The Wrong Trail Knife

by Jane Fletcher

jane.fletcher@virgin.net

Disclaimers: Please see chapter one

Chapter twelve - Roadsend

At the beginning of May the 12th Squadron was posted to Roadsend. Katryn knew regular shifts in scenery were a part of life in the rangers. The squadrons were rotated around all the bases covered by a division. It meant by the time a woman reached the rank of sergeant she was already familiar with the terrain throughout the region, rather than having to perform emergency reconnaissance during a crisis. It was also true the authorities liked rangers to be flexible, not overly attached to any location – or the women who lived there.

The town of Roadsend was well to the south of Highview. The mountains were lower but no less rugged, carved into broken cliffs and canyons of red sandstone. Forests were confined mainly to the uplands, the valleys were stripped of trees. It was sheep country, with scattered flocks ambling over the scrub-land. Roadsend had got rich on the trade in wool. Mutton stew was the staple food.

The barracks were virtually identical in layout to those at Highview, although the site backed onto the river and the position of the stores had been adjusted to take advantage of the loading wharf. The most obvious difference was that the buildings were made from brick and stone rather than wood. Within two days of arriving the squadron had settled back into its old routines – routines that included Katryn spending the evening standing sentry duty at the gates of the barracks.

Only in the most exceptional of circumstances did sentries fulfil a military role, normally the gates were unguarded. Sentry duty was almost exclusively used as a punishment, a boring way of wasting time, and everyone going in or out would see the woman and know she had committed a disciplinary offence.

It was this aspect that Katryn found hardest to take. The loss of her free time was not so bad; she had no wish to go into town, get drunk, and pick up a local woman, which appeared to be the only form of entertainment on offer. But she had spent so many nights at Highview on duty by the gates that, by now, everyone in the squadron must believe her to be either incompetent or a trouble-maker – she was half-way to doubting herself.

That morning Ellis had found fault with the state of Katryn’s kit and had cancelled her free time for the evening. As she stood to attention by the gates Katryn’s eyes drifted over the darkening hillsides surrounding the town, while she went over the charges in her mind. All the equipment had been cleaned, polished and sharpened to the best of her ability, Katryn dared not do otherwise, but Sergeant Ellis had described it as a disgrace.

Katryn chewed on her lip. Was it possible that Ellis was right, and her kit had been in so much worse a state than anyone else's? No. Katryn closed her eyes. She knew it was simply unjust, and especially galling since Bo had spent less than half as long as herself on the task.

Katryn’s thoughts were disturbed by the crunch of footsteps. "Are we awake here?" Ellis’s voice rung out.

"Yes ma’am." Katryn replied sharply. It was unwise to assume any of Ellis’s questions to be rhetorical.

The sergeant came to a halt in front of Katryn and looked her slowly up and down, a scowl of distaste twisting her features. "Why are you here?"

"My kit was not prepared to an acceptable standard, ma’am."

Ellis took a half step back and then her face shifted into a sneering grin. "Oh, that’s why I set you sentry duty, but what I meant was, why are still here?"

"Ma’am?" Katryn was confused.

"I told you to stand duty for two hours, you’ve been here three."

"I…" Katryn bit back her words. Ellis had originally stated the entire evening, Katryn was certain of it, but there was no point in arguing, or calling in others as witness. It was just Ellis’s idea of a joke.

"Of course, if you want to stay here all night you can." Ellis threw the words over her shoulder as she started to walk away. "But you’ve got to be bright and alert for tomorrow. I’m sending you out with Corporal Sivarajah on patrol." Her voice was fading, but Katryn could still make out the last sentence. "I won’t start crying if she doesn’t bring you back, but that'd be too much to hope for. A few days without you will have to do."

Katryn glared at the sergeant’s back as it faded into the dusk. "And I’m sure you won’t enjoy those days without me half as much as I’ll enjoy the days without you." She whispered under her breath. And then, as if the word was an obscenity she spat out, "Ma’am."

**********

The site Jan chose for their camp the first night was verging on the idyllic. A stream gurgled down a narrow valley sheltered by fragrant fir trees. The thick grass was as springy as a mattress. Through breaks in the branches the rich blue sky was speckled with the first stars. The only sounds were the water, the breeze over the tree-tops, chomping from the horses, and the crackle of the camp-fire. Best of all, there was no-one there apart from the two of them. However, as the light faded, Katryn found herself growing uneasy and having to fight the urge to peer repeatedly back over her shoulder.

"You worrying about what’s creeping up behind you?" Jan asked, grinning and clearly amused.

Katryn jumped, guiltily. "I, um… well…" She swallowed. "I’ve only been out in the wilderness in large groups before, and I guess I…" Her voice died.

"Think we might be outnumbered by a pride of snow-lions?"

"No." Katryn said quickly. There had been none of the malicious ridicule that Ellis would have put into the words, but she didn't want to give grounds to be thought a coward or a fool. "I know they’ll all have gone back north by now. And it would have to be a very hard winter to push them this far south to start with. The largest predator is going to be a mountain-cat, and they aren’t likely to be a problem at this time of year with plenty of their natural prey availa…"

Jan cut her off with a laugh. "It’s alright. I was teasing you, not testing you."

Katryn closed her eyes and sighed. There was no need to get defensive, but it was starting to become a habit with her. She pulled her lips into a lopsided grin. "I was just trying to show that I hadn’t slept through all my training classes."

"Very wise too. They’ll be an unending source of amusement as you remember them in years to come. Like, when you’re being chased by three mountain cats in February – you can shout out, Shouldn’t you be hibernating?"

"With all respect, in those circumstances, I think I might save my breath for running." Katryn matched Jan’s smile, feeling more relaxed.

"You know, I think you’re right." Jan feigned earnestness. "The time it happened to me I did wait until I was safely up a tree before instructing them in proper behaviour."

"So what else didn’t they tell us about mountain-cats that I should know?"

"They’re far more timid than snow-lions, and a lot smarter. They usually run from people, and they can smell that they can’t eat us. The only ones that’ll try are ill; maybe they’ve lost their sense of smell – so watch out for cats with runny noses." Jan’s tone was not entirely serious. "The only time they’re generally dangerous is in a month or two, when the females are coming into heat, and the mature males are staking out territory. The younger males form packs to harass them and squabble among themselves – and pick fights with anything else that blunders their way. They mark the area with an oily secretion which smells like…" Jan wrinkled her nose. "…rancid cider. So, if ever you’re on your own and you catch a whiff of it, it means you should be somewhere else. The youngsters mainly stick to the backwoods, but once in a while a pack causes mayhem in an outlying farm."

"It doesn’t sound like there is much need for a full squadron of rangers to be permanently stationed here."

"Don’t get that idea. Roadsend can be a very lively posting; or should I say, very deadly."

"What causes the problems?"

"Nothing with four legs. Sheep country is bandit country – as the 12th has found out in the past. It’s down to size. If you kill someone else’s sheep you can pick up the whole carcass and walk off with it – not like a cow. And the land around here doesn’t help. There are hundreds of canyons where you can hide a flock for years. Shear them, and there's no way anyone can tell where the wool came from."

"The 12th has had run-ins with gangs around here?"

"Oh, yes." Jan poked at the fire, and then raised her eyes to meet Katryn’s. "Really major trouble, almost wiped out the squadron."

"What!"

"Thirteen… coming on for fourteen years ago. It’s part of the tradition of the 12th, I’m surprised no-one has mentioned it to you before."

Nobody talks to me. Katryn thought but did not say.

"The only survivors still left in the squadron are Ellis and Bergstrom. Although the Roadsend quartermaster, Gill Adebeyo, was a corporal in the 12th at the time."

"What happened?"

Jan pursed her lips. "There was a gang leader, called herself ‘The Butcher’ – everyone else added the word ‘mad’, she even scared the other thieves. She managed to get control of all the criminal activity in the area, then started extorting money from the town, which was her first mistake. The other crooks were too implicated to inform on her, but the shopkeepers had a lot to lose. Someone made a map of where the Butcher had her hideout and a raid was planned, but word was leaked to the gang. If the Butcher had been sane, she’d have fled. Instead she arranged an ambush, and the 12th walked straight into it. It was a massacre. Twenty-one rangers were killed and another six badly injured."

"Twenty-one lost!" Katryn was horrified.

"And four of the injured never returned to active service."

"Did the Butcher escape?"

"She did on that day. But, of course, central HQ immediately sent every ranger they could muster to Roadsend – eight full squadrons. Within two months every member of the gang was either captured or dead. And those who were captured didn’t last much longer. They were tried and hanged in the market square."

"Do we know who leaked the warning to the gang?"

"No." Jan shook her head. "Maybe a ranger engaging in unwise pillow talk, or bragging as part of her chat-up technique. The chances are whoever it was paid with her life. I don’t think the survivors were questioned too hard – they’d been through enough."

"It must have been bad luck that so many died."

"From what I’ve heard it was more like good luck that any escaped. The gang knew the time and date of the raid, and the route the squadron was going to take. They picked their spot. It was only down to Ellis that the massacre wasn’t complete." Jan’s expression hovered between awkwardness and defensiveness, then she shrugged and went on. "I can understand if you find that hard to believe, but, as I told you before, the one thing Ellis can do well is keep people alive. When all hell breaks lose she keeps her head and makes the right decisions quickly. No-one has ever seen her panic."

"And that makes her a good sergeant?" Katryn said bitterly.

"No. She’s a bloody awful one."

"Then why…?" Katryn did not need to finish her question.

"Because of the massacre. Ellis was only a leading ranger at the time, however the Butcher had planed her ambush well. The captain and lieutenant were the very first to be killed. There was utter chaos and the squadron became split. Ellis ended up in a group without any sergeants… I think there were a couple of corporals, but they were either wounded or panicking, so Ellis took charge and got most of the group out alive. Afterwards central HQ had to decide what to do with the 12th; there were only nine able-bodied rangers left. They considered disbanding the squadron, and assigning the survivors elsewhere, but in the end they rebuilt the 12th – that’s when I came in as a new recruit. Dolokov was transferred over from the 8th as a sergeant. There’s a few more of us around from that initial draft. Because Ellis had done so well during the ambush she was promoted straight from leading ranger to sergeant. I suspect if the captain or lieutenant or any of the old sergeants had survived there might have been objections raised, but there was no-one who could comment on her general suitability for the post."

"In all these years, has nobody had second thoughts?"

"You have to serve under Ellis to realise just how bad she is. She looks a lot better from above. I think the previous captain knew she was less than perfect, but there were no incontestable grounds for disciplinary action."

Katryn stared grimly into the fire. "That never stops Ellis herself."

Jan reached over and patted Katryn’s shoulder. "I know you’re having a rough time. It’s Ellis’s way of keeping discipline. There’s always one member of her patrol who’s out of favour. It’s intended to keep the rest of us on our toes so we don’t end up swapping places. Before you arrived Bo Hassan was the main victim, and she largely deserves it – she’s a lousy soldier, sloppy. The Goddess alone knows how she passed her entrance tests. The rest of the patrol are okay – or would be with a better sergeant. Sal drinks too much, which should’ve been stamped on years ago. Ellis has let it get worse and worse – maybe she thinks an alcoholic will be easier to intimidate. Tina bottles things up, and then explodes; she needs someone to give her direction. Nikki is young and blusters. It’s down to insecurity which is understandable in our patrol, but in a few months she’ll get her leading ranger badge, and then she’ll calm down. And Pat’s competent although not too bright."

"She seems sharp enough."

"She’s got a pretty face and she’s taught herself to say little and look as if she’s having profound thoughts, but…" Jan broke off, shaking her head. "She’s the most one-dimensional person I’ve ever met."

"That must be a useful mental trait when you’re sleeping with Ellis."

Jan snorted in amusement. "True. No matter who she’s in bed with, the only woman Pat will ever love is herself. It’s one of life’s ironies. Pat is good-looking enough to have any woman she wants, and she’s too self-centred to notice anyone else. She agrees to sleep with Ellis as it guarantees her place in the sergeant’s good-books."

"So that’s what I’ve got to do." Katryn said sarcastically.

Jan looked at her in sympathy. "I’m afraid your case is hopeless. It’s your own fault."

Katryn glanced up sharply – did Jan think there was any truth in Ellis’s accusations? "I try my best."

"Oh, it’s not your conduct. Your mistake was the letter you showed Ellis, the one from the militia HQ, promising you a lieutenancy."

"Ellis told you about it?"

"She was spitting mad." Jan said with emphasis. "Because of her record Ellis thinks she’s the best sergeant in the whole of the rangers. She’s been expecting promotion for years – and she stands as much chance of it as I do of flying. Seeing Bergstrom promoted over her was the last straw. She wants that star on her badge so badly it hurts, and at last she knows she’s never going to get it. Then you show her the letter. You could have been a lieutenant. Even if it was only in the militia you’d have out-ranked her, and you turned it down – she hates you."

"Ah… right." Katryn rolled her head back and looked up through the branches at the stars. It explained some of Ellis’s cryptic remarks.

"It may not sound too comforting, but if you hang on another ten months I predict you’ll be okay."

Katryn looked back at Jan. "Why?"

"Ellis is coming towards the end of her first seven year extension of service. She may not apply to reenlist, but, even if she does, I think Captain Dolokov will reject her. Dolokov was a sergeant alongside Ellis for years. She’s got a fair idea of what Ellis is like, and if she needs more information, I’m sure Val Bergstrom will be happy to give it."

"I’ve noticed Bergstrom and Ellis don’t like each other."

"Bergstrom was once a private in Ellis’s patrol, and one of her favourite targets for abuse. Ellis was nearly as down on her as she is with you."

"What did Bergstrom do to upset her?"

"She was a new recruit at the time of the massacre, less than three months in the rangers. When the bodies started dropping she completely went to pieces – at least according to the way Ellis tells the story. Ellis has her marked down as a coward. Bergstrom’s performed okay ever since I’ve been in the squadron, but it’s had no effect on Ellis’s opinion of her. Ellis tried to block her promotion to leading ranger. In the end Bergstrom transferred to another patrol. There was a nasty feud between them while they were both sergeants. Ellis was completely stunned when Bergstrom got the vacant post of lieutenant rather than herself, but there’s not a lot she can do now Bergstrom outranks her."

"The feuding can’t have been good for the squadron." Katryn said thoughtfully.

"It wasn’t. The 12th has not been a…" Jan paused, searching for a word. "…satisfactory squadron since the massacre. Ellis is one of the problems, and the major thing preventing the other problems being sorted. The 12th has got some bad habits – take the scene when Fitz died, sergeants squabbling like two drunks in a tavern. It shouldn’t happen. The 12th desperately needs a sense of unity, and it’ll never get it with Ellis around, because she only works on the ‘divide and rule’ principle. That’s why Dolokov wants rid of her. The captain has been in the squadron long enough to know its weaknesses. She has to get all 34 women fighting on the same side, and she’s prepared to be quite ruthless to achieve it."

"She could have blamed Ellis for Fitz’s death, and got rid of her that way." Katryn suggested.

"Not without setting B and D patrols against each other." Jan spoke through a yawn. She shifted back slightly and looked around, dusk had thickened into night and both moons were rising. "It’s time for us to turn in. Make sure you’ve got your sword to hand – it’s a good habit, but we don’t need to take turns at watch; nothing is going to bother us and I’m an extremely light sleeper."

Her earlier jitteriness had gone, yet it still took Katryn some time to drift off. She lay, wrapped in her blanket beside the fire, and thought about Jan’s comments. They helped explain a lot; including the events around Fitz’s death and Dolokov’s response to it. The final, official, account was that the wind had changed after the two patrols had separated. D patrol had been downwind of Bergstrom and had heard her first signal, but the sound had been carried away from B patrol. When she saw Ellis’s rangers were not attacking, Bergstrom had moved position and repeated the signal. It explained everything except why Ellis had not used her initiative and gone to Takeda’s aid. Now Katryn could make sense of it. Ellis had stuck to the letter of Bergstrom’s orders, as a bloody-minded protest against someone she thought unfit for the job. She must have assumed any blame would be attached to Bergstrom rather than herself. Dolokov had been angry, but didn’t want to divide the squadron still further. Assigning blame would not bring Fitz back, and in under a year the problem, Ellis, would be gone.

At last Katryn fell asleep, and dreamed of waking up in Woodside, with Allison beside her and the smell of baking bread. The feeling of relief was so great tears rolled down Katryn’s face. But when she went downstairs Ellis was there, eating breakfast with her mother.

**********

Two month after arriving in Roadsend there came a report of a raid on a farm to the south, and Captain Dolokov rode out to investigate with A and C patrols. Katryn wondered at the wisdom of leaving Ellis under Bergstrom’s command, especially in the company of D patrol, but obviously Dolokov couldn’t compromise the flexibility of the squadron by permanently avoiding that particular combination – and better the potential trouble was left behind in the barracks. For a week the routine patrols and drills ran smoothly. If anything the atmosphere in the barracks was even more controlled than usual, as if people were consciously avoiding conflict. Katryn had the nagging feeling it would not last, that something was about to go very wrong. However, when it happened, it was not in the direction, or from the source, Katryn had expected.

It was late one day as Corporal Sivarajah lead half of B patrol back down the trail to Roadsend. The summer solstice was only a few days past, and the evenings were long. The incessant bleating of sheep carried on still air. Colours were muted in the soft light, like a smudged painting. Katryn was tired and hungry, but she felt no eagerness to reach their destination. They had been on a two-day trek though some of the gorges up-river, checking for any signs of illegal activity. Katryn had enjoyed the time, Jan was a good teacher, and just being away from Sergeant Ellis was cause for joy. Sal and Tina made up the group. Katryn was still not on good terms with the other members of her patrol, but at least, when Ellis wasn’t around, they could behave in a reasonable fashion towards her without incurring sarcastic abuse themselves.

They approached the barracks from the west, riding over the bridge and around the outer wall. As they turned the last corner two rangers were visible, standing sentry duty at the entrance. Katryn wondered who had upset Ellis in her absence. But when they reached the gates and dismounted she saw they were both from D patrol. Neither woman moved a muscle as Katryn caught hold of her horse’s reins and followed Jan the short distance to the central parade ground. B patrol stables were off to the right. Straight ahead, on the far side of the open space, were two more sentries, standing guard outside the small lock-up. Tina also noticed the motionless women, and exchanged speculative comments with Sal – something unusual had happened.

Pat Panyani was just leaving the stables as they arrived, with a bucket in either hand from watering the horses. Tina hailed her immediately. "Hey Pat, what’s up with Takeda’s girls?"

Pat turned around, her face slid gradually into a disinterested smile of greeting. "Oh… we’ve had all sorts of fun while you’ve been gone." She waited until the rest drew close so she could drop her voice before continuing. "Last night D patrol went into town in a group, just Takeda and Corporal Kiani stayed behind in the barracks. There was an argument outside a tavern over someone’s girlfriend and a fight broke out with a gang of locals." Pat shrugged. "That wouldn’t have been so bad, but the new recruit, Zoe, drew her trail-knife and stabbed a woman."

"No!"

"Was she badly hurt?" There were simultaneous exclamations.

Pat shook her head. "Word is that the local will survive, but you can imagine the fuss people have been making. The town mayor wanted to turn Zoe over to the militia, but Bergstrom managed to keep hold of her here – she’s in the lock-up. By general consensus the only one from D patrol who didn’t get involved in the fight was Taz, so she’s been sent with Kiani to let Dolokov know what’s happened. The other four have had all their free-time cancelled and are standing sentry duty until the captain gets here. As a final point to calm the mayor, knives are banned off-duty outside the barracks, we have to be searched as we go out."

There were a few more questions and comments, but it was getting late and the horses needed attention. While she removed the saddle and brushed the mare’s coat Katryn thought about Zoe – Fitz’s replacement, although no-one referred to her in that way. It would be wrong to imply a dead woman was a replaceable item. Katryn had been jealous of Zoe and the easy way she’d become an accepted member of her patrol. The teasing Zoe received was only what might be expected on joining a tightly knit group. Katryn was still an outsider. She knew it was partly her own fault. She should have made compromises to fit in – she had chosen to become a ranger, no-one had asked her. Katryn chewed her lip. She had been wrong to join the rangers. They were a military unit, not a haven for heartbroken lovers. But it was too late to change her mind; she was going to have to make the best of it. Perhaps it would be possible to improve her relationship with the other members of the patrol – if it wasn’t for Ellis.

With the horses seen to, the four rangers left the stable and walked around to the doorway of the mess. They were too late for a hot dinner, however Jan had sent Pat off with instructions to find bread, cheese, beer and (no doubt) cold mutton. As they reached the corner of the parade ground the door to the officer’s quarters opened and Ellis and Takeda came out. Ellis saw the members of her patrol and strolled over, a broad grin on her face.

"You’ve heard what D patrol have been up to?" Ellis made no attempt to keep her voice down, in fact, she seemed to be deliberately pitching it loud enough so Takeda could not help hearing. "It’s bad enough, stabbing a civvy, but she couldn’t even make a proper job of it. It’ll save her neck, but her training can’t be up to much. Some patrols are very sloppy. Isn’t it a good job I give you a better lead?"

Katryn was pleased there were other people to reply, there was nothing even remotely appropriate she could say. Her voice would have failed, merely uttering Yes ma’am. Fortunately Jan took the lead and moved straight into a brief report on what they’d seen up-river. Katryn averted her gaze. In the middle of the parade ground Sergeant Takeda had come to a stop and was glaring at Ellis with a look of pure, venomous hatred.

continued in chapter 13

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