34
“What the hell did you do to him?”
“What?” Rev asked, opening his eyes. After the mission to rescue Second Squad, the debriefs, then going out again on their own patrol, the troopers of First Squad were exhausted, and all Rev wanted to do was get some sleep.
An angry Corporal Wymont was standing at the foot of his rack. “What did you do to Staff Sergeant Kvat? He’s in the aid station, and word is he’s getting medivaced back to the home system.”
“Go back to your bivouac, Wymont.” Rev closed his eyes, hoping that would dissuade the corporal from whatever crusade he was on at the moment.
Fat chance. The corporal slapped the sole of his foot with karnan muscles. “I want to know what you did to the staff sergeant.”
Rev might have erupted at that, but he was just too tired. He needed some sleep. He raised himself to his elbows to stare down the MDS soldier.
“I saved his damned life, if you must know.” Again, something he might not have said if he was rested and alert.
“That’s not what I heard.”
What the hell now?
“Well, Corporal, I don’t know what you heard, but facts are facts. Now, get out of here and leave me alone.”
Wymont stood there for a moment, then said, “You yooties, you always want to prove that being an android freak is better than the karnan way,” he said, the “karnan way” spoken with almost religious intensity.
“I heard you abandoned Staff Sergeant Kvat, left him to get overwhelmed, then when it was safe, marched in to save the day. All for the fucking glory and to put karnans down. You know nothing about loyalty and brotherhood. You yooties, especially you oners, will sell your fucking souls for a medal.”
Rev was shocked more than angry. There was just so much wrong there that it was difficult to unpack.
Beside him, Bob sat up from where he’d collapsed onto his rack after the mission. “You’d better watch your ass, baby pit bull. I’ll have you know that it was Staff Sergeant Pelletier who—”
Rev cut him off with a raised hand. In a voice so sharp it could cut a diamond, he said, “I don’t care what the hell you heard. But I will tell you this. If you don’t get out of here and back to your bivouac, I’m going to invoke combat contingency regs and have you arrested.”
Rev didn’t know if he really could do that. He expected not. But he was betting that Wymont didn’t know that, either.
“Is that what you want? A Mad Dog karnan getting arrested in a combat theater? Do you know what that’ll look like?”
Rev could see the expression flow across his face as he took that in. He opened his mouth twice to say something, only to close it. Finally, he said, “OK, I’m leaving. But if I find out that you’re the reason he’s getting medivaced, I’m coming for you, yootie. I don’t care what crap you pull; I’m coming for you.”
He spun around and stormed out of the shelter.
“What a piece of shit,” Bob said. “You saved Kvat.”
“If you need a witness, I’m here,” Akkeke said from down the line of cots.
“Me, too,” a dozen other voices echoed. They’d been listening in during the entire thing, and Rev knew that if Wymont had tried anything, they’d have been there in his defense.
It was a good feeling.
“Thanks, but I think it’s over. He’ll find out what really happened.”
“Even if he does, he won’t thank you,” Bob said.
“What makes you think I need thanks? All I need now is sleep.” He raised his voice. “And I think all of us need sleep. We can get called out again at any time.”
He lay his head back. Within seconds, sleep claimed him.
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