The Wrong Trail Knife

by Jane Fletcher

jane.fletcher@virgin.net

Disclaimers: Please see chapter one

Chapter ten – A lot of bad feeling

The town of Highview was the most northerly posting in the region covered by the Eastern Division and, as its name implied, it was situated in the highlands. It was the centre of the timber industry for the area upstream of Landfall. In summer the Liffey would be filled with rafts of logs, floating down to the sawmills and timber-yards of the city. Now the river was icebound and the surrounding countryside was smothered under a thick coating of snow, but the roads had been kept clear and Katryn reached her destination by the allotted date.

It was mid-afternoon when the road finally emerged from the forest and Katryn saw the town perched on hilltop ahead. The skies were clear, but there was the smell of more snow on the wind. The thought of resting with a hot meal beside a fire was enticing, and even canteen food in a mess-hall did not sound too bad.

Neither Katryn nor her uniform attracted much notice as she rode through the streets. Rangers were a common sight for the local population. The face of the woman Katryn stopped to ask directions showed not the slightest curiosity. However it did show a mixture of emotions that set Katryn musing as she rode on.

The black uniform of the militia was met with fear from those with a guilty conscience, and with relief when going to people’s aid. The rest of the time people simply looked blank, in an attempt not to attract attention. The green and grey of the rangers produced a markedly different response. Of course the rangers were respected, particularly in the border-lands, where they risked their lives protecting the ordinary citizens. Katryn was still taken aback by the effect she’d had. The local had looked at her with admiration, almost deference, and had acted with a childlike eagerness to be helpful. Katryn grinned at herself when she realised that, without thinking, she was now sitting straighter in the saddle.

The ranger barracks were set just beyond the town, inside a high wooden stockade. Katryn dismounted at the gates and lead her horse by the reins. There was no sentry on duty, but her unfamiliar face attracted attention immediately. Another ranger hailed her, and, after a brief discussion, she was escorted further into the site.

On one side of the road were stables, on the other buildings Katryn guessed to be the bunk-houses. After a dozen metres or so the road opened out into a central parade ground. Directly ahead was a single story building which the other ranger identified as the admin block and officer’s quarters. Katryn tied her horse outside and followed her guide up the short flight of stairs to the open balcony.

Inside the doorway was a long room, the walls lined with books and maps. A desk took up a fair proportion of the floor space. Two officers were seated there, leaning over a report. From the badges on their shoulders Katryn saw that one was the 12th squadron’s lieutenant and the other a staff sergeant. They broke off their conversation and looked up.

"Ma’am, it’s the new recruit." Katryn’s guide announced.

"Good." The lieutenant got to her feet. "Go and find Sergeant Ellis."

"Yes, ma’am." The ranger departed.

Katryn stepped forward, holding out her orders. "Private Nagata reporting, ma’am."

The lieutenant took the offered sheet and glanced at the contents quickly. She then raised her head and studied Katryn thoughtfully. It was a two way exercise. The lieutenant was a thin faced woman in her early thirties, whose air of crisp efficiency struck a slightly false note, as if she was consciously working at it. Katryn wondered what lay underneath.

After a few seconds of silence the lieutenant put the paper on the desk and began speaking. "Captain Dolokov is currently out on patrol with half the squadron. I am Lieutenant Bergstrom, and I’m in charge of the barracks in the captain’s absence. You are assigned to B patrol, under Sergeant Ellis, who'll be here in a moment. She'll see that you're allotted a bunk and stabling for your horse. She will also instruct you in local procedures and restrictions. If you have any problems you should report them to…"

She broke off as the door opened again. Lieutenant Bergstrom looked at the new arrival with an involuntary expression of distaste that was suppressed so quickly Katryn half-thought she’d imagined it. The woman in the doorway was a sergeant. She was short, stocky, and a few years older than Bergstrom. She projected an air of belligerence which, Katryn realised, was utterly genuine.

"I understand my new recruit has turned up…" the sergeant paused for a fraction of a second, "…ma’am."

Katryn managed to hide her surprise. The effect of the hesitation was blatantly insolent, however Lieutenant Bergstrom acted as if she hadn't noticed. It was obvious the dislike between the two women was mutual. "Yes, Sergeant Ellis." Katryn detected an emphasis on the rank. "Private Nagata has just arrived from Fort Krowe. See that she is settled in." Bergstrom stared coldly at Ellis, and then snapped, "Dismissed."

Katryn followed Ellis out of the building and collected her horse. There was obviously a lot of bad feeling between her new sergeant and the lieutenant, which could lead to all sorts of complications. Katryn was determined to keep well out of it.

They were half-way across the parade ground before Ellis spoke. "This your first posting?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"You look a bit on the old side for a new recruit."

"I served nine years in the militia."

Ellis came to a standstill as if she’d run into a wall, contempt on her face. "Oh… Himoti’s tits. And they thought they’d dump you on us?"

Katryn also stopped, stunned by the speed and vehemence of the reaction. Although the militia was not held in high regard by the rangers, she hadn't expected her long service to be held against her. However Ellis was acting as if it as were an admission of cowardice and incompetence.

Ellis poked her finger into Katryn’s shoulder. "Right, listen. You are in the rangers now. We don’t find lost dogs and we don’t arrest kids who’ve been scrumping apples. If you make a mistake people are likely to die, yourself being the most probable candidate. You sharpen up. You do what I say, when I say it, and we’ll get along fine. Understood?"

"Yes, ma’am." Katryn said, reining back her own flare of anger. She prayed Ellis’s response was in part displaced hostility from the encounter with Bergstrom, otherwise life in B patrol would not be pleasant.

Ellis snorted as if she also foresaw a stormy future and lead the way into one of the stables. Two other rangers were working there. "Sivarajah, Wan. This is…" Ellis broke off and looked to Katryn. "What was your name again?"

Katryn took a deep breath. "Private Katryn Nagata, ma’am."

The sergeant’s lips showed a faint sneer as she turned back. "Right. Well our new patrol member is straight out of nine years in the militia. So she’ll have lots of experience in helping drunks get home – and we all know who that’ll be useful with. Only the Goddess knows what other good she’ll be. Show her where to put her horse, how to take it’s saddle off… things like that. Sort her out in the bunk-room and I’ll have another chat with her before dinner." Ellis gave a last, exaggerated sigh and left.

The older of the two rangers had been standing at the back of the stable, her eye flitting around nervously, as if looking for somewhere to hide. Only once Ellis had gone did she walk forward. She stared at the doorway where Ellis had disappeared with an expression that was hard to read, beyond a degree of relief, and then shifted her gaze to Katryn.

"Hi. I’m Jan Sivarajah… corporal in B patrol." There was a trace of defensiveness as she stated her rank, as if it might be open to dispute. She was at least fifteen centimetres shorter than Katryn and her build was verging on scrawny, giving the impression she could be knocked over by a stiff breeze. But she had to be tougher than she looked, both physically and mentally, to have lasted in the rangers. She pointed to the other woman. "That’s Nikki Wan."

The other ranger had also wandered over. She was young, barely twenty, and her shoulder badge was blank like Katryn’s. Her face was square, with an adolescent blandness. She nodded in response to her name but said nothing, while subjecting Katryn to scrutiny.

Jan Sivarajah combed her hands through her hair, as if needing to straighten her thoughts, and then dropped her arms with a sigh. "Okay. These are B patrol’s stables. There's room for your horse on the right. I assume it was issued to you at Fort Krowe with your kit and isn’t a relay…" She broke off at Katryn’s nod of confirmation. "Your tack goes in that box there, and brushes are on the shelf above."

Katryn lead her horse to the side of the stable and tied its reins to a ring on the wall. Nikki came and stood to one side and then spoke for the first time. "You need to loosen that buckle first and then…"

"I know how to unsaddle my horse." Katryn snapped the words through her clenched teeth.

Nikki took a step back, confused. "It's just... the militia don’t use horses much, and Sergeant Ellis said…"

"I know, I heard. Basic training must have become more extensive since whenever you went through it. They now give lessons in things like caring for horses." Katryn tried to control her anger but the sarcasm in her words came out more biting than she’d intended.

"Oh, you’ve been through basic training?" Nikki spoke with naive surprise.

"No, I bribed the major to let me off it."

The expression on the face of the young ranger switched from confusion to embarrassment to anger. She squared her shoulders, muttered, "Fine." and then turned on her heel and marched away, slamming the door of the stable behind her.

Katryn set her jaw and returned to her horse. Jan came over and patted her shoulder. "It’s okay. Take a deep breath and count to ten. If you’re going to survive in B patrol you can’t afford to let Ellis wind you up." The corporal’s voice was a conspiratorial whisper.

Katryn opened her mouth to speak sharply and then closed it again. Jan was right. Nikki had been trying to be friendly, and was now probably feeling stupid that she'd taken Ellis’s words at face value. A moment’s thought would have told her that ranger command wouldn’t send out someone untrained. Katryn wished that she had also thought before speaking – with a sergeant like Ellis, she knew she couldn’t afford to start antagonising the rest of the patrol.

**********

Katryn met the other four members of B patrol at dinner. The ranger’s mess-hall held one long table for each patrol and a smaller one for the officers. With half the squadron gone two tables were empty. Katryn would have preferred not eating with Sergeant Ellis, but no-one showed any wish to spread out, possibly the rules forbade it. Fortunately the sergeant finished eating her food quickly and left. With her absence the atmosphere at the table eased. After a few questions about Katryn’s background, the conversation settled down to banter about long-standing issues, giving Katryn the chance to observe the rest of her new comrades.

All four had served long enough to merit the single bar of a leading ranger on their badges. The tallest was Tina Agosta, a huge slab of a woman. She gave the impression of being slow and easy-going to the point of torpor, but, as the conversation progressed, a series of sharp comments made Katryn reconsider her evaluation. It was apparent Tina’s sluggish demeanour masked a critical, dry sense of humour. It was also apparent that Tina thought far more than she said.

Bo Hassan was the patrol joker. Her voice was the one heard most often around the table. Her stream of gibes, puns and innuendoes were directed at everyone. The witticisms were of variable quality, frequently crude, but nobody took offence – probably due to Bo’s willingness to make herself the butt of her own jokes and the total lack of malice in her tone. Jan Sivarajah, the corporal, was the only one to show a trace of impatience with Bo.

Pat Panayi had well-formed features, and she knew it. She smiled a lot, but there was no warmth in her expression. She sat back at the table, tossing in the occasional remark. Her eyes shifted from person to person without regard to the flow of conversation. When she caught Katryn’s gaze she raised her eyebrows slightly, as if they were sharing a private joke, but Katryn had no idea what it was supposed to be.

The oldest and quietest was Sal Castillo. She sat hunched over the end of the table, staring at her knuckles and playing little part in the talking, despite attempt by the others to draw her in. Her eyes kept shifting to the door. She was the one who eventually broke up the gathering when she stood and announced her intention of going into town. After a fair amount of dithering the others, as a group, decided to join her.

It was a short walk to the patrol’s favourite tavern in Highview. The seven women straggled along the road in an untidy bunch; Sal lead the way purposefully, there was laughter and playful shoving at the rear. Katryn tagged on in the middle, walking next to Nikki who ignored her – the young woman was apparently someone who nursed a grudge. Hopefully it wouldn’t last.

The tavern was a two story, timber construction, much like every other building in Highview. It was identifiable by the beer-keg hanging outside and the volume of noise from within. As the door came in sight Bo Hassan side-stepped over and put her arm around Katryn’s shoulder. "Now, this is probably the first time you’ve been out for an evening’s entertainment in a ranger’s uniform."

"Um… yes." Katryn replied cautiously.

"You are in for a very interesting learning experience."

"I..." Katryn’s voice trailed off in confusion.

"You may have heard the world is full of women who are dying for the chance to examine the contents of a ranger’s uniform. Tonight you can get to see how many, and how much." Bo pulled away slightly and looked at Katryn’s profile. "In fact, with your looks, you might even get to challenge Pat’s position as the squadron’s champion clit tickler."

Pat Panyani was only a few steps ahead and heard the remark. She paused with her hand on the door of the tavern and looked back, smiling. "I reckon I can cope with the competition."

"You want to make a competition of it?" Bo laughed. She mimed the actions of a race official. "Okay, first one to reach ten, starting… now."

Katryn tried not to look offended. Luckily the disruption as the group shifted around to file into the tavern gave her time to recover. Of course she had heard of the rangers’ reputation for promiscuity, but had not thought of it in relation to herself. Casual sex had never interested Katryn, and she certainly was not in the mood to start, with her heart still raw over Allison. For some women it might have provided a temporary salve for the pain, for herself, Katryn knew, it would merely be a reminder of what she had lost.

As she stepped through the doorway, Katryn was hit by a wave of heat and noise. Several voices called out as the rangers were recognised. The tavern was doing good trade, but the rangers managed to find a relatively clear spot in the corner. Katryn squeezed herself onto a bench at a table next to Jan. Bo and Sal also sat down, while the other three remained standing closer to the bar. Tina ordered the first round.

The drinks arrived quickly. Sal drained her immediately, something Tina had evidently expected as there was a second tankard ready. For a while the conversation flitted over a disjointed succession of subjects before Bo and Jan got stuck into a debate about stable duty rosters which began light-heartedly but became more touchy. It was obviously something Jan thought important, while Bo was being deliberately provocative.

"Give her a rest, Jan." Sal spoke up at last, smiling to remove any sting from her words. "She gets enough ear-ache from Ellis."

Katryn peered at the speaker. It was the most animated response she had yet heard from Sal, then she noticed the three empty tankards by Sal’s hands. Katryn was still on her own first drink and had not seen the third arrive. She looked back at Sal, for the first time picking up the signs she had learnt to recognise from her work in the militia. Sal Castillo was not yet lost to alcoholism, but she was well on the way. Surely the others must know, yet nothing was being said. Katryn looked away to hide her surprise. She had expected the rangers to be stricter on such things. Ellis had been so dogmatic about the high standards of the elite service.

The conversation had just started to move on again when sudden angry voices erupted at the bar. Katryn jerked her head around to see a local woman squaring up to Tina Agosta. Tina was the taller by a good head, however the local was either too drunk or too furious to care. Almost before Katryn had noted the details, Jan was out of her seat and between the two adversaries. She put her hands on Tina’s shoulders. Not that the slight corporal could have physically restrained the larger woman, but she clearly had a calming effect, and Tina made no move as a couple of the local’s friends wisely bundled her away.

Jan returned to the table with Tina in tow, Katryn gave up her seat to make room. Bo also stood and the two of them wandered over to the bar.

"What was that about?" Bo asked.

Pat shrugged. "The local thought Tina had been ogling her girlfriend. She said something and Tina gave it back, with a bit added on for good measure. You know how drink can get Tina sometimes."

"Was she ogling?"

"Well, I don’t know about Tina, but I certainly was – well worth watching." Pat said, grinning. She raised her tankard to her lips.

"Where’s Nikki?" Bo switched tack.

Pat pointed to two figures wedged into a dim nearby corner. "She’s found a friend. I think they're cleaning each other’s tonsils."

Bo glanced at them and then back. "It’s not usual for Nikki to get into action before you. Aren’t you being a bit slow tonight?"

"I’m being sporting to the competition. I thought I’d let Katryn get a head start. But if she doesn’t make a move soon I’ll have to do something."

Katryn blushed faintly as Pat and Bo both smirked in her direction. She shook her head. "It’s not my game."

"Oh, come on! You’re a ranger now." Bo protested. "Say, I know what. Why don’t you make a play for that local’s girlfriend. Don’t worry if the woman gets nasty, I’m sure Tina would love an excuse to flatten her."

Katryn started to smile and then realised that Bo wasn't joking. Her blush deepened, now partly the effect of anger. She was saved the need to answer by a loud voice at her elbow. "I knew I’d find you layabouts here." Sergeant Ellis had arrived.

Flustered, Katryn turned and spoke without thinking. "Ma’am, it’s my round, can I buy you a drink?"

Ellis looked her up and down as if she had done something absurd. "No." Then she snorted and relaxed slightly, "And you’re off-duty – my name’s Mel." Ellis turned to the group at the table. "Jan, I need to talk to you back at the barracks, something’s cropped up. But there’s no rush. Finish your drink in your own time."

Despite Ellis’s words, Jan drained her tankard immediately and stood up. "I’m ready."

"Oh, right." Ellis seemed a little put out by the speed of the response. Her eyes scoured the group and finished on Pat Panyani. Her expression became softer, but no less intense and after the briefest hesitation she beckoned Pat to one side with a jerk of her head. The two of them exchanged a few whispered sentences, then Ellis stepped away and headed towards the door with Jan hurrying to catch up behind her.

Pat watched them go and let out a long sigh. "Also I had a feeling that this would happen."

Bo looked uncomfortable, obviously she understood what Pat meant; however it didn't take much tact for Katryn to know not to ask questions. Tina and Sal left the table and joined them at the bar.

Tina turned her head to look sideways at Katryn. "A word of advice. Ellis may have implied you can call her Mel, but I wouldn’t recommend trying it. Sarge is a safer bet – if you can’t avoid her off-duty."

"Thanks." Katryn said, trying to look more at ease than she felt. She could not afford to start judging the other members of the patrol – nor was it wise to isolate herself. She slipped her purse free from her belt. "Anyway, the offer still stands… it’s my round, what do you want to drink?"

Katryn turned to the bar, waiting to get the attention of the bar-staff. Behind her Bo started talking. "Now Auntie Jan has gone we can have some fun. Pat and I were just saying that Katryn ought to prove she’s up to the standards of B patrol."

"You had something in mind?" Tina asked.

"We certainly did. That woman who was annoying you…" Bo indicated with her thumb. "Katryn should give her something to really get upset about – try and score with her girlfriend."

Sal yelped with laughter and leant against the bar. "And she deserves it. I can’t stand jealous women."

Katryn clenched her teeth as the last remnants of fellow-feeling for her comrades vanished. At the other side of the room were the couple in question. It didn’t help that the disputed girlfriend had a passing resemblance to Allison – their smiles were identical.

Bo patted her back. "There you go Katryn, a unanimous vote. Are you up for it?"

"No." There was ice in Katryn’s tone, but no-one seemed to notice.

Pat chipped in. "Why not? She isn’t that bad looking."

"Don’t worry, we’ll back you up if fists start flying." Tina added.

"It’s nothing to do with the woman or her partner, I’m just not ready to…" Katryn’s voice died as she bit back her rising anger.

"Oh you’re not going to tell us you’re nursing a broken heart for the woman you left behind, are you?" Bo screeched with laughter, oblivious to the accuracy of her taunt.

Katryn bit her lip.

"Do you know your problem?" Pat said. "You drink too slowly. If you’d been keeping up with Sal you’d have lost all your inhibitions by now."

"And probably the contents of your stomach as well." Tina tagged on the end.

Bo leant on the counter and looked at Katryn. The woman would not let things drop. "So… when are you going to make your move?"

"I’m not." Katryn said grimly.

"Why not?" Pat said. "There’s no need to be nervous. With your looks and a ranger’s uniform you could have any woman in the tavern. Five dollars says the girlfriend falls into your arms."

Katryn snapped. She spun around. "I don’t flirt with other people’s partners, certainly not as a bet. I don’t get drunk. I don’t pick fights for fun. And I don’t want to stay here any longer." She slammed her money down on the counter. "When you get the bar-staff’s attention you can buy yourselves a drink on me. I’m going back to the barracks." She started to stalk off, elbowing her way through the groups of drinkers to grab her cloak.

Behind her Tina said softly, "Then you should have joined the temple guard rather than the rangers."

Katryn did not look back. The door of the tavern swung closed. Outside it was cold and a soft fall of snow had started. Katyrn’s mood faded from anger to bitterness as she walked up the street, shoulders hunched. She stopped on the bridge and stared down at the ice-bound river. Things were not going well. All she had to do was say something unpleasant about Jan Sivarajah’s mother and she’d have set the whole patrol against her.

The cold wind attacked the tears which spilled down Katryn’s cheeks. Six months before she’d been happy, with a job she was good at and enjoyed. She’d had friends, a partner she loved, plans to become a mother. How had everything gone so wrong? It had to be a nightmare. The trouble was she showed no signs of waking up.

**********

The next day started with the bell ringing out over the barracks. Katryn rolled over and sat up. She had heard the other rangers return some time after herself, but when she looked around the bunk-room she saw that two of the beds were empty. It did not take long to find out who was missing, even before the chimes had died away the door opened and Nikki trotted in, grinning broadly. Her appearance was greeted by a few ragged cheers and other, less polite, noises.

The far door to the sergeant’s room open and Ellis emerged. "Wakey-wakey, rise and shine." Ellis’s voice made the words sound like a threat. She stopped by Katryn’s bunk and looked up. "Parade in twenty minutes. And Militia…" She made it sound like a name. "Look tidy. Make sure you get the buttons in the right holes – your sword-belt not twisted. Get someone else to check your kit before you set foot outside here."

Katryn might have felt annoyed at the patronising tone, but her thoughts were distracted by the sight of Pat Panyani slipping out of Ellis’s room and heading for her locker. Nobody else showed any surprise, though they must have noticed. Ellis flung out a few more caustic comments and left the bunk-house.

Tina wandered over and threw Katryn’s purse up onto her bunk. "Thanks for the offer, but we didn’t pay for the drinks with your money." Tina’s expression and tone were both utterly blank, but Katryn already had enough of a feel for the woman to sense the underlying scorn.

Katryn merely nodded in reply. If she wanted to fit in with the rest of the patrol, she was going to have to make concessions, but there was not time for explanations, and Katryn wasn’t sure if she wanted to give them anyway.

Pat was standing by the wood-burning stove, warming herself before venturing out. She rolled her head back and pulled an expression half-way between a pout and a smile. "I think a good long wash is called for this morning." She cast a further sideways look around the room, eyebrows raised, and left.

At first it seemed there would be no comment, and then Tina said calmly, "And we all know which ranger won’t be shovelling shit out of the stables this month."

**********

Sergeant Ellis shouldered her way through the door of the barrack room grasping a fistful of letters. "It seems as if your mummies haven’t forgotten about you after all." Ellis shouted the words. Her face held a wide smile, but it was artificial, no more than a mechanical device to show that she was not currently angry with anyone. Even that much of a condensation to friendliness fell away when she stopped by Katryn. During the ten days Katryn had been in the patrol their relationship had not improved.

Ellis’s lips twisted into a sneer. She held up a letter. "Do you reckon that this is for you?" There was something challenging in the tone, however Katryn scarcely noticed in the shock of seeing the handwriting. In Allison’s slanting scrawl were the words,

Sergeant Katryn Nagata

Ranger Headquarters

Fort Krowe.

Katryn only just remembered to reply, "Yes, ma’am." as she took the outheld letter. Ellis continued to glare at her, but the others were waiting for their post, showing as much impatience as they dared, and the sergeant eventually turned away.

Katryn jumped up onto her bunk and sat, cross-legged, staring at the outer sheet of paper, oblivious to the noise and laughter in the barrack room. Someone had drawn a squiggle through the bottom two lines and written, 12th squadron, Highveiw Barracks, instead. Katryn wondered how long it had taken the redirected letter to reach its destination, presumably it had only just missed her at Fort Krowe. She toyed with the idea of returning it unopened, but not seriously. She had to know what the letter said.

Her hands were shaking as she broke open the seal with her thumb. There were three sheets, all densely covered in Allison’s handwriting. Katryn spread then flat and began to read.

My darling Kat.

I’ve been stupid, I know I have. Can you ever forgive me? How could I have thought your sister was in any way a match for you? I feel as if I have lost all right to say this, but I love you…

Katryn put down the letter. Tears blurred her vision, partly from pain, partly from anger. She did not need to read any more to know that Cy had tired of another rag-doll.

continued in chapter 11

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