by Jane Fletcher

"Hey, Militia."

Katryn looked up from putting the finishing touches on polishing her boots, in acknowledgement of what had become her nick-name. Sergeant Ellis was standing over her. "Yes ma’am?"

"Captain Dolokov wants to see you right away, in her office."

"Yes ma’am."

Katryn quickly pulled her boots on and headed towards the door of the bunk-room. Just as she reached it Ellis spoke again. "Someone’s reported a lost dog."

There was scattered laughter from around the room. Katryn looked back, wondering if the summons was merely Ellis pulling her leg. "Does the captain really want to see me, ma’am?"

Ellis did not speak, but waved her away with a gesture like swatting a fly. Katryn stalked out of the building and across the parade ground. If it was a joke Ellis would have to run after her – either that or explain to Dolokov why she was playing silly tricks on her subordinates. However, when Katryn did arrive it turned out that the summons was genuine, and she was immediately directed towards the captain's office.

Captain Dolokov was waiting for her, arms crossed, perched on the front of a battered old desk. Lieutenant Bergstrom was also there, standing to one side. As Katryn entered they both fixed her with hard, accusative stares. Something was clearly very wrong. There was a knot forming in Katryn’s guts as she came to attention. "You wanted to see me, ma’am?"

Dolokov examined her in silence for nearly a minute. Katryn felt the pulse hammering in her throat. The captain had only been back from patrol for three days, and this was the first time Katryn had met with her, but she had heard a lot. Dolokov had been promoted to captain less than six months earlier. It was predicted she would soon be making changes in the squadron. Jan Sivarajah had implied that some changes were long overdue. Dolokov was said to have strong ideas, which didn’t always fit with the rule book. Arrogant, callous and bitch were three words often used to describe her. She made many people nervous, Katryn could understand why.

When finally Dolokov spoke it was so sudden Katryn jumped. "Are you aware it is a severe disciplinary offence to impersonate someone of a higher rank?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"And have you ever done that?"

"No, ma’am." Katryn relaxed a little as she guessed where the conversation was going. It shouldn't take too long to get there.

Dolokov leant back and studied Katryn for a few more seconds. "Then can you explain why you've been receiving post addressed to Sergeant Nagata?"

"Yes ma’am. I was a sergeant in the militia at Woodside. I relinquished the rank when I joined the rangers. The letter in question was from someone who knew me when I was in the militia, and used my old rank, unaware that it was no longer appropriate."

Captain Dolokov looked startled. "You were a sergeant?" There was a faint edge of scepticism in her tone.

"Yes, ma’am." Katryn answered. "It should be in my records."

Dolokov’s gaze became thoughtful, but no less stern. Abruptly her posture eased and she gave a small nod, hopefully satisfied Katryn would not be stupid enough to make up a lie which could so easily be disproved. Dolokov’s head tilted to one side as she continued to examine Katryn. "You must have been very keen to join the rangers."

"Yes ma’am, I was." Katryn tried not to emphasis the past tense.

"When you next write home, impress on people your new status, so there are no grounds for misunderstandings in the future."

"I’ll try ma’am."

"Try?" Dolokov picked her up.

"I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again."

"Why not?"

"My grandparents were very proud of my rank as sergeant, and their memories can be conveniently lax at times."

There was the faintest suggestion of a twitch at the corner of Dolokov’s mouth. "Yes – I’ve got a grandmother like that as well." Her expression hardened again. "Very well. Dismissed. And Private, I'll leave it to you to explain the situation to Sergeant Ellis."

"Yes ma’am."

Katryn stepped outside the office and drew a deep breath. Surprise and alarm were giving way to anger. It had not taken the last sentence from Dolokov to work out who had reported her. Katryn thought of Ellis with contempt. As a sergeant in the militia, Katryn herself would never have accused one of her subordinates without talking to the person involved first. She'd have made sure she had uncovered all the facts, and would have supported the junior if there was any possible doubt of the guilt, and, if there wasn’t, she would have taken no pleasure from the consequences.

Ellis had wanted Katryn to be in trouble. With hindsight, it was obvious from her face when she gave the message. Katryn stared across the parade ground, trying to compose herself before she returned to the bunk-house. The captain had told her to explain the situation to Sergeant Ellis, Katryn doubted her own ability to talk to the woman in a civil fashion.

Ellis was still there when Katryn returned to the bunk-house. The sergeant stood back smugly as Katryn pulled open her locker and knelt to rummage through her belongings at the bottom, no doubt assuming Katryn had been sent to collect the evidence of her guilt. It took a few seconds for Katryn to find the item she wanted – the letter from militia divisional headquarters. Katryn scanned it quickly, refreshing her memory of the details. It was an official dispatch, with authenticating seal. It made clear reference to her rank in the militia and warned of forfeiture – as if she might have been unaware of the rules. It also contained the carefully worded promise of promotion to lieutenant if she abandoned her attempt to join the rangers. Let Ellis chew on that!

Katryn stood up and closed the door of her locker. She walked over and held out the letter. "I think, ma’am, that this will make the situation clear."

The sneer on Ellis’s face froze in confusion. Neither of them moved, and then Ellis snatched the paper. Katryn turned on her heel and left. Even the anticipated pleasure of watching the expression on Ellis’s face as she read was not enough to keep Katryn in the same room as the sergeant an instant longer than necessary.

**********

The buildings looked deserted from the hills above. There was not even a guard dog in the snow-covered yards around the six cottages. Then Katryn noticed the soft trickle of smoke from a chimney-stack, and heard the bleating of sheep inside a barn. When she got closer she saw footprints in the snow. Yet only the sheep and the wind disturbed the utter silence as the column of rangers rode into the centre of the hamlet.

Suddenly a door opened and an elderly woman rushed out. "You’re here! Praise the Goddess!"

Three more doors opened and other women emerged. Some had red eyes, all looked frightened. "…too late." Katryn heard muttered more than once.

Lieutenant Bergstrom halted by the first woman. "You’ve seen them?"

"No, but…" the woman broke off, fighting for control of her breath. "…two of my daughters went out to the East Woods early this morning, and they haven’t come back."

"They went out?" Bergstrom repeated. "Haven’t you heard there’s a pride of snow-lions in the area?"

"Yes, but we were running low on fuel, and we’ve got a wood-pile all ready cut and stacked back there. They took the sledge. They should only have been gone half an hour." The woman’s face started to crumple.

A baby cried, too young to understand the words, but old enough to sense the fear. Katryn looked around at the villagers. In a tiny community like this they would all be related to the missing women; sisters, cousins, aunts. The expression of grief and dread on some faces was hard to bear. Even harder was the desperate hope on others. They stared at the rangers as if they were a miracle from the Goddess – it would be a miracle if the missing women were still alive.

After a few more questions Lieutenant Bergstrom had got directions to the wood-pile and lead the column up the valley. Once they were out of ear-shot of the huddled family group Ellis said, "Looks like we’re closing in on the lions." The cheerfulness in her voice grated on Katryn after the misery left behind.

Bergstrom was also disapproving. She turned her head to glare back at the sergeant. "We don’t know yet that it is the lions. There may be another reason for their delay."

Ellis shrugged and dropped her voice. "True. A fool can always get into trouble. And you know what they say – only fools and rangers go out when snow-lions are around." She glanced purposefully at Katryn and added in a even lower mutter, "Of course, some folk belong in both categories."

The rangers advanced as quickly as was safe, which wasn't that quick. Stumbling into the jaws of the snow-lions would help no-one, but many were clearly chafing at the delay as each clump of undergrowth was checked. It had been ten days since word of the snow-lions had reached Highview and Lieutenant Bergstrom had taken B and D patrols out to hunt down the dangerous predators. They had followed the trail of sightings and dead farm-animals, steadily gaining on their quarry. Now they were closing in. It would be tragic if they caught up with the pride a few scant hours too late to prevent the deaths of two women.

Unfortunately the tragedy was not to be avoided. Before they had got half way to the wood-pile they came across the abandoned sledge, piled high with logs. Not far away was an area where churned snow was stained red. Jan Sivarajah swore under her breath, others were not quite so restrained.

"Quiet!" Ellis hissed. "They’re close, we don’t want to make enough noise to scare them away."

Bergstrom appeared to belatedly realise Ellis had given the order she should have issued herself. With a show of reasserting her authority, the lieutenant beckoned Ellis and Sergeant Takeda of D patrol to her side. After a few minutes of talking the two sergeants returned to their patrols with orders.

"Agosta, Hassan, keep watch over to the right. Castillo, you and Panyani clear the logs off the sledge. Wan, stick with me. Sivarajah, check out the tracks, see what you can learn. Nagata…" Last of all the sergeant turned to Katryn. "We’re going to have to take the bodies back with us. See if you can find all the bits and load them on the sledge."

The rangers dispersed to their tasks. Katryn walked over to the blood-stained snow. ‘Bits’ was a fair description; Katryn was not sure she could even identify some of the lumps of flesh as human. Her stomach heaved, but she fought back the spasm. She glanced over her shoulder. Ellis was watching her, smirking. The sergeant would love it if she threw up or fainted. Katryn grit her teeth, determined not to give Ellis that pleasure.

Katryn knew it was not simply the luck of the draw that she was the one given the job of collecting the bodies. Ellis always assigned the most unpleasant and menial tasks to her. At first Katryn had thought it was some sort of apprenticeship for the newest member of the patrol, but since the incident with the letter it had got worse. Ellis seemed to have a personal vendetta against her. Not only was Katryn treated as the patrol skivvy, but she was continually criticised and ridiculed in front of everyone else. Her relationship with the rest of the patrol had got off to a poor start, and Ellis was doing her best to isolate Katryn still further.

The parts of the dismembered bodies were strewn over a wide area. Katryn bent down and grabbed hold of the nearest large section, a torso. As she pulled on it the guts spilled out into the snow. Katryn knelt and took four deep breaths, building herself to scoop up the intestines with her hands. Suddenly there was a voice at her shoulder. "I’d say this one was caught by an old male. You can tell from the distance between the incisor marks on the shoulder." Katryn turned her head to see that Jan was crouched down beside her. Somehow the corporal’s footsteps had not even squeaked in the snow.

Jan met her eyes, and then spoke in a whisper. "If I help you pick up the bodies Ellis will get mad, but I was told to examine the tracks, and the best place to start is here. I know it can be rough, the first time you come across victims of snow-lions. You have to learn to be detached. For one thing, getting emotional won’t help, and for another, there is a lot of information to pick up here. It might save someone else from the same fate. So don’t think, just watch and listen." She raised her voice again slightly. "Those prints there would be the male, and there are at least two adult females, one of them has a weakness in her back, left paw – you do know what I mean by male and female?"

Katryn nodded, focusing her attention on the impromptu lesson. The assignment of Jan to investigation of the scene had also not been random. Everyone knew she was the best scout in the squadron. Her observations were astute, soon catching Katryn’s interest enough to let her mentally step back from the gruesome task she was performing. In fact a faint smile once touched her lips. If she was to have only one ally in the patrol, Jan was easily the best choice.

**********

By late afternoon the rangers were again on the trail of the snow-lions, heading towards the crest of a ridge. Dusk was not far off. Normally they would have stopped and returned to lodgings for the night, but dark clouds were building on the eastern horizon. A storm was blowing in. If they didn’t overtake the pride that day the tracks would be lost, and there would then be more days of scouring the countryside for sightings, and maybe more bodies.

Katryn was positioned not far from the rear of the column – Ellis had implied it was the place where she would be least likely to get in the way. With nothing to do except tag along her thoughts were free to wander. The place they went most often was to memories of the dead women. Jan had assured her most of the damage had been inflicted after the women were dead, the lions mauling the bodies in frustration once they found they were unable to eat their prey; but it can not have been a pleasant death.

Jan had asked if she understood the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ in relation to the lions. The ranger’s basic training had covered it briefly, as far as was necessary to understand the composition of a pride. And, of course, Katryn was already familiar with the teachings of the Sisterhood – that the Goddess had to provide an alternate method of procreation for wild animals, since cloners could not get close to them. It meant snow-lions were genetically unique, like imprinted humans, and so, by the teachings of the church, had a soul. In order to prevent the sacrilege of eating anything with the divine spark, humans and wild animals were mutually inedible. It still left questions – such as the ethical status of wild animals eating each other, or why they couldn't eat cloned farm stock. The main question in Katryn’s mind, however, was why Celaeno had not completed the job, and given snow-lions the sense to know that humans were not a source of food.

The brow of the hill was only a stone’s throw away when Katryn’s thoughts were interrupted. A signal rippled down the line and the rangers came to a halt. The horses stamped their feet in their snow. At the front, Bergstrom, Jan and the two sergeants slipped down from their saddles and walked the short way to the top of the hill on foot. Katryn waited with the rest in silence. After a few minutes the four returned and the signal was given to dismount and gather around.

Bergstrom started to talk softly. "We’ve caught up with them, they’re settling down for the night the other side of the hill. There’s six in all, one a juvenile. A couple look unwell, they probably ate a mouthful, either of the women or some farm-animal. We’re going to split, B patrol left, D right. Follow your sergeant and stick to cover. I’ll stay up top. When both patrols are in position I’ll give the signal to attack, three short whistles. No-body must break cover until then. Okay?" She looked around. "Right, go."

Katryn slipped into file directly behind Jan. Ellis lead them on a wide sweep, crossing the skyline behind the shelter of an outcrop of boulders, and then down into dense undergrowth. By the time the signal to stop came it was starting to get dark. Katryn crouched beneath the straggly branches of a bush and drew her short, ranger’s sword. There was neither sight nor sound of the snow-lions. She could almost wonder if it was another of Ellis’s stupid wind-ups, and then she heard a low rumbling growl. It was an awful lot closer than she had expected. Katryn’s mouth went dry. She braced her hands on the ground to hide the sudden shaking. Still there was no signal. The waiting was a nightmare, Katryn found herself longing for something to happen. Action would be easier that thinking.

Without warning there were shouts, and the roars of snow-lions broke out in a frenzy. Confused, Katryn looked at Jan – had D patrol attacked before the signal, or had something gone wrong? Ellis was standing a little way to one side, peering through the branches at a point with a better view down the hillside. She was shaking her head and sneering. Her only other movement was when Tina rose and started to advance. Ellis held out her hand. "Remember the lieutenant’s orders – wait until the signal." Ellis’s voice was a low growl.

The sounds of fighting got louder, then, above the shouts, came a long scream. Katryn stared at Ellis. D patrol were in trouble, was Ellis really going to keep them there, in deference to a plan that had clearly gone astray? But at last Katryn heard the signal, three short whistles. As one, the eight rangers of B patrol burst from the bushes and hurtled down the slope.

Once she was in the open Katryn was able to see what was going on. Forty metres away, in the gloom at the bottom of the hill, three snow lions were prowling around a knot of women. A juvenile was hanging back and one other beast already lay dead on the ground. The largest lion was closer at hand, crouched over something, but at the sight of the new group of rangers it leapt up and began bounding up the slope.

The animal was huge, nearly the size of a horse. Its shaggy white pelt hung like a mat of knotted rope, stained red around the muzzle. Sabre-like fangs slotted into groves in its square lower jaw. The beast headed straight for Jan, probably selecting her as the smallest target – a mistake. As the lion sprung Jan side-stepped. The dull light hit her sword in a silver blur. The lion either did not see, or did not understand the danger. Its momentum carried it on, impaling itself on the blade. Too late its body twisted aside and crashed down onto the snow. Even before Jan had torn her weapon free, Sal had come to her aid and embedded her own sword in the snow-lion’s throat.

Meanwhile Tina had reached the juvenile and dispatched it with ease. The young lion, hungrier and less experienced than the others, had obviously forced down a mouthful from a body, and was suffering the effects of iron poisoning. At the bottom of the hill, the attack from B patrol had distracted the other beasts and the defending rangers seized on their confusion. Two more lions went down. The last remaining animal turned to flee, straight onto the swords of Bo, Nikki and Ellis – and it was all over.

Katryn skidded to a stop. She stared around in confusion, realising she had drawn her sword in earnest for the first time, and done nothing more than run down a hill waving it about. Ellis would make joke of it. Even as the thought went through Katryn’s head the sergeant’s eyes turned in her direction, but before anything could be said, Sergeant Takeda charged over. "Where the fuck were you?"

"Obeying orders. What were you doing?" Ellis snapped back.

"Why didn’t you attack on the signal?"

Ellis paused. "We did."

"No you didn’t. I know you Ellis, and how you hang onto your record among the rangers. You let my patrol…"

Ellis cut in, raising her voice. "You went too early, hoping to claim all the kills. And now you’ve been chewed up you want to shift the blame."

"Chewed up!" Takeda almost screamed in outrage. "Yes, some of my girls of been chewed up, and I swear, if any of them are seriously hurt, you’ll pay for it."

Lieutenant Bergstrom, her face grey, arrived to hear the last exchange. "Ellis, Takeda." Her voice cut through the argument. "This will be discussed at the proper time and in the proper way. Take charge of your patrols."

The two sergeants became suddenly aware of their audience. They both stepped back and looked around. Most of D patrol were huddled around the spot where the large snow-lion had been crouched. Takeda stalked over to join them. A short way off was another ranger from D patrol, swaying on her feet, her uniform soaked in blood, her eyes glazed. Takeda directed two rangers to her assistance, but at first the women of D patrol seemed unwilling to disperse. Takeda had to literally push her subordinates into doing her bidding. As the tight knot of women separated a figure was reveal lying, unmoving on the ground.

Jan had been standing close by the group, watching intently but making no move to intrude. Now she walked away, shaking her head. As she came closer Tina muttered. "Who?"

"Fitz. Dead." Jan gave the terse answer.

"Shit." Tina stared down at the blood on her own sword, her lips compressed.

Katryn stood to the side, feeling like a detached observer. She could remember Fitz from D patrol that morning, complaining about her breakfast, yawning as she saddled her horse, adjusting the collar of her cloak to keep her ears warm. Katryn’s eyes fixed on the bar of red clouds lining the horizon. The sun had dropped out of sight, the day was over.

Jan came and stood close by Katryn. "Are you okay?"

"Oh… yes, sure." Katryn answered distractedly. "I didn’t get anywhere near a live lion."

Jan glanced back. Several of D patrol were crying. "It’s not a good start to active service."

"What went wrong?" Katryn needed the answers.

"You were there. You’ve got as much idea as me."

"What did Takeda mean about Ellis’s record in the rangers?"

Jan’s mouth twisted. "Ellis has a lot of faults. But one thing she does well is keep her subordinates alive. Her patrol has the lowest injury rate in the entire rangers." Jan patted Katryn’s arm. "You may not have a nice time serving under her, but you stand the best chance of someday collecting your pension."

continued in chapter 12