all knew something had happened with Anny's mysterious transfer to Daring—and Lieutenant Vorritter's equally mysterious disappearance from Swiftsure. Just telling them 'we can't talk about it' had done nothing to quell their curiosity.
The mere fact that Vorritter had not returned to the other frigate told them that something official must have happened, but they'd gotten no word—until the order had come for all five of them to report to see the Commandant. They were seated in a small conference room facing Colonel Sylvanus who was slowly tapping the table with a finger.
"Cadet-Captain Payne," said Sylvanus after an unnervingly long silence.
"Sir?"
"From the first moment I heard that you were coming here, three years ago, I was afraid that something like this might happen. But I'm extremely grateful—and forgive me if this sounds selfish—extremely grateful that it did not happen on my campus."
"I understand, sir."
"An incident like this here could have ruined the place. Stained its honor for a generation."
"I don't believe an incident like this could happen here, sir," said Anny. "Not now. Not with the people who are here." She glanced toward Jer and the others with a look of pride on her face that sent a thrill through him.
"I'll pray that you are right," said Sylvanus. He glanced at the others, too. "And I think you probably are."
"What… what's going to happen, sir?' asked Alby.
"To you? Why nothing, cadet, nothing at all. No punishments—which you don't deserve, and no commendations, either—which you probably do deserve. And no loose lips! Officially—from our end of things at least—the incident never happened. I have that right from the top. You are not to discuss the events on Komarr with anyone, understand?"
Everyone nodded—except Alby. "You… you mean those bastards get off scot-free?" he exploded.
"Alby…" said Anny. Sylvanus held up his hand.
"I mean no such thing, cadet. All four of the officers involved are under arrest and facing some very serious charges. Vorritter's compatriots might escape jail, but I seriously doubt he will. And I doubt any of them will be wearing an Imperial uniform again. Satisfied?" He stared right at Alby who blushed and nodded. "But nothing good can come from getting the Academy all riled up by this incident. As Cadet-Captain Payne has noted, the people here hold themselves to a higher standard already. You can take full pride in that fact."
"I… I still can't believe it even happened, sir," said Patric. "I mean didn't they realize they would get caught?"
The expression on the Commandant's face grew very somber. "Would they?" he asked shaking his head. "Cadet-Captain, you don't have to answer this, but if these… men's scheme had succeeded without interference, do you think you would have brought charges against them?"
Anny was silent for a long time, but she eventually shook her head. "No, sir, probably not," she said in a near-whisper.
"What" exclaimed Alby. "But…"
"Alby, leave it be," said Jer. Alby glanced at Anny, who was blushing, and subsided.
"Yes," said Sylvanus. "Let's all leave it be. Justice will be done and we can take satisfaction in that. As for us, well, gentlemen, you all have my admiration and my thanks. That's all, you're dismissed.
[Scene Break]
Two days later Jer was working on a possible team structure for the Pentathlon when his wristcom pinged. It was a text message from Anny which simply said: Meet me at the cottage. Puzzled, he grabbed his cap and left the barracks and walked toward the woods where the little guest cottage that had once been her quarters was located. Halfway there he saw Patric and Alby headed the same direction. He waited for them.
"Anny send for you, too?" he asked when they got closer.
"Yeah," said Patric. "What's going on?"
"Dunno."
"Maybe she's got some new secret plan for the Pentathlon," said Alby. "We're gonna need one to win this year."
"Well, let's go find out," said Jer and he led the way through the woods. The path was a bit overgrown now that there was no traffic to and from the cottage. Or not much; he knew Anny would still go there from time to time if she wanted to think. What's she been thinking now? She'd been acting oddly since they got back, but he suspected it was a delayed reaction to the near-horror on Komarr.
They reached the little house and knocked on the door. Anny let them in and she had them sit down on the old, but serviceable furniture. "Thanks for coming so quickly," she said. Jer thought she looked nervous.
"No problem. What's up?"
"I… I wanted to thank you again for what you did on Komarr," she said, looking down at the floor and twisting her hands together. Jer started to reply but then stopped, sensing that something else was coming. To his surprise and dismay he saw that there were tears on her cheeks.
"Anny, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Jer! Alby! Patric! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Sorry?" said Alby. "Sorry for what?"
"For the way I was acting! The way I treated you! Oh, how could I have been so stupid!" The pain on her face was like a knife in Jer's heart.
"What… what are you talking about?" he asked.
Now she was actually crying. "When I nearly lost some of you… in the fire… I was so scared. I couldn't stand the thought of… I didn't know what to do. I thought an officer couldn't risk getting too close to her people. So I tried to push you away! Tried to pretend that I didn't…" She looked at them, her face twisted with anguish.
"Oh, God, I love you guys so much!" She stood up and stretched her arms wide. In an instant he and the others were on their feet and closed in around her. She wrapped her arms around them as much as she could and squeezed. He could feel her trembling and several small sobs escaped her. Awkwardly, he stroked her head, Alby touched her arm, Patric patted her back.
The group-hug lasted quite a while, but eventually Anny sniffed loudly and pulled back. She ran her hand across her eyes and smiled. "I'm done being stupid. Can you forgive me?"
"Sure we can," said Alby, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "We all love you, too, Anny."
"That's for sure," said Patric, smiling.
"It's unanimous," said Jer. There was a light inside him bright as the Soletta Array.
"It's going to be just like it was before," said Anny firmly. "Just like before. I promise."
"That sounds good, Cap'n," said Alby.
"Real good," added Patric.
"Well, okay then," she said rubbing water off her cheeks. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'll make myself presentable and meet you back at the barracks. We've got a Pentathlon to win!"
They laughed and did as she asked. Jer felt like his feet weren't even touching the gravel path. They had Anny back! He felt so good he was a hundred meters away before he realized he'd left his cap back in the cottage.
He told the others to go on and trotted back to the little house. The door was still open and he went right through—and collided with Anny.
"Oh!" they both exclaimed and then laughed. He had instinctively grasped her by the arms and they were face to face.
Face to face.
Her green eyes were right there, staring into his. Her mouth was open with a sudden intake of breath. His heart was suddenly pounding.
And then their arms were around each other and their lips pressed together and Jer thought his brain was going to explode.
"Oh! Oh!" gasped Anny when they finally pulled apart. Her face was flushed and her eyes incredibly wide. Jer had no idea what he looked like or what sort of idiot noises he was making.
"Oh!" she said again. "I… I don't think that just happened."
"No… no…" he agreed breathlessly. "Of course it didn't. But… but… maybe someday it could, do you think?"
A small smile appeared on her lips. "Maybe… someday… yes."
A long but not awkward silence ensued while they just looked at each other and smiled. Then Anny shook herself and held up her hand. "You forgot your cap," she said and they both laughed.
"I know, thanks." He took it from her and put it on his head.
"See you back at the barracks."
"Right, Cadet Captain!" He smiled and saluted.
She returned it with a flourish. "Carry on, Cadet-First Sergeant!"
He was whistling all the way back to the barracks.