Chapter Five.
There was an audible intake of breath in the building. Sub-teniente José Santana watched as two figures in the regalia of Knights turned the corner and began the slow march down the center aisle. The taps echoed through-out the building. A man and woman. The woman wore the battle dress uniform of the Army of the Republic and the Recon patch. The man wore the battle dress uniform of the Australian Army. On his left arm was a patch that read “LRRP”. LRRP stood for Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. He was a Special Forces scout.
Alecto and Aeshma. The two Knights marched down the aisle. The only sound in the entire building was the sound of their footsteps. They ascended the stairs to the stage and stopped in front of the Knights standing in formation.
In unison, their voices filled the room. “Deimos, why have you called us here?”
“An introduction, and an induction.”
In unison, the two knights said, “We know these two Kiowa. May we proceed?”
Madre de Dios and Arcángel responded with a loud and clear, “Proceed!”
Alecto gestured to the scout with the tins of war paint. As the scout handed the first to the knight, Deimos once again began speaking.
“Five days after crossing the river, the commanding officer had the lightly wounded scouts do tree climbing for physical training. The Field Training Detachment arrived at the area picked for training at sunrise. While setting up equipment for the ascent, the group came under accurately aimed rifle fire. There were two shooters. The ambush killed two scouts instantly and wounded two others in the first moments. While the rest of the class was taking cover and pulling the wounded to safety, Bunny, and Mac ran out into the open field, then took cover in the grass. Armed only with pistols and carbines, Bunny and Mac began low crawling toward the opposite tree-line. The rest of the scouts, having the same weapons as the two scouts in the open, could not supply any meaningful covering fire. Twenty minutes after first contact, the lead instructor contacted the base command post. The command post dispatched a sniper team equipped with three sniper rifles and spotting scopes, and a Cavalry Quick Reaction Force. Over the next three hours Bunny and Mac moved half a kilometer through an open field.”
“Reinforcements arrived from the base. Armed with sniper rifles, the teams in the tree-line started firing at likely enemy positions, goading the enemy into firing at them. Bunny and Mac began approaching two separate sniper positions. Bunny moved to the center of the field, Mac to the east near the marsh. The scouts eliminated their targets with carbines, then advanced to collect information. Cautiously, they stayed low and slow, uncertain if any more enemies were in the area.”
“Bunny located a single sniper with a rifle and scope in a shallow area surrounded by tall grass in the middle of a field. Maclusky found her sniper behind a small hill next to a marsh between the open field and the Rio Grande, a kilometer from the friendly tree line. While examining the bodies, each came under fire from the opposite tree line, this time from large caliber rifles.”
“Searching the body for any intelligence material, Bunny collected the rifle and returned to friendly lines.”
“His return was facilitated by gusty breezes causing the grasses and shrubs in the open areas to sway. When close enough to the friendly line to start voice communication, Bunny was told to remain hidden. He turned and began searching for the enemy snipers, using the captured equipment taken from the dead sharpshooter. After an hour laying in the grass under rifle fire, he had narrowed his search to a small section of the tree-line. Bunny developed a plan. He displaced back toward the enemy until he had enough distance to make the plan work. The plan required that he appear to lose his nerve and try to make a break for the safety of the friendly line. He stood up and ran for three meters, then dropped back into hiding in the grass.”
“The enemy snipers opened fire but missed. Friendly snipers did not discover the enemy positions. Bunny moved several meters in the grass, then jumped to his feet and ran another three meters before grounding again. Once again, friendly forces failed to identify the enemy position. Bunny played the decoy for the third time, and this time it revealed the enemy sniper position. Friendly forces in the tree line then put the enemy sniper out of action. The second half of the engagement, the five-hundred-meter slow crawl returning from the sniper position, took four hours from start to finish.”
“When the ambush began, Mac used the body of the sharpshooter she had killed to conceal her position. She then pushed the body over the crest of the tiny knoll. Behind the small amount of cover and concealment provided, she came up with a plan. Moving with calm deliberation, she took the body of the enemy, and weighed it down with the captured rifle and equipment. Paper items were put in a waterproof bag. She added rocks as ballast and then tied the body to a log floating in the marsh waters.”
“The enemy body was invisible under the black water, but still able to be moved. With the winds causing vegetation in the marsh as well as the grasses in the open field to move in random patterns, the enemy snipers started firing at phantoms and illusions. Mac entered the water on the lee side of the log and spent five hours moving around like flotsam in the murky water. With only her eyes and nose above water and head covered with her Boonie-hat and vegetation, she crept to the friendly tree line. The entire time, the sniper team engaging her was firing at moving grasses and reeds. After five hours in the water, Mac was almost to the friendly lines. The enemy position firing at her was finally spotted and destroyed.”
“Unsure if the enemy had been neutralized, Mac continued to use the marsh for concealment as she moved closer to shore. While still in concealment, she heard her commanding officer as he climbed a small hill next to the marsh, giving him a better view of the battlefield. He was conversing via radio with the cavalry unit, getting an all clear. The officer called for a group of his scouts to fall in and briefed them on the plan to search the area for Mac. She came up out of the water and asked if anyone would help her get her intelligence cashé on land, because she was too tired and too cold. Into the surprised silence, the captain said a vulgar word, then declared that her call sign had just gone from “Mac” to “Gator.”
With the war-paint applied to both of their faces, Alecto stepped aside. Aeshma stepped forward and began attaching the eagle feathers to the top of their heads.
When the two knights finished with the regalia, they stepped around and joined the Knight Commanders behind Deimos.
Deimos let the silence continue for an agonizing minute. “Kali! Mania! Front and center please!”
***
As one, the entire formation of scouts took a deep breath. The other members of the audience began to murmur.
The Knight Commanders bellowed in unison, “Silence!”
Once again the sound of taps on concrete echoed throughout the building. But slower this time. Different. Instead of a single tap, there were two in succession. Two more figures started slowly down the aisle. They were attired as Gardeners. The Gardeners were a semi-religious order made up almost entirely of retired soldiers. There came a time when a soldier could no longer bear killing. They retired. But often enough they couldn’t stifle the urge to make a difference. The ranks of the Gardeners took on the responsibility of destroying Walkers. Putting unquiet souls to rest.
Black pants. Dark brown shirt, with a brown vest over it. A brown woolen serape with white designs on it, worn with one side over the shoulder. A brown hat hanging on their back. An embroidered leather pistol belt with a revolver in a thigh holster. Their heads were covered in a tight, knitted black balaclava painted white with the representation of a human skull. The eyes peering out of the holes in the mask were surrounded by black makeup. The skull had black wings on the side of the head. There was black and red warpaint under the eyes. Black feathers were painted as if they were pinned to a Mohawk. White cloth feathers were sewn to the side of the mask where the ears would be. The choker at the neck was black leather, blackened bones and a black chrome disk. Instead of feathers around the neck with the Hogs-Tooth in the center, the necklace had large black wooden beads. Hanging at the bottom was a black, carved wooden Mayan skull.
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The woman on the right had a metal prosthetic lower leg and foot poking out from her torn pants leg. Gleaming and articulated metal built to anatomically mimic the bones of the lower leg. The left arm poking out from under the serape was also made of metal, the hand re-created bone by bone in shiny metal. The uneven taps came from the heel strike followed by the ball of the foot. Both of them carried the weight of years on them. They weren’t exactly frail, but they walked slowly, as if the mere act of walking took a great deal of strength.
The scouts in the formation rapidly lost their composure as they turned to look at the pair. Muttering moved through the formation. On the stage, the Knight Commanders took a deep breath, but before they could utter a sound someone beat them to it. Only it wasn’t a command to be silent.
One of the scouts on the left side of the aisle raised his left fist into the air and yelled out at the top of his lungs “WAKE VISHNU!”
Every scout in the formation raised their left fist in the air and screamed in unison,“KALI MA!!”
It was deafening. Cheering and clapping followed by “OOHRAHH! OOHRAHH! OOHRAHH!”
The two women made no acknowledgment of the crowd, keeping to their solemn pace. Anyone paying attention to the Knights standing on stage and facing the crowd would have noticed the huge smiles on all of their faces. The VIPs behind them joining in the applause and whistling. The cheering and whooping went on for a minute, before Deimos yelled into his Mic, “SILENCE IN THE RANKS! Kiowa, TEN HUT!”
The scout formation immediately shut up and snapped to attention.
The two Gardeners reached the steps to the stage and slowly started up. They reached the top and slowly marched to the center of the stage and stopped in front of the two initiates. Two scouts came from around the sides of the group and placed a pillow in front of them, as well as in front of Bunny and Gator. The two scouts dropped to their knees as the two women in the masks slowly did the same, face to face.
The Gardeners reached into the pouch at their waists and pulled out small brown leather bound books, and a beaded black necklace like the ones hanging down their chests. The scouts followed the murmured instructions and placed both their hands around the book and necklace held in their right hands. Then the Gardeners placed their left hand around the scout’s hands and they all bowed their heads. Forehead to forehead. They were talking softly. No one could hear anything being said.
In the background Deimos continued with his presentation. It was purely background noise, no-one in the entire building was listening. All attention was riveted on the four kneeling figures at the center of the stage.
Deimos droned on, “...ten kilometers behind the Forward Edge of the Battle Area, (FEBA), calling in fire missions for God’s Hands on enemy formations attempting to reinforce the battle. Stinger One-One was discovered by a cavalry troop flanking the main formations. Outnumbered by the enemy they formulated a plan. Holding position they called for fire missions on the approaching enemy using HE rounds with no fuses. The enemy cavalry commander assumed that the duds dropping amongst his troops meant a sure victory over the team that had caused such destruction among the enemy formations. The two scouts held off the enemy troop with aimed and accurate rifle fire, pinning them down. They slowed their rate of fire, then stopped altogether.” Deimos paused and took a breath.
“The enemy believed the scouts had run out of ammunition and dismounted to climb the small ridge to capture the scouts. As soon as that happened, Stinger One-One called for a fire mission of Sensor Fused High Explosive rounds on their own position. They retreated and appeared to head back toward friendly positions. The pursuing enemy troops were caught by the fire mission and completely destroyed. The enemy commander observing the action sent more cavalry to pursue the scouts. Unseen behind the treeline, the two scouts had turned around and moved deeper into the enemy territory.”
“Handing off artillery spotting to Stinger Three-Five, Bunny and Gator began a straightforward scout infiltration of the enemy positions and radioed force numbers and composition to the Company Command Post. In some cases they were close enough to the enemy that they were able to read unit insignia and learn the names of the enemy commanders and their senior staff. The enemy commanders had no idea how badly they had been compromised.”
“While infiltrating the enemy rear area, the scouts discovered a large supply convoy traveling with minimal guards. Moving with great care, they infiltrated the wagons and planted explosives in the ammunition and food stores, as well as stealing enemy explosives. Using the captured explosives they infiltrated the herds of replacement horses and mules and attached the explosives to the harnesses of the animals and then withdrew. Shortly after the withdrawal they were spotted by the supply company’s security forces. When the enemy forces brought them under fire, Stinger One-One used their radio detonators to effectively destroy the supplies and re-mounts for an entire enemy Battalion.”
“In the confusion, Bunny and Gator managed to make it to the eastern tree-line and began to return to friendly lines. Reaching the FEBA without being discovered they infiltrated the narrow canyon initially used by enemy forces to begin the assault on the Republic’s lines. Moving slowly among the dead they gathered intelligence materials as they snuck through narrow cut. Making radio contact with the company command post, they notified the company S-2 of their intentions to rejoin friendly lines.”
“The Intelligence officer denied the request to rejoin, and instead ordered them to climb the ridge between them and the battlefield and provide real time Battle Damage Assessment and to shoot any High Value Targets observed on the battlefield. Stinger One-One concealed their horses and climbed the rocky cliff with their sniper rifle and spotting equipment and settled into a hide.”
“This was the beginning of the end of the battle. Outnumbered three to one, the Republic’s lines had held. The enemy assault was falling apart with no hope of resupply or reinforcement. Contacting the Fire Direction Center, the two scouts were given control of three 81mm mortar tubes, call sign “Thunder Five-Zero.” Two kilometers behind the enemy line, they proceeded to walk fire into enemy positions, dropping ninety rounds into enemy troop concentrations and herds of mounts. The two warrant officers suspended fire missions when friendly cavalry troops began to harass the retreating enemy, turning the retreat into a rout.”
***
Bunny and Gator raised their heads and the Gardeners released their hands. The Gardeners stood up slowly. The only sound in the building came from outside, a bird tweeting. The two assisting scouts appeared out of the official party again, each holding a sheathed sabre. The hilts were offered, and the blades were pulled from the scabbards. Each blade was placed gently on both of the shoulders of the kneeling scouts. The two young warrant officers rose shakily to their feet. The Gardeners produced the chokers and placed them at the necks of the scouts. Then they placed the Hogs-Tooth necklaces, each with six small feathers attached, over their heads.
Aeshma and Alecto threaded the Sam Browne belts under their vests. Madre de Dios and Arcángel hung the sabres from the belts. Deimos accepted a ceremonial rifle, ensured it was loaded and handed it to Gator, then did the same for Bunny. The rifles were slung from their shoulders and attached at the belt to stand up by itself.
The oldest Knights arrayed themselves behind the newest ones. The initiates stood proudly, their eyes bright and their cheeks wet with tears. The war paint running in vertical lines down their face, like bad mascara. Only the very observant noticed that Madre de Dios and Deimos were the only two Knights in the entire group that didn’t show the tracks of tears with their warpaint.
Deimos spoke formally, almost softly. His voice carried over the sound system. “Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my greatest honor to introduce these extraordinary people to you. Knights Errant in the order of Saint Hubert. Kiowa Warriors. Scouts. Snipers. And two of the baddest motherfuckers to ever set foot in the valley of the shadow of death.”
The audience erupted. Over six hundred men and women, pounding their hands together. Roaring and whooping, whistling, and cheering. The entire building shook.
***
Oliver Santiago stood amongst the very important people on the stage, wearing his best formal suit. He was off to the left of stage center, away from the center of attention. His wife, Ruth Anne stood next to him, clapping her hands.
He stood there shaking. Furious with himself. His face frozen, doing his best to show no emotion. His mind went to that day, the day he was rescued. He recalled his rescuers. Battle hardened, dangerous women and men. Each and every one of them had been incredibly frightening, even though he knew they would never hurt him. His fellow abductees had been terrified, the rescuers had been more frightening than their abductors.
Every single one of them had the face of a woman or man who was going to kill someone, at the slightest provocation. The anger they had displayed at the treatment of the abductees had been terrifying. They hadn’t been loud and angry. They had been cold and implacable. And he remembered the two youngsters, standing at the edge of the group of absoulte bad asses. Trying to look like they belonged. They had also been angry, but looking at them you could tell they had only recently been introduced to the concept of real anger.
Real anger and the means and ability to do something with that anger. The Special Forces Scouts had embraced that kind of anger and hatred. That kind of anger could burn cities to the ground.
Those two however, had looked like innocents. They had been so young.
He finally broke. He started sobbing, his left hand coming up and covered his eyes, blocking out the world. His right crossed over his abdomen as he hunched over into a protective stance. Ruth Anne immediately pulled him into a hug. Someone else came up and hugged him and his wife. Then another hug came from behind.
When he managed to open his eyes, his wife was holding him in her arms. He looked to his left and saw Elizabeth. He looked to his right, and saw Penny.
Elizabeth smiled at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. “We’re okay Ollie. We’re okay. It’s okay.”
Oliver Santiago wept. He started to feel like maybe, he might be okay someday.