Peter Rice by Damned If We Do

Author:Damned If We Do
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-05-29T20:22:06+00:00

Alsatia, Caralis The Commonwealth 5 January 6831

Karstil looked up at the stars. He was wide awake.

“Time for your watch, sir,” Duncan Spint said, looking down at his Optio, not sure if he were awake or not.

“Right. I’m awake.”

Spint didn’t move, waiting for the Optio to rise from his sleeping spot on the rear deck of the Libetator.

“I’m awake, I tell you. I’m awake.”

Still Spint did not move. There was no way he would leave the Optio until he were sure that the young officer were up and functioning. Functioning as well as could be expected from a man who had slept less than two hours in the last forty-eight.

“All right,” said Karstil, rolling to his side and rising on all fours. Using the rear of the turret as a prop, he clawed himself erect. Every muscle, bone, and joint screamed out for rest. I le felt his knees creak a protest. He had fallen asleep on his side, and he had never moved. I le was suffering from “miners’ syndrome,” the result of remaining too long in one position. I le could feel the skin on his left side bearing the creases of the combat coveralls. He peeled ihe greasy uniform from his torso, letting the night air pour into the top. He was grimy, and gave off an odor that would have been offensive if those around him were not giving off the same scent. He rubbed his face with his hands, massaging the blood back to the surface. “I’m up now. Anything to report?”

“All quiet, sir. It’s been like that since you went to sleep.”

“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way. Good night, Duncan. Sweet dreams.”

“I’d settle for no dreams and a good night’s sleep.”

“Right.”

The driver scrambled into the fighting compartment, careful not to tread on Podandos, already sleeping on the floor. Karstil watched him gently push his compatriot to one side and nuggle down beside him. Duncan Spint was asleep almost at once. The human body was marvelous, thought Karstil. If you deprive it of rest long enough, it can sleep anywhere, even on the grid floor of a tank turret.

He scanned the DDP, identifying the other two tanks of the platoon. They had not changed position since he had left them. He wondered if he should call them, tell them to move to a different location just in case they had been spotted. He should do the same for his own vehicle. Then he looked at Spint, sound asleep on the floor of the fighting compartment, and decided against it. There was no use waking him, and if the TOGs were attempting to search the area, certainly his sensors would have noticed it.

A red warning light blinked on and off on the DDP. Karstil stared at the screen, wondering if he had seen it or if his eyes were playing tricks. There was nothing there. Perhaps a malfunction. Perhaps a hyperactive imagination. He looked over the top of the turret, his eyes burning and straining into the dark woods a kilometer to the front.

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