Chapter 23

Igwanda's head, though, was no longer where it had been. Even as Miller began the kick the colonel was dropping to one knee and shifting toward, rather than away from, his assailant.

With one powerful hand he reached out to grasp the ankle of the leg on which Miller was balancing his body's rotation, even as he shot the other arm over his head to intercept the kick. Unable to stop his momentum, Miller continued to turn as his lower leg was held stationary in Igwanda's iron grip and the knee above was abruptly stressed in a way no human leg could withstand. Just as the knee tore itself apart his kicking leg intercepted the colonel's upraised arm, and he drew the arm down heavily across his shoulder to break that leg as well.

Totally unbalanced, and his reflexes horribly skewed by the first shock of pain from his injured legs, Miller fell hard. His head struck the ground with a reverberating thud.

"And that," Igwanda said tightly, "is the counter, you jackass."

Quickly the colonel looked around. A few paces away Zo stood, still as silent as he'd been through the preceding argument, but with his laser sidearm half drawn.

"Am I going to have trouble with you, too, Sergeant?" he demanded.

For a brief moment Zo simply stared at the man crouching by his now unconscious and disabled commander. Then he jammed the laser decisively back into its holster. "No, sir!" he replied. "No trouble at all." He looked apologetically down at the hand still holding the now-sheathed laser. "That was for him, sir, if..."

Igwanda raised one eyebrow as he rose gracefully. "Mutiny, Sergeant?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Well... ," the sergeant fumbled momentarily. He gave the colonel a direct look. "Sir, it was wrong what he did, really bad wrong, he wouldn't even let you tell him your plan, and then to start calling names and flat-out attacking you like that— Discipline be damned, there have to be limits. I kind of thought you were sandbagging back there on the ship, but I wasn't dead sure and I wasn't going to take the chance."

"Thank you, Sergeant. No officer should be humiliated before those he commands," he added in oblique reference to the Gardener incident. "But I believe your major needs attention."

"Yes, sir," said Zo, looking down. "Jesus, Colonel, both legs? You sure don't mess around."

"It is the price of a failed assault. And he annoyed me severely," Igwanda said unapologetically. "My wife and child are not 'collateral damage.'"

"Remind me never to annoy you ever, sir" the sergeant said.

"Give him an injection of painkiller. A large dose, he will be hurting quite badly when he regains consciousness and it may be some little time before we can retrieve him. And strip away his weapons. Meantime there are things to do, and we will need to do them quickly. You will vouch for me with the troops?"

"You're in charge now, sir," Zo agreed. "Wish it had been that way from the start, but it's a pleasure to have you back."

As soon as the sergeant finished ministering to the still unconscious Miller the two men headed back to the clearing. At Zo's sharp command the troopers left their concealment and gathered around them.

"Maj. Miller had an accident," the sergeant explained briefly. "He's out of it, I had to give him painkiller. Col. Igwanda's going to take over now, we take our orders from him."

All of them showed shock, but one young man was especially vocal. "What kind of accident?" he demanded aggressively. "What happened? Did the bugs attack him?"

"Your name, Trooper?" barked Igwanda in his best command voice.

"Edmundson, Helmut Edmundson," the trooper answered truculently. "Sir," he added after a disrespectful pause.

"Thank you, Edmundson," the colonel replied. "Your question is well asked, and you are to be commended for asking it. But no, Maj. Miller was not attacked, he merely lost his footing and fell, quite badly. A misadventure, but he is unable to continue. You will take your orders from me for this mission."

"Well... ," said Edmundson, deflating. "If the sergeant says so—"

"I do say so," Zo interjected firmly. "We're lucky to have the colonel."

"The deployment will be somewhat different," Igwanda told them without waiting. "I wish you all to assume formation here, weapons at ready but do not, I repeat, do not, fire without my command. Zo, please summon the lander immediately, it should return here."

Edmundson wasn't quite through. "Did Maj. Miller okay this change?" he asked, less aggressively than before but still in a challenging tone.

"It was discussed with him," the colonel said briefly. "Unfortunately he was injured before any final decision was reached. Edmundson, your loyalty to your officer is admirable, but time is now short and we have no more of it for debate. I must ask you now, will you follow my orders without further question? Will all of you?" he added, looking around.