Chapter 7: Chain of Command

~Kru~

My name is Kru, and Camp Covington is my home. The camp doesn't have an official name, but that'll do until they come up with one. I hear the commandant wants to call it Camp McKesson but he keeps getting voted down.

You can do whatever you want here. There have been people all over the place here yelling at me and telling me to go here, and go there, and do this and do that. Some of the guys here complain about that all the time, but not me. Because each time they yell at me to do something, I can choose not to.

I've been here for three months now. I spent the entire three months in the PC processing camp fifty miles from here. PC stands for Physical Conditioning. Three months devoted to getting in shape, and getting my head around the concept of being free. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't inescapable slavery either.

Today had been my first at Camp Covington itself. We were brought in on transports immediately after morning mess and dumped in front of the regimental headquarters. I spent the entire day running around, getting processed and evaluated and placed by some exacting and mysterious formula into my assignment within First Division.

It had been explained to me, somewhere during the blur that was the day just past, that the organizational structure was still 'collapsed' because we were not yet at full strength. Sergeant Yashida told us that if the Preci Free Force ever reached 'full strength', there would be exactly one million, eight hundred and sixty six thousand, two hundred and forty warriors in 'this man's army'. Sergeant Yashida said it would take twenty years to build an army that size. Sergeant Yashida was my company commander. He was also my platoon leader. Part of that 'collapsed' thing. Right now platoons were companies and battalions were regiments.

"Tomorrow won't change that men." He said to us as we were gathered around him in the barracks. "Tomorrow wont change that, but it will change everything."

After morning mess, which we discovered to our amusement was exactly as good, or bad, depending on your point of view, as what we'd been getting at the PC camp, we were quick marched back to the regimental HQ, where eight of us at a time were led inside and told to sit in a line of chairs until we were called. A couple minutes later they called the first name. Three minutes later they called the second. I was called third.

The room I entered was bare except for a table, a box, a man in a skin tight blue suit and Colonel Mudfoot, the Regimental Commander.

Colonel Mudfoot wasn't the only Yaru I'd seen here, but he was the first one I'd seen up close.

"At ease Warrior Kru." The Colonel said. "Strip off your fatigues and put them in the box on the table please."

The boots were the hardest things to get off, but not that hard. I'd often wondered how well those self-closing running shoes would do as combat boots, especially with the stories some of the Earth guys told about their military. The guy in the blue suit pulled a bracelet out of thin air and tossed it to me.

"Put this on over your right wrist. Don't worry, it will stretch to fit."

It did slip on easily, which was interesting, because it seemed to be a solid metal band, and not stretchy at all.

The blue suit reached out and put his hand on my shoulder, I looked him in the eye, and suddenly the room got warm and I got dizzy and disoriented. Then something seemed to move in my head and suddenly everything was back to normal.

Except I now had a full working knowledge of what the bracelet on my wrist was and how to use it. I reached down and touched the bracelet, and with a sharp thought I was dressed in a suit like his, only mine had green highlighting.

"Spirit Master Hulin has given you the knowledge you need to use the suit you are wearing." Colonel Mudfoot said. "This is the official uniform and armor of the PFF. Please exit through the open door behind me."

I saluted the Colonel, and threw the Spirit Master one as well. I'd heard about those guys, no sense taking any chances.

"Thank you sir!" I heard myself saying in a gung ho voice.

I stepped smartly through the door, and I wasn't at Camp Covington anymore!

I was standing in a small clearing that was completely surrounded by what appeared to be very heavy forest. Judging by the height of the sun in the sky, it was late afternoon wherever I was now.

"Hello partner." I heard from behind me. I turned and there was a Yaru.

"Hello!" I said. "I'm Kru. Who are you?"

"You can call me Skid." The Yaru said. I had heard that the Yaru names were more stories than names. I figured I'd hear the story before too long.

"Any idea where we are Skid?" I asked.

"Good! I was worried I'd get one of those guys who was so busy talking he never thought to ask a question, and you have indeed asked the correct question. Where are we? I have no clue."

"This is some sort of test, at least that would be my guess."

"Mine too. We should spend a minute looking for any clue we may have been left. You have the eyes and I have the nose, shall we sweep the clearing?" Skid suggested.

We began a sweep, and as we neared the shadowed western edge of the clearing, I activated the 'high beams' in my suit. Two spots on each shoulder began to emit a bright beam of light, which I focused on the ground in front of me with a thought.

"Man I wish all the instruction we got was done the way this armor knowledge was. I know everything about using this armor, like I'd been using it my whole life!"

"Yeah, I got the same treatment for my collar. Pretty impressive. But didn't you get some of that kind of treatment when they first pulled you off of Preci?" Skid asked.

"Yeah, that was probably part of the program, but to be honest, I was so confused and dumbfounded by what had happened that I didn't realize it was happening."

That gave me a thought. I activated the comm functions, and sure enough, there was a message flag shining in my Heads Up.

"Skid, does your collar have the same kind of comm functions my suit does?" I asked.

Yes, it does. Oh, thorns! Good thinking Kru!" Skid said, his coat rippling blue for a second. I'd heard that the Yaru scale/feather coat could change color, but that was the first time I'd seen it happen.

We both had the same messages. The first was from the gear itself, warning of high altitude and thin air. I immediately kicked in the suits face mask and let it feed me normally pressured air. I looked over and saw Skid's entire head now covered as well. The other message was an ops bulletin. Meet at the beacon. When I pulled up the nav feeds there it was, showing a distance of 20 miles.

"That doesn't seem very far away. I expected the test to be tougher." I said.

"It is. There's map data in the navcom. Overlay it on top of the range display." Skid answered.

I did, and saw why a twenty mile hike was our test. The beacon was only twenty miles away, but it lay at the bottom of a half-mile deep canyon.

We'd wasted twenty minutes already, but we took another ten to map out a line of travel on the map and mark in some way points so the navcom would alert us to our progress.

The forest we were in the middle of thinned out after only a couple of miles, and then it was a good thing my suit had the exoskeletal enhancers it did. I was barely able to keep up with Skid, even using them at full power.

"Damn Skid, can you run!" I commented at about the five mile mark.

"Thanks Kru, but I suspect when we get to the canyon part of this little vacation, you'll be hearing me saying 'Damn Kru, can you climb!'." we both laughed out loud over that, and I liked Skid's laugh, it was deep and rumbled like distant thunder.

We had a river to cross in about a mile, and I decided now would be a good time to take a closer look at the map. When I pulled up the comm gear again though, I got some telltales immediately.

"Pull up Skid!" I said immediately, sliding to a stop.

It looked like our test included a few obstacles, or else we were about to meet a few more travelers like ourselves. There were two moving blips on the tactical display. When I'd pulled the comm gear up again it was busy warning me that it had detected heat and movement a mile ahead.

"Skid, we've been pretty dumb Warriors so far. Running across an unknown world and we had all our electronic eyes and ears shut down like we were on vacation!"

With the comm gear and the security features engaged this time, we headed for our river crossing again. It looked like our two blips were headed for the same spot, and that we would get there a little more than a minute ahead of them.

<We should lay in an ambush when we get to the crossing.> Skid said Over the 'private' channel of our suits. We were getting too close to risk being overheard, so I answered back the same way.

<Good idea!>

The terrain map we got through the navcom had made this place seem like an ideal crossing point, but it wasn't exactly designed for an ambush. There was almost no cover to be had, and what little did exist was not going to hide Skid, he was just too big!

That's when I found out that the color shifting properties of the Yaru coat could serve as camouflage. Skid crouched down in the sand near the river and his coat swirled for a second and he was gone! MY armor's stealth mode didn't work the same way, but was just as effective. I sat myself on top of a rock, big enough to sit on but too small to hide behind, grabbed a couple of rocks as improvised weapons, and cloaked and calm we awaited the arrival of our two blips.

A scrambling cascade of dirt from the edge of the riverbank about ten yards south of us signaled their arrival. That was followed seconds later by the sounds of a Yaru tongue lapping at the water in the river.

"The water's good Vic! And the map was right, this looks like a good spot to cross."

"Great, Frost" came a man's voice, "We've still got a ways to go though." I watched the man bend over upstream of where the Yaru had taken his drink. His armor retracted from his face and he dipped his hands in the stream to get a drink. That's when I hit him with the first rock.

He reacted instantly, launching himself in my direction. I dropped the second rock and met him halfway in a flying tackle. I was sitting on his chest, trying to decide what to do next when the Yaru snarled and launched himself at me from fifteen feet away. I saw Skid blur into visibility and intercept that leap in mid air, knocking both Yaru into the river.

For a small period of time there was some very energetic splashing around in the water and rolling around in the dust. Finally I decided we'd had enough fun.

"Stop!" I hollered. Everybody froze. The fellow beneath me began to laugh, and a few seconds later I heard the sounds of Yaru laughter coming from the river. Soon I was laughing as well. I stood up and deactivated the stealth mode of my suit. Skid came splashing out of the river to stand beside me.

"I'm Kru, and this is Skid. We're first Company, Mudfoot Division."

"I am First Frost and Clear Air of the Season's Shifting. Call me Frost. This is Victor Greene. First Company, Mudfoot Division."

I stood corrected. This Yaru was a female, that seemed obvious.

"I suspect that since the basic unit of our organization is a Quad of two Warriors and two War Hounds, the four of us are intended to form a Quad. If so, I have an immediate problem with the two of you." I said.

"Which is?" Vic said, bristling.

"Which is that on an unknown world, and with no knowledge of possible foes or other dangers, you ran all this way without your comm or security gear active." Skid said. "You had no idea there was anyone in the vicinity. We were able to set up an ambush, which you both walked into without any thought to the possibilities."

Victor Greene blushed and I saw Frost's coat ripple a dark red.

"If it makes you feel any better, we didn't figure it out immediately either. I would guess that that is half the lesson that they hope to teach us today." I said.

Properly chagrined, our two new team mates joined us in looking over the map again as we compared the routes we had chosen. Until we got to the edge of the canyon there was no practical difference, so we decided to save the descent planning for when we got there. We talked as we ran.

Vic Greene was from Earth, and had been living in and out of a homeless shelter in a city on Earth called Oakland with his dad and sister when he was recruited. Actually the entire family was recruited. His sister Vivian was a year older than he was, and his dad had been an electrician.

"Vivian is in 2nd Company, Springrunner Division. I'll introduce you sometime when we get some R&R."

On Preci, my love life consisted of regularly scheduled visits by my Sh'kxu master which signaled a trip to the brood units to fulfill the breeding schedules of my masters. I had never even learned the names of any of the females I had been made to couple with, nor did I know if there were offspring as a result. Just saying hello to a female as a voluntary act seemed strange and new when I'd encountered them at the PC camp.

By the time we got to the canyon rim and began scouting around for likely places to make our descent, it was mid evening. I didn't want to be halfway down the canyon when night fell, so I suggested we spend the night on the rim. We began looking for a place to make camp. Once the decision was made, I discovered that I was what Vic called a 'literal babe in the woods'.

Thanks to Vic and an organization he called the 'Boy Scouts of America, troop 9', we had a decent spot to stop for the night, camp fire included. Of course starting a fire is easy when you have a micro-laser in the tip of your armor's finger. My freshly acquired understanding of the armor and its functions gave instructions on using it to cut wire, chain link fencing, restraints and the like, but a campfire seemed a reasonable adaptation. Skid and Frost seemed happy to join us around the fire, and indeed fire was one of their most preciously guarded possessions. Without hands, fire was hard to get.

We didn't need a fire, or even shelter really, not with our armor, and Skid and Frost were certainly used to sleeping under the open sky, so it was mostly a sense of security and the perception of warmth that it gave us.

Neither Frost or Skid were from the same Hunt as Colonel Mudfoot, our Regimental Commander. Skid was from the 'Blue Lake Hills' Hunt and Frost was from the 'Long White Sand' Hunt. Neither of their respective Hunts were close enough to each other on Yaru to have ever had contact. To the best of their knowledge, this was the first time two of their Hunt had ever met.

We finally got to hear what Skid's real name was.

"Long Day's Joyous Running Through the Hills Brought to an Abrupt and Happy Stop by his Mother's Call."

What a mouthful. No wonder everyone just called him Skid.

With no dinner on the fire, and my strong objection to testing the edibility of the local wildlife, we were satisfied to take care of nature's call, set up a watch schedule and get some sleep. One thing no Preci has problems with is falling asleep. Given our own wills to follow, we could drop off to sleep anytime, anywhere.

I had the last watch, and so was awake to see the sun rise from the direction of the mouth of the canyon and slowly make its way up the length of it, climbing the walls until it broke across the plain behind us. It was beautiful. Moments like that were the only possessions I had to bring with me when I was rescued.

Once everyone was up and alert we began mapping out our path down the canyon wall to the river below. Several likely routes had to be eliminated, either because they required stretches of climbing the Yaru couldn't handle, or jumps or drops that Vic and I couldn't quite manage, even with the armor's boost to our abilities.

We used the navcom to map our route, and locked it into the system. Vic fell once on the way down, but only a drop of ten feet or so, flat onto his back. We discovered that the armor could absorb a ten foot drop without causing any distress. Nice to know!

We were at the river in three hours, and we stopped for a break, drinking a little water, answering nature's call again and taking some time to check our route against the beacon. The river was going to lead us right to it. We were also able to drop the masks, as the atmospheric pressure was quite a bit stronger.

The banks of the river seemed easily navigable as we looked down river, so we just began a steady run. There were a couple places where the river ran right against the narrowed walls of the canyon itself, and for those we swam. Vic had learned to swim in the Boy Scouts organization, and I had learned at the PC camp, but the Yaru were amazing! With their coats fluffed up to their softest they bobbed along, 'like beach balls', Vic said. Whatever a beach ball was. At one point we both clung madly to a Yaru as we shot through a narrow rapid. At the end we decided it was so much fun we were trying to think about how to do it again.

We ran at top speed, ours not the Yaru's, every chance we got, and for the last ten miles that was pretty much non-stop. We were at the beacon by mid-day. We were the third team in and the first of the teams that didn't make a night descent of the canyon wall. Three of the teams that did had to call a medical emergency and ask for rescue for one of their team members. The only fatality was a Yaru, surprisingly. Apparently we were wise to avoid testing the local wildlife's edibility. The Yaru had picked something poisonous and had died in convulsions within a half an hour.

Sixteen Quads had made the same run we had, starting at the same time we had. We were ushered into a tent where we were met by our new company commander, Major Sweet. He congratulated us on our excellent time and asked the four of us to point at whichever one of us we each considered the leader of our Quad. I pointed at Frost, and the other three pointed at me.

That was how I became Force Leader Kru. I suddenly found myself in charge of three Quads in addition to my own. So did the three people fingered by their teammates in the other three fastest finishing Quads.

I reported to Major Sweet and I got to exchange my bracelet for a new one that added a little extra juice to the comm suite so I could talk on a separate circuit to the members of my force, my quad and also my platoon leader when I had one. Right now the only guy between me and the Major was Sergeant Yashida, who was currently standing in as Company commander so Major Sweet only had to be Brigade and Battalion commander for Regiment Alpha. Major Craft was doing the same thing for Regiment Beta. Every Division had two regiments at the moment, but when we were at full strength each division would have four full regiments.

I thought about all of that as I listened to Major Sweet tell me all the reasons I had been selected as Force Leader.

"Kru!" The Major said to me at last. "Your thoughts?"

"Sir, I suspect that my three team members have conspired in advance to avoid extra duty and responsibility by recommending me in this fashion."

"While probably true, can you deny any of their claims?"

I kept my silence for a moment, but saw no option. "No sir!"

"Very well Force Leader Kru! Congratulations, you just lost an hour of sleep a day. "You're new schedule should have already been dumped into your PerCom. Check with Sergeant Yashida immediately, as he may want to get you and the other four Force Leaders together during evening mess. Dismissed!"

"Yes Sir!" I said along with my best Warrior salute.

As I walked out the door I tapped my PerCom, and sure enough there was a contact flag from Sergeant Yashida. I stopped in the middle of the parade grounds and brought up my ComSig. I had pipes to three Quad Leaders and fifteen Warriors showing active along with the pipe to Sergeant Yashida. I set a contact flag for the other three Quad leaders and then sent the Sergeant a com request. He came online almost immediately.

"Force Leader Kru! Congratulations."

"Thank you sir." I answered. I figured I didn't need to be quite so 'gung ho' over a comm link, so I didn't try shouting my responses. I even managed to avoid saluting whenever I said 'sir'.

"You are officially leader of Red Platoon, Force One, which for the moment is all of Red Platoon. We will be eating in my office at the company bivouac tonight with Major Craft, Red Platoon Force Two Leader Gomen and Blue Platoon Force Leaders Woj and Sanderson. In the meantime you have four brand new Quads wondering what's going on. The time between now and dinner is yours, don't waste it."

"Yes Sir!" I answered, slipping back into a more forceful mode of answer.

"Excellent, Kru! Carry on!"

"Yes sir!" I replied, and let the link drop. I quickly tapped a link to my three Quad members and told them to head to the parade grounds on the double and meet me under the flagpole.

I waited until I saw The familiar figures of Skid and Frost, sandwiching Vic between them as they hit the far side of the parade ground, before I tapped the contact flag for my three Quad Leaders. I had all three of them linked in seconds.

"Listen up!" I said. "This is Force Leader Kru. I am standing under the flag pole on the parade grounds. Assemble your teams here on the double."

"Yes sir!" I could hear the respect, and the salute, in the chorus of voices. As I dropped the link I wondered to myself if the respect would be there tomorrow.

My Quad mates pulled to a stop smartly in front of me.

"Well team, thanks to your treachery I am now Force Leader Kru, and the three other Quads that you must share me with are on their way."

I cut the congratulations short. There was one thing I wanted to take care of before anyone else arrived.

"Frost, you are hereby appointed as Quad Leader whenever my other duties leave me absent or too busy. I expect you to do as you think right and check with me afterwards, not the other way around."

"Yes sir!" she said with a growl. I could hear Skids low, booming laugh, even though he was trying to hold it in check. He cut it short because the rest of the Force was showing up, pretty much at once.

I had my PerCom tap their public data. My other three Quad Leaders were Ali, Bel, and ColdRun. Ali was a Taluat volunteer, Bel a fellow reclaimed Preci and Coldrun was a Yaru who seemed a bit older than Frost or Skid. I did a quick check on the time before I dropped the PerCom display.

"Welcome to Red Platoon. I am Force Leader Kru." I said. "First of all, to my fellow Quad Leaders, congratulations. "This is all very new to all of us, so I am not going to stand here and act like I know more than the rest of you, because I don't. I will by this time tomorrow, but for the moment, I don't."

I got a small laugh at that, and it did what I had hoped for, it relaxed everyone a bit.

"Right now there are twelve other Quads getting bored off their asses by their new Force Leader, just like you are." I followed with. "We appear to have the parade grounds to ourselves and we are free until dinner, so lets take a seat and get acquainted."

Dinner with my fellow Force Leaders, Sergeant Yashida and the Majors was enlightening. Gomen and Woj both seemed to be regular guys, like everyone I'd trained with so far. Gomen struck me as pretty sharp actually, but Sanderson began to irritate me five minutes into the meal. He had something to say about everything the Majors said, and seemed to have an angle on every situation. I kept my mouth shut for the most part, making notes in my PerCom using the subvocal pickup.