Early sunlight glinted obliquely on the dusty earth of the parade ground the next morning. Birds screeched in the tree-tops. The rangers of B patrol stood to attention in two rows of four. A little to one side the depleted ranks of D patrol were also present for the dawn inspection. Lieutenant Bergstrom paced deliberately along the line, her eyes scanning each woman as she went. Quartermaster Adebayo and the two members of her staff stood a short way back. No-one else was in sight. During her time in the rangers Katryn had witnessed a couple of dawn parades with fewer women present, but she had never known one that felt so empty.

At last Bergstrom returned to the top of the steps outside the officer’s quarters and read the orders for the day. D patrol were assigned to routine drills and maintenance tasks which would keep them inside the barracks. Bergstrom turned to B patrol. "There is a report from Three Firs ranch in upper Tamer valley of a pack of mountain cats. Sergeant Ellis, take half your patrol and go and investigate. You need to talk to a rancher called Wisniewski."

Katryn was standing directly behind Ellis. She noticed a twitch in the set of the sergeant’s shoulders, a faint backwards movement of her head. Neither gesture was pronounced enough to count as defiance, but it was clear Ellis was not pleased. To Katryn’s left Sal breathed out sharply in something which sounded like a contemptuous sigh, but the noise was too soft for Bergstrom to hear, even had she not already moved on to the final few assignments.

Once the parade had been dismissed Ellis turned to her subordinates. "Okay, Militia, you seem the right person for a wild goose chase. Hassan, you’ll come with me as well, and…" She looked at the other women. "Agosta. You’ll be good at keeping a straight face when Wisniewski starts describing the fifty gigantic cats which have slaughtered half her flock."

Katryn was confused, she was not normally the first choice for a serious mission, but obviously Ellis was not expecting any trace of the mountain-cats to be found. Katryn glanced at the other faces. They all looked either bored or scornful, even Jan seemed unbothered. Katryn assumed rancher Wisniewski had a reputation for false alarms.

**********

It was mid morning when the four rangers arrived at the Three Firs homestead. The sun blazed down from a clear blue sky on the ramshackle collection of buildings. A shepherd, working in the barn, volunteered to escort Ellis and Tina in search of the ranch owner. No conversation had taken place during the ride out, Ellis hadn’t made any attempt to conceal her bad mood, and the rest had wisely kept silent. However, once the sergeant strode out of earshot, Bo muttered, "I wonder how many thousand sheep Wisniewski has lost this time?" The heavy irony in her voice was plain.

"Can I take it that Wisniewski often complains about mountain-cats?"

"Oh, mountain-cats, bandits, dishonest neighbours. Next thing it will be invisible pixies pinching her sheep."

"She’s got an overactive imagination?"

"She’s got an underactive wallet." Bo hesitated. She was the member of the patrol who made the most effort to distance herself from Katryn, however Bo was also very fond of the sound of her own voice. After a few seconds she continued. "Wisniewski won’t hire enough hands for the size of her flock, so she’s always losing sheep. She uses the rangers like auxiliary shepherds. Bergstrom should have sent the message back that we were too busy, except she knew she could irritate Ellis by sending her here."

Ellis and Tina reappeared from around the end of the barn, in the company of a woman Katryn assumed to be the ranch owner. Wisniewski was gesturing to the south east, her hand flapping and pointing while she told her story. It looked as if she was cut off short when Ellis turned away and marched back to the horses. Tina tagged along behind.

Ellis provided no information as she lead the way, heading approximately in the direction indicated by Wisniewski. In half an hour they reached the top of a deep gully and turned east, following a sheep-track which ran along the rim. After a few more minutes it entered a loose thicket of thorn-covered shrubs and Ellis signalled for them to stop. "Apparently the savage beasts are all down there." She jeered, indicating the gully with her thumb.

Katryn twisted her neck to peer over the edge. The sides were steep, sheer in places and covered in loose gravel. There were only a few, low bushes on the slopes, but more plants grew at the bottom. A small river cascaded over broken rocks twenty metres below the path where they stood.

Sergeant Ellis swung her leg over the head of her horse and jumped down from her saddle. "Let’s check it out quickly, so we can get back to Roadsend and do something more useful — like combing our hair. Agosta and Hassan, come with me. Militia, stay here with the horses and look after them. That means make sure they don’t run away." She added the last part in tones which implied she was talking to an idiot.

Katryn grabbed the reins of the horses and stood watching as the other three carefully scrambled down the steep incline. Bo tripped at one point and slid several metres until she fetched up against a shelf of rock protruding half-way down the side of the gully. Tina was the first to reach the bottom. She crossed the stream, jumping onto a flat-topped boulder mid-way and then using another stepping-stone before pulling herself onto the far bank.

"You’ve got five minutes to play beside the river, then we can all go home and say we searched the area. If you spot any sign of the missing sheep don’t bother making notes — we aren’t going to report back to Wisniewski. She can find her own sheep." Ellis shouted out and turned downstream, ducking under the branches of a spindly tree. Bo picked up a handful of pebbles and began tossing them into the water as she followed after. Tina headed upstream. A rock-slide reached down to the waters edge and blocked her path. Tina clambered over and moved on, disappearing behind a clump of bushes.

Katryn stood alone in the glaring sunlight. The air smelt of dust and baked leaves. The horses shuffled their hooves and took a few mouthfuls of dry grass, but were too well trained to stray far. Minding them was an excuse, clearly Ellis thought her incapable even of looking for non-existent cats. A soft wind stirred the bushes, carrying a fresh scent to Katryn. She wrinkled her nose and looked around, trying to identify which plant was the source; it certainly wouldn’t win any prizes for its fragrance. There was a hint of overripe apples in the odour, but the general effect was of decay — like rancid cider. Even as the thought occurred to Katryn a second gust blew, confirming her impression.

Katryn leapt to the gully’s edge and opened her mouth, about to shout a warning, but then stopped. If she was wrong Ellis would not merely make a joke of it; the story would provide ammunition for months of baiting; proof of weak nerves and gullibility. Katryn took an indecisive step backwards, and then spun around and dived towards her mount. Her hands tore the bow from her horse’s saddle-pack and strung it with quick, practised movements. She grabbed four arrows from the quiver, stuck them in her belt, and returned to the vantage point at the head of the slope.

The figures of Ellis and Bo were visible atop a rock ledge overhanging a deep pool. Ellis had her hands on her hips as she examined the scene. Bo was looking down at the water. Katryn’s mouth was dry. Tina had emerged from the undergrowth some way upstream and stood on the bank, seeming to be looking for a way to cross back. There was no sign of life in the gully, except for the three women. And then Katryn saw patch of shade on the opposite bank mould itself into a sleek, muscled form before flowing into another dark shadow under a bush.

"Agosta, watch out! Behind you… cats!" Katryn shouted at the top of her voice.

Tina looked up at the cry, shading her eyes from the sun, but, instead of moving, she then twisted to look downstream, the palms of both hands held up in an exaggerated shrug, as if seeking guidance from Ellis on how to respond. It wasn’t frozen inaction due to fear, Katryn realised, Tina simply didn’t believe her.

The cat was moving closer to Tina though the brushwood. And, now Katryn’s eyes were attuned to the shape, she could pick out two more, crouched on the slope above. She went to nock an arrow, but the cat stalking Tina was now under cover. It wouldn’t be visible from above until it was upon its victim. Katryn needed to get lower for the shot. She launched herself down the gully wall, her feet skidding wildly, arms thrown wide for balance. Her uncontrolled decent ended when she crashed into the same rocky projection that Bo had hit earlier. The impact jarred every bone in her body, but Katryn did not have time to notice. Somehow she had managed to keep hold of the bow. She clawed her way back up the slope until she was above the obstruction, braced one knee against the ground, one foot on the top of the rocks, nocked an arrow, drew and took aim.

Tina might have been unmoved by the Katryn’s shouted warning, but the sight of an arrow pointed in her direction produced an immediate response. Tina ducked and threw herself sideways. In the bushes just behind the spot where she had been standing was the cat, crouched and ready to leap. The distance was at most thirty metres, but Katryn did not have the chance to test her range, or the wind.

"Nagata! What the fuck do you think you’re…"

Katryn was scarcely aware of the sound of Ellis’s voice. The cat’s body surged upwards. She loosed the arrow, and watched it arc through the air and hit the cat in mid-leap. The animal yowled and crumpled writhing to the ground. Its cry screeched over the rushing of the stream, cutting off Ellis’s words. Tina scrambled to her feet, staring at the dying beast, then she leapt off the bank without bothering to identify stepping-stones and waded, knee deep through the water. Another cat broke from cover. It reached the bank and hunkered down, gathering itself to pounce on the fleeing ranger, until Katryn’s second arrow hit it square in the chest. Ellis and Bo were racing up the riverside. They reached Tina just as she got to the bank and helped pull her out of the water; then the three of them, swords drawn, began a slow retreat towards Katryn on the rock-shelf.

On the gully wall opposite Katryn could now see the shapes of six further mountain-cats, and there might be more. Suddenly she heard a noise to her right, on her side of the water. Katryn twisted around and saw a cat, bounding down the slope towards her. Katryn did not have the time to draw or aim properly. Instinctively she loosed the arrow from half-set, her bow horizontal. It was only by the grace of the Goddess that it hit its target and the cat’s charge became a tumbling roll down the incline.

Katryn pulled the last arrow from her belt and nocked it on the string. She raised her head. The situation was grim; they were outnumbered by the beasts, and in a poor defensive position on the exposed and unstable gravel slope. Fortunately the cats did not reckon in that way. They had seen three of their pack-members struck down and that was enough to scatter them. On the other side of the gully the animals were going, fading away into the dappled shade of the bushes.

The other rangers had also seen the cats depart and sheathed their swords, freeing their hands to help in the tricky climb. Katryn kept in position with the last arrow on the string until they reached the point where she was.

Ellis’s face was twisted in a snarl. "I ordered you to stay with the horses."

Katryn couldn’t believe her ears. Her anger flared. "Was I supposed to stay there and watch Tina get killed?"

"You’re supposed to obey orders, you’re not supposed to desert your post, and you’re supposed to say ma’am when you speak to me."

"Fuck you, I…"

The back of Ellis’s hand cracked hard across Katryn’s face. "What did you say?"

"I said…" Katryn’s voice died, jolted back to common-sense by the violence of Ellis’s tone as much as the blow. Regardless of the justice of the initial charge of disobeying orders, Ellis had snared her in insubordination. The sergeant’s triumphant expression showed that she knew it as well. Katryn swallowed her words. "Nothing, ma’am."

"Oh… nothing? Well, for that nothing you can lose all your free-time for the week. It’s a shame Takeda’s girls have grabbed all the sentry duty. But you can start tonight by polishing the saddles and harness for the whole patrol, and we’ll take it from there." Ellis snapped out savagely, then she jerked her thumb, pointing up the slope. "Come on, we don’t want to hang around until the cats regain their courage." She set off on the rest of the climb.

Katryn did not move. She waited until the sergeant was out of earshot and said. "I’ll kill her. I swear it, I’ll kill her."

Tina also had not moved. Her eyes travelled to the spot where the bodies of the two cats lay and then back to Katryn. "You had me worried at first, but that was a neat shot."

"Thanks." Katryn said listlessly.

"I think I’m the one who should say thank-you." Katryn looked up. Tina’s expression held genuine appreciation and commiseration. She held out a hand to help Katryn out of her half-kneeling position. "We better not keep Ellis waiting."

"True — I wouldn’t want her to get really mad at me."

Bo had been dithering to one side. She joined them as they started to climb the hillside. Tina continued talking. "You’ve rattled Ellis, that’s why she was such a bitch just now. She’s got you pegged as useless, and then you go and preserve her injury record. You can’t expect her to be grateful… but I am." Tina paused as they negotiated a steeper part. "You know why she hates you?"

"Jan told me. It was letting her know I’d turned down promotion to lieutenant."

"You turned down…?" Bo joined in. It was obviously news to her.

"Only in the militia." Katryn said.

They reached the top of the gully, the horses were a few metres away. Ellis was already mounted and waiting impatiently. Tina dropped her voice. "My advice is to get out of B patrol. Ask to be moved next time there’s a place in one of the other patrols. Val Bergstrom should be sympathetic if you make your request via her — it was how she got away from Ellis."

**********

They headed back to Roadsend as quickly as possible, but by the time they reached the barracks it was mid-afternoon and too late to return to the gully with a larger force of rangers. The two sergeants and Jan Sivarajah were summoned to meet with Bergstrom to make plans for the next day. The other rangers were set to various preparatory tasks. Katryn was detailed to work with Bo in the stores, under the supervision of Gill Adebeyo, the Roadsend quartermaster.

A long scar puckered the side of Adebeyo’s face, making it hard to be certain of her age, although Katryn judged her to be under forty. The quartermaster also walked with a pronounced limp, her left leg scrapped across the ground as she approached the entrance to the storeroom. Her shoulder badge bore the single star of a lieutenant, but, as a member of divisional staff, the identification ‘Eastern’ rather than a squadron number was embroidered underneath. Quartermasters were responsible for buying supplies, hiring civilian workers and supervising the maintenance of the buildings. Unlike the nomadic life of most rangers, they were permanently assigned to one town, so they could establish good working relationships with the local businesses. The post was invariably filled by a ranger who had retired from active service or, as Katryn guessed was the case with Adebeyo, been invalided out.

Adebeyo took a key from the pouch at her belt and unlocked the main door. She lead the way to the back of the stores and used the same iron key to repeat the action at the rear entrance. Katryn looked out. The doorway opened some way above water level and a vicious row of spikes protruded from the wall below to deter anyone from climbing up. There an expansive view of the river with a barge moored to the loading wharf. Between the doorway and the wooden jetty was a gap of nearly two metres, however just inside the door were four long planks, designed to form a removable bridge.

The quartermaster pointed to the barge. "Everything on it is for us. Pile it all there…" She indicated an empty spot in the store-room. "…and I’ll be back shortly to check it against the invoice." Her voice was authoritative, but vague, as if she was thinking about other, more important, things.

Katryn and Bo positioned the planks and began to unload the barge. There was no crew on-board to help but, since there was not a vast amount of goods to be carted off, it did not take long to empty the hold. Adebeyo had not returned by the time they’d finished and dismantled the bridge. Katryn found a comfy seat on top of a pile of sacks containing oats for the horses. Bo shuffled around, seeming uncharacteristically self-conscious, and then sat down beside her.

"You were amazing with the cats, I didn’t know you were such a good shot." Bo launched into speech.

Katryn pulled a bitter, humourless smile. "The assessment from the tests at Fort Krowe is in my records. I doubt Sergeant Ellis has bothered to read it and, even if she has, it’s not surprising she hasn’t spread the news around."

"Ellis can be a complete bitch."

"That’s one of the politer words for her." Katryn was slightly confused. Bo had never made any attempt at friendliness before, but now there was no mistaking her eagerness to talk.

Bo gave a conspiratorial grin and said, "Even the less polite words don’t really do her justice. There’s always one member of the patrol she picks on. It always used to be me… except when it was Sal or Nikki. Pat sleeps with her to stay in favour, Jan’s too useful, and I think Ellis is a bit scared of Tina’s temper — of course she’d never admit it. But with me…" Abruptly Bo’s voice struggled, as the easy good-humour failed. "…I’d go months on end without doing a thing right, lose half my free-time. And I know, when you’re in that position, it seems as if the whole patrol is laughing at you, but it’s just..." She swallowed. "It’s how Ellis works, keeping you isolated, and there isn’t much anyone else can do."

Bo looked so unhappy Katryn had to say, "I understand." although she wasn’t sure if she did.

A weak version of Bo’s grin returned. "Ellis has cancelled your free-time, and it isn’t fair, given how it was. If you want to appeal to Bergstrom I’ll back you up, and Tina will as well — you saved her life."

Katryn toyed with the idea for a second and then shook her head. "If she was accusing me of disobeying orders I might stand a chance of appealing, but I swore at her. I think I’ve got off lightly."

"Ellis deliberately provoked you. She’s virtually admitted she was in the wrong by not taking things further. She’s grounded you for a week, because that’s the most punishment she can dish out without referring it to Bergstrom or Dolokov. She knows she’d never make a charge of insubordination stick."

"It’s not worth causing trouble over. Hopefully I won’t be serving under Ellis’s for too much longer. I can hang on for a few more months — but thanks for the offer." It occurred to Katryn that, by being so vindictive, Ellis had done her a favour. At last she might be able to make some friends in the squadron.

"Everyone hates Ellis you know — except Adebeyo." Bo interrupted Katryn’s thoughts.

"I guess not serving in the same squadron as Ellis would help."

"She used to." Bo paused. "Has anyone told you about the trouble with the Mad Butcher?"

"Yes, Jan did."

"Adebeyo was badly hurt in the battle. She couldn’t return to active service, so she joined divisional staff. She was promoted to quartermaster here a few years back. But, even though she’s got the scar and the limp, she reckons that she owes her life to Ellis."

"And she must remember Ellis from when she was a private. Maybe Ellis was okay before she got promotion." Despite Katryn’s words, her tone was sceptical.

"You’re more charitable than me. Some people even think Adebeyo …" Bo’s voice died.

"Pardon?"

Bo shrugged "Just rumour, but I’ve heard some say that Adebeyo sucks up to Ellis because she’s being blackmailed."

"Over what?" Katryn asked.

"Well, she’s a quartermaster. People are always saying they skim the accounts. There’s no evidence I know of, but maybe Ellis has..."

The sound of shuffling footsteps made Bo break off guiltily. They both jumped to their feet as the quartermaster hobbled in through the main door.

"Someone mis-filed the invoice." It was a criticism, not an excuse. Adebeyo unfolded the sheet of paper and began to read. "Seventeen sacks of oats. Two barrels of weak beer. Five rounds of cheese…" She carried on down the list, counting off the items.

Bo and Katryn stood a little to one side, waiting until they would be dismissed. While Adebeyo’s back was turned Bo whispered, "Did she say seventeen sacks of oats? I’m sure we carried in more."

Katryn met her gaze and then moved forward to a spot where she could surreptitiously count the sacks in the pile. Bo joined her just as Adebeyo finished running through the invoice, but said nothing until they were dismissed from the stores and heading towards the mess-hall for dinner. Adebeyo stayed behind to lock up.

"You counted the sacks?" Bo asked.

"There was seventeen." Katryn’s lips twisted in a wry grimace.

"Oh…well," Bo pulled her widest grin. "Sorry." There was an unexpected depth of emotion in her voice.

"That’s okay." Katryn said, although she wasn’t sure whether the apology was for sowing false doubts or for a lack of friendliness in the past.