Chapter 29: Mobilisation

Alarm and mobilisation

I woke up to the sound of a general alarm. We had gotten to sleep very late the night before and I could feel that I hadn't had nearly enough sleep yet. I dragged myself out of bed and out of the barracks and met up with everyone else streaming onto the parade ground. It was still dark, with just the slightest touch of light to warn that dawn was approaching. By the time the entire Hand was formed up, Hand Evans was standing and waiting impatiently.

  "Shut up and listen," Hand Evans shouted. Everyone got quiet very quickly. "We have just got news that the fight has run into trouble. They are besieged in a city on the mainland continent. We are going to have to cut your training short and go to their aid. The cadre and Finger Leaders will meet with me when you are dismissed, the rest of you start packing. That is all. Dismissed."

  I was stunned. Our second phase had lasted just five weeks, the first three concentrating on fighting together as a Hand and then, after our three day break, we had done lots of maneuvering and drills to get us accustomed to the various possible tactical situations that we might face.

  I hurried with the others to the mess where an impatient Hand Evans was already locked in furious discussion with some of the cadre.

  "Right, everyone here?" Hand Evans asked. He didn't pause for the answer but just continued, "The situation is as I outlined it out there. For now ignore that, we will have some time during the journey to go into more detail. For now we have to concentrate on movement orders. You Knuckles are now officially Finger Leaders. This is no longer a pool of replacements for the Fight, but rather a Fighting Hand. I will remain as Hand Leader, the Cadre members will form part of my tactical HQ and will be available to assist you if necessary. I want you to return to your fingers and ensure that you have your kit packed and ready. We leave an hour from now. We will be heading for the transit base on the coast where we can trans-ship to the mainland. Any questions?"

  There were none. Everyone could see that it would be a bad idea to waste Hand Evan's time.

Travel

Two hours later we were on the road. We were all loaded down with a full load of gear and moving at a pace somewhere faster than a walk and slower than a run. It was that heavily loaded shuffle that the British Army calls 'tabbing' although slightly faster than that. We had set out from the camp along a pathway that down-river for a short distance before crossing the river at a ford and then turning East.

  Once we were settled into the journey, I had time to think about other things.

  "[Desrae, how're you doing?]" I asked.

  "[Fine thanks Cy. Feeling strong.]"

  "[No, I didn't mean that. I was thinking that I got the strong impression that Hand Evans was panicked.]"

  "[You don't say {sarcasm}]"

  "[Hey. {spank} {smile}]"

  "[{smile} Yes, I did find it strange that he was so ruffled. I have no idea why there was such a rush. Apparently it will take us some time to get to where the Fight is, so I am sure we could have taken a bit more time to make sure we had everything we need.]"

  "[A bit of a better briefing would have been nice. I am a little concerned about how he reacted. There are to my mind two possibilities; either there is something more serious than we know so far, or he is not a good commander. One of the first lessons I learnt about that was that if you panic, the men around you panic.]"

  "[He came damn close to panicing though, didn't he?]"

  I could hear my doubts about Hand Evans reflected by Desrae. It didn't reassure me in the least. I reached out to all the other Finger Leaders and checked on how they were doing. They all reported that they were doing fine physically, but all were to a greater or lesser extent worried about what was happening although it was only Lian who specifically said that he was worried about a commander who couldn't hide his panic from his subordinates. We all agreed to keep checking with each other.

Transit

It took us almost two days to get to the coast. We ran all day from sun-up to sun-down, stopping to camp on the bank of a river overnight without even bothering to build temporary fortifications or latrines.

  When we reached the coast just after lunch-time on the second day, it was to be greeted by the sight of a harbour built of stone. There were a few small buildings which turned out to be housing for the permanent staff at the harbour and a long low barracks-type building, which we discovered was for the use of ship's crews that were moored in the harbour. There was a small tavern which we were told was off limits to us as we would not be staying long enough to have time off.

  We were directed to a field and told to wait. I took the opportunity to inspect all the members of my Finger, making sure that their feet were OK and that they still had all their kit. While I was doing that, S'Alor appeared out of the undergrowth and joined us.

  After a wait of about an hour, we were called to board a large ship moored in the harbour. I was fascinated as it was the first time I had been on a fully rigged sailing ship. I didn't get much chance to rubber-neck though, as we were directed down to the lower decks pretty quickly and told to stay there, out of the way of the sailors.

  Once out of the harbour, it looked as if we were going to have a problem with sea-sickness, until I managed to move my Finger into battle-mode and focus their attention away from the problem. While we were doing that, I found that two of my Finger members had problems with their inner-ears, both as a result of child-hood infections. I helped them to focus their bodies healing abilities on the problem and our sea-sickness problems disappeared.

  We were at sea for about three hours. The sun was low on the horizon when we were told that we were about to enter the harbour on the mainland. It was a town called Port A'maine. All I could see out of the port-hole was what looked like warehouses that butted right up against the wharfs.

  Hand Evans spoke to all of us, telling us that we would be put up in the town over-night while arrangements were made to travel the next day. There were dire warnings about what would happen to anyone who got out of hand.

Chapter 28: Doubts

"Are you alright Cy?" Desrae asked.

  I was a little startled. I had been so deep into my thoughts that the heightened situational awareness that I had developed since arriving on War World had deserted me.

  "Sorry Des, just thinking about something."

  "Yes, I can see that silly," Desrae said sitting down next to me. We were on a large rock upstream from the jetty and I had been staring out over the water. "What's got your knickers in a knot?"

  "Do you think everything is coming too easily?" I asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I was just thinking that from the time we were recruited, we have been processed like mince being fed into a sausage-maker. I get the feeling that the powers-that-be have been more surprised at the fact that we have broken the mould than at what we have actually achieved.'

  "Hmm, that doesn't mean it came easily?"

  "True. What I meant though is that we have no real evidence that what we are doing is the correct thing. I keep thinking of things that worry me."

  "Like what?"

  "Like the shields. You know we have practised with the Fingers and the Hand generating shields?"

  "Yes. That was a little scary until we saw the stones the cadre threw bouncing off."

  "Yes, but the mental shields are no real use in close combat. We have to rely on members of the Finger defending each other, and on the use of the parry dagger."

  "What would you like to see then? Are you saying that you would prefer to have proper shields?"

  "Well ... sort of. It's just that I am a bit concerned about what would happen if we had any significant casualties, what happens when the integrity of the Finger or Hand is broken?"

  "Sort of like you did with the thrown dagger in our fight against Lorraine's Finger?"

  "Yes. I overheard a number of comments after that fight. A lot of people seemed to think that throwing the dagger wouldn't work because the shields protected a finger from projectile weapons."

  "That's just silly. They should realise that it only applies to arrows and things from further away."

  "Why should they realise that Des? It's what we were told ... but it was part of the dogma, not something that seemed to occur to anyone."

  "And what do you think that means?"

  "I think that things are stagnated. No-One is thinking beyond what they have been taught. I should never have been able to orchestrate the defence of a Finger like Lorraine's considering that they have so much more experience of actual battle than us. What is more important for me though is that while we have been doing this training as a Hand, I keep seeing ways that we could be attacked and defeated."

  "Really? But what about the comments from Hand Evans and the way that he has given us this three day break in training as an award?"

  "That's just it. We have done all the drills perfectly, but I spent enough time in the army before to understand the difference between drills and combat. It is easy enough to 'win' each and every battle during training when there is no enemy to confront you, and something else completely different when you are opposed by a real opponent... in fact just having trouble with the weather or terrain can mean that you can be defeated by an inferior force. What worries me even more though is that the way that we are starting to mesh now as Fingers and as a Hand means that we are starting to think that is the only way that we can fight."

  "Have you discussed this with anyone yet?"

  "Only with S'Alor."

  "And? What does he have to say?"

  "He just appears to be vastly amused by everything, but I get the sense that he agrees with me about our vunerabilities. He just isn't really talking about them. I also think that he is willing to do stuff only up to a point, after that it seems that he expects me to figure stuff out for myself."

  "Sort of like a parent hey?" Desrae said with a smile.

  I looked at her and smiled back. She had an uncanny knack for knowing just how to cheer me up.

  "I have been on an incredible learning curve here," Desrae continued, "I never served in the military before so all this stuff is new to me. I thought that the training was pretty fantastic and comprehensive. What am I missing?"

  "Well, if I had to relate the way that our role has been described to us, I would say that it is analogous to that of shock infantry, but if I look at how we are armed and configured, I think it is more suited to that of skirmishers or for reconnaissance. Something more like the 95th Regiment of the Rifle Brigade in the Peninsular Campaign."

  "Oh. I think I know something about that. You mean like Richard Sharpe?"

  I laughed out loud at that. "You have read the Sharpe novels?"

  Desrae looked a little sheepish. "Yes. What of it?"

  "Just surprised is all. I don't know why though, I've noticed from other things you've said that you had a fairly catholic taste in books."

  "Sometimes you read what is available. I must say that I didn't pay attention to everything in stories like that; I just focused on the main plot and read it for pleasure."

  "Well, you are absolutely correct. Just like the Green Jackets or like the Roman Velites."

  "But how do you think someone could defeat us?"

  "I think we have lots of vulnerabilities. One of the most glaring to me is what would happen if the leaders were removed."

  "You mean us Finger Leaders?"

  "Yes. And the Hand leader."

  "I'm not sure. I would have to think about it a bit, but off the cuff, I would think someone else would take over."

  "Mmm. Who? That is one of my problems. I was so enamoured by the whole romance of this thing that I never thought about it properly before now. You know that there are a lot of reasons why the armies where we come from are structured the way they are with essentially a two-tiered system of Officers and NCOs. One of those reasons is so that there is a clear separation between Command and Management, but for the purposes of what I have been considering, the more important reason is so that there is someone who can hold the fort if the officer is taken out. The platoon or company can continue, at least for a while, quite happily if the officers are taken out. This structure is too flat, with very few commanders and no way for any of the subordinates to step up and take command."

  "But there is a structure," Desrae protested, " the knuckles can take over the Finger and the senior Finger Leader can take over the Hand."

  "No. That isn't exactly what I meant. We are training to fight as integrated units, and the implicit reasoning is that any injury is only temporary, because of the way that we heal. I learnt a very important lesson early on in my military career. We were involved in a war in a large, sparsely populated area where the Corporals were given command of their sections for long periods of time with only infrequent contact with their chain of command, and everyone knew that they could do his job if he was taken out. That extended up the chain with everyone training one or two levels above his rank. Here, if the leaders go down and are not returned to action rapidly, then the entire unit loses it's effectiveness."

  "I know that my husband used to talk about the Corporal's War in Namibia so I have some idea of what you mean. I am not sure quite why that is so important though?"

  "It's just an uneasiness I have. Let's do some what ifs."

  "Ok. Like what?"

  "Let's say that all of us Finger Leaders were to get together and have supper one night, and someone put a sleeping potion into the food, then as soon as we fell asleep, they attacked the base. What do you think would happen?"

  I watched while Desrae thought about that and saw various expressions chase themselves across her face. She was silent for a long time, while I stared out at the moon shining on the water.

  "I think it might be a bit disastrous" Desrae said eventually.

  "Ja. We are training to be the Phalanx, the heavy infantry, so there is little need for individual thought, but we are not armed for that without shields. It also feels to me like the Russian philosophy of centralised control. Works wonderfully when it works, but tend to prefer ability and decision making, right down to the individual solider. Means you can be more flexible and adapt faster to changes when the plan inevitably dissolves in the face of the enemy..."

  "What do you think needs to change?" Desrae asked with a worried frown.

  "I would do it differently if I was in charge. But then I don't have experience of the wars here, so I might be completely wrong."

  "Hey, how about you forget about that for now and come back to join the rest of us? We still have two days to relax before starting the next phase of training. Maybe we can discuss this a bit more and think it through."

  "You're right. I suspect there is still lots I need to know. Sorry for neding your ear by the way."

  "I did ask what was bothering you. There are some people who care for you you know."

  "Thanks Desrae. I appreciate that more than I can tell you."

  "No problem. Let's see whether there is any of that home-brew left."

  "Sounds good to me."