All-Patron Reward: Born of Ice, Chapter 4

We continue with my posting of part of the oldest remaining drafts of _Demons of the Past_, this from the later-completely-cut first part of the story, "Born of Ice", which is Sasham Varan's early experiences which introduced him to Jearsen, Canta, and a few others.

One obvious missing element from this old draft, of course, is Taelin Mel'Tasne. It wasn't until later drafts that I realized I was missing a point of view and a connection to key elements of the setting (which, in this particular draft, hadn't even been clarified yet). My friend Eric Palmer created Taelin for a Space Opera adventure which was set in the then-current Demons of the Past unibverse, and once he'd developed a bit I knew Taelin was exactly the element I'd been looking for. 

In the modern version of "Born of Ice", if I ever write it, Taelin is part of the same training group, but isolated because of his rank and his appearance; Varan and Jearsen and, later, Canta befriend him, and it is Taelin, rather than another character (see later sections) who gets rescued from a windwailer.

Onward to this month's ancient chapter!

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iv.

"Ensign Varan, Private Canta, reporting as ordered, Sargeant!"

Helkoth glanced up from his desk. With a shudder I saw that he had our files there... and a pair of discharge forms. "Sit down, both of you."

He shuffled through the files for a while. I knew the idea was to make us nervous. Even though I knew, it was working. If he discharged me I didn't know what I'd do; my family had been in the Navy for generations, I didn't think my dad could take the shock, if it didn't kill me first. There wasn't anything else except the Navy. Take that away...

"Ensign. Private." Helkoth began. Then his face went crimson. "Just what in all the bloody hells of space did you think you were doing? "

I gulped. Neither one of us said anything. There wasn't much to say.

Helkoth drummed his fingers on the desk. "There isn't any point in this silence. I already have a pretty good idea what's going on. I always thought this inter-service rivalry was an asinine policy and now I'm sure of it. But idiotic policies do not excuse this sort of conduct." He picked up a file, turned to Canta. "Private, is this your file?"

"Yes, sergeant. That is, it looks like my file. I couldn't say for sure without looking, sergeant."

Helkoth allowed a small smile at that. "At least you remember something of my lessons. Yes, it is your file." He reopened it, began reading. "Private Norran Canta, ...number...age... let's see, marksmanship cluster, unarmed combat ribbon, weapons tech commendation, very impressive for a man just out of Basic, Private."

"Thank you, sergeant."

"And here.... disciplinary action, charge, fighting with a member of the service, sent back to beginning of Basic. Disciplinary action, charge, inciting a fight with a fellow member of service, sent back to beginning of Basic. Disciplinary action, charge, behavior unbecoming to a member of the service, sent back..." he closed the file, glared at Canta again. "Very impressive record, Private. And shall we add another disciplinary action? You don't seem to learn very well, Private."

He turned to me. "Let's examine your file, shall we, Ensign? Ensign Sasham Varan, ... number, age, marksmanship cluster, unarmed combat ribbon, ship procedure commendation, good conduct medal... my my, Ensign, you are a veritable paragon, aren't you?"

"If you say so, sergeant." I answered, dreading what what coming up next.

"Well, I DON'T say so! Here we go: disciplinary action, charge, insulting a superior officer, sent back to beginning of Basic. Disciplinary action, charge, fighting with fellow recruits, sent back to the beginning of Basic. Disciplinary action... Oh, a fine pair, the two of you! Between you you have ten commendations from Basic and eight disciplinary actions. But you aren't IN Basic anymore, gentlemen... though I may be stretching that term a bit in your cases. I can't just send you back. Perhaps it would be best for all concerned if you both just sign these discharge papers."

We leapt to our feet simultaneously. "No!" we both shouted, then, "That is, I didn't mean.." "Sorry to shout, Sargeant, but..." "..I can't do that Sarge,..." "Please, Sargeant..."

"SIT DOWN!"

We sat. Fast.

"I take it that doesn't sit well with you. Why, Varan?"

I swallowed, stood. "Sargeant! The service is my life. I... I wouldn't even know what else to DO. My family has been Navy for generations, Sargeant. It would break my dad in two if I was discharged! Not to mention me."

He gestured in a disgusted manner, I dropped back in my seat. "And what about you, Canta?"

Canta stood, shrugged those massive shoulders. "Sarge... Varan said it for me too. I couldn't do anything else. The Service is everything to me."

"I see." He stood, paced the floor a few moments. Then he whirled on us. "Then why in Niadeea's Name don't you ACT like it?" he bellowed. "If you gave one damn about what the Service is, you would never, never, ever stain its name with juvenile stunts like this! What do you think the Service is about? Pretty uniforms? Glory? Power? The Service is the living presence of Empire, the representative of His Imperial Majesty wherever it may go. Forget the Nobles, the Councillors, the Planetary Governors. WE are the Empire. And the Empire has no place in its Service for overgrown children. Is that understood?"

"Yessir!"

"I doubt it." Helkoth said dryly. "It takes more than a dressing down and quick resolutions to make people grow up. It's going to take work, gentlemen." He picked up the discharge forms. "Ensign... Private... I'm going to keep these for now. If you show signs of growing up in the weeks left in this class, why, then, they may happen to get thrown out the next time I clean out the files. If not, both of you are on your way home within the hour. Satisfactory?"

A huge flood of relief burst through me. "Yes, sergeant!"

Canta's square face was filled with a giant grin. "Yes, sargeant!"

"I thought so. Now... As far as the fight itself. You two OUGHT to get along better now... am I right?"

We both started to talk, deferred to each other, finally I said, "Go ahead, Canta, Marines first."

Canta nodded. "Yes, sergeant. Varan... has guts. He ought to be a Marine."

I knew what he was trying to say. "And Canta's got style. He could be Navy." We grinned at each other.

Helkoth smiled slightly. "Better, men. Well, we'll take that as over with, then. Now, as to disciplinary action... I can hardly just drop the matter. Both of you will be on laundry detail for the next two weeks... in addition to regular exercises. But that will give you, Canta, a chance to spend a good deal of time with Varan... and if you listen to him, you'll find that your performance in this course will improve. I'll expect you, Varan, to do two things: tutor Canta in every aspect of Arctic Survival, and learn how to keep your mouth shut at the right times. If you'd learned how to give the correct information without embarrassing people, this whole thing would never have happened." He stood up, began to dismiss us. "Oh, one more thing: I doubt the Dragons are gong to let this drop. They're going to wipe the floor with you if you get caught anywhere I can't see them. So I'd recommend you brush up on your combat techniques. Particularly you, Canta. That was a nice move you used to drop the one... but he won't forget it."

Canta nodded. "But where can I get any, sargeant? I'm the best in the flight."

"I'll tell you what, Canta." Helkoth said. "I work out every evening after dinner. If you join me, I might be able to give you a few pointers. As for you, Varan, normally it would be a real problem finding a Tor instructor for you; it's rare. But if you talk to your cabinmate you might persuade him to instruct you."

That surprised me. Jearsen, a Tor master? He hadn't said anything... but then again, neither had I. "Yes, sargeant!"

"Dis-missed."