Chapter 6

The Gardener's earlier outbound trip to Eden had been marred by an open tension between the majority scientific contingent and Igwanda's dozen-strong military task force. It had resulted partly from an early misunderstanding, partly from the disparate objectives of the two likewise disparate parties, and partly from Igwanda's rather stiff-necked response to perceived slights by the scientists.

Within a day or two after the ship's departure the colonel was dismayed to see the same unhappy scenario again begin to play out, albeit in a more one-sided fashion. With the new military contingent now reduced to but ten—Miller, Zo and the eight troopers who, besides, seemed to have little role in the mission—they were largely not perceived as any kind of threat by the scientists, who on several occasions went out of their way to offer hospitality and comradeship. But on the military side the major seemed determined to maintain a level of strict discipline to the point that he actively discouraged his troopers from mingling with any but themselves, even chastising one or two who had forged the beginnings of friendships outside their ranks.

Hoping to forestall a repetition of the problems that such factionalism had caused on the first trip, Igwanda soon sought out Miller for a private meeting.

"Major, I wanted to see you in the hope of averting a problem akin to that which I unwittingly fomented on our prior voyage," he began.

"What was that, Mr. Igwanda?" Miller responded coolly. Igwanda showed no reaction, but privately he was more than a little disconcerted by the major's mode of address. As a courtesy, generally those who have previously held titled office are still accorded their old honorifics in social settings even after leaving the office—a former mayor, governor, senator, etc., will still be called that in later life. The convention is especially strong in the military; yet Miller was ostentatiously ignoring his prior rank.

"I have reference to the segregation of your task force from the balance of the passenger roster," he continued blandly. "As senior military adviser"—he pointedly reminded Miller that his status was more than that of an ordinary civilian—"I thought I might suggest that such might not be in the best interests of shipboard harmony and might even prove to detract from your mission here. When I was commanding the earlier—"

"Thank you, Mr. Igwanda," interrupted Miller, reinforcing his prior slight. "Your advice"—he emphasized the word—"is always appreciated. I'll certainly give it full consideration. Now, if there's nothing more..." He began to busy himself with some paperwork. Igwanda simply shrugged mentally and left.

"He seems quite hostile to me," he told Meiersdottir later when they were in their compartment. "I completely fail to understand why."

"Do you really care?" she asked.

"Personally, of course not," he said. "He is nothing more than an excessively arrogant junior officer of no consequence to me whatever. But you are missing the point."

"Which is?"

"The hostility manifests itself through his utter disregard of any advice I may offer. At this juncture it is not of great importance, though his attitudes are engendering a mildly uncomfortable situation aboard ship. But if he persists after we reach Eden the matter could become of significance."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I really don't see it, Carlos," she said after a moment's reflection. "Unless you think he's going to do something dramatic the way your sergeant and that trooper tried the last time, do you?"

"No. I have reviewed the manifest carefully and investigated where needed, and there are no smuggled nuclear weapons or anything of that ilk in our cargo this time. And I cannot imagine that he would deliberately seek to provoke some kind of confrontation. Even so..."

"I think you're worrying about nothing, dear," she said. "Once we get there and he sees how it is, I expect he'll ease off. Or he won't, and he'll spend the whole stay twiddling his thumbs and waiting for something that never happens. I mean, the military won't really have anything to do on the planet, will they?"

"One very much hopes not." He smiled at her. "I shall put it from my mind."

"You know, it's probably just jealousy, the hostility," she went on. "You were really needed last time, and you were a big hero. He'd love to have done that, but he doesn't have the chance now. I mean, last time they gave us a colonel, this time it's only a major. He's got to feel like a little boy picking up the crumbs from daddy's leftovers, and it grates on him."

"I suppose," he said. But he continued to feel a mild unease.

That sense was reinforced a few days later when he got an unexpected visit from Zo. Unexpected and somewhat surreptitious; the sergeant began by asking him pointedly not to mention their encounter to his superior.

"The major really doesn't like us fraternizing with the civilians, Colonel, and that very much includes you. He doesn't know I'm here, and I think it's best to keep it that way."

Igwanda arched his eyebrows. "Very well," he said. "In fact I have little interaction with Maj. Miller, at his choice, so the subject is unlikely to arise. But why then this visit?"

Zo looked slightly abashed. "I'm really not sure, sir, probably it's mostly just to bitch a little. And maybe to ask you, if you have any influence with the major—"

"Let me stop you there, Sergeant," the colonel cut him off. "I do not. My title of senior military adviser was largely honorary, and Maj. Miller has made clear that he has scant interest in any recommendations I may advance."

The sergeant made a small grimace. "Then I guess it's just bitching, and maybe for some personal advice. I mean, I don't quite know how to deal with the way he's going at things."

"Clarify?"

"Well, sir, by the time we left last time I'd really got to kind of like these guys, the Edenites. They gave us some pretty bad shit—excuse me, sir, bad stuff—at the beginning, of course, but then it settled down and I got to really enjoying the job you had me doing." Igwanda had assigned Zo, farm-raised, to teach the aliens about domestication of the local wildlife, which had proved a good fit all around.

"Actually, that was the main reason I volunteered for another tour," the sergeant continued. "I'd got them a long way, but I thought there were still some more things I could teach them, show them."

"But?" prompted Igwanda.

"The major, though, he doesn't want to know about that, doesn't want to hear it. He's all the time talking about the Edenites as 'the enemy, ' that's all he can see. He's training us like we're going to war, and it just doesn't fit what I know."

"I see," said the colonel non-committally.

"Actually, he's overtraining us," Zo continued, encouraged. "If we really were going to war we'd be leaving our war in the training room. Every day is drill, drill and more drill, and he's big on hand-to-hand, I guess because he's damn good at it himself. At one time or another he's beat up on every one of us, me included, sent a couple of my troopers to the infirmary. But he keeps going on like we're going to have to kick some serious ass as soon as we get to Eden."

"That is more or less his job," Igwanda replied. "I agree that it is unlikely to be necessary, but in the event that it is he would like you to be as prepared as possible."

"I know, Colonel, but he's pushing it way too hard, in my opinion. If somebody's ass needs kicking I'm on board with it; it's not my favorite part of the job, but I know what I signed up for. But it's like we're going to Eden itching for a fight. If I try to tell him how it really is there he just shuts me up, talks about the 'pussy way' things got done on the last trip and how we need to keep 'always vigilant' against 'native uprisings.' I don't know."

"How are your troopers responding?" asked Igwanda.

Zo shook his head. "They don't like him. He pushes too hard, treats us all like raw recruits, and they really don't like being kicked around in the hand-to-hand. I have to keep them in line. But even so, some of the kick-ass mentality is getting through, everybody talks about the Edenites as 'bugs, ' they're getting a 'tude."

"Well, it is as it was before, there are distinctions between the two missions on board," the colonel told him. "The great majority of those on board, in whose number I now include myself, seek to maintain and further develop contact with the Edenites. Your major and you and your troops, on the other hand, have the assignment of defending us against possible renewal of hostilities. I expect the attitude you say he is fomenting reflects this sharp difference."

"Yes, sir, but 'bugs?' The 'enemy?' All this hyper-training? Do we need to go that far?"

"Each officer has his own mode of preparation. I will acknowledge that what you say of Maj. Miller's would not be my own, but he might well also not agree with my ideas. Perhaps he seeks to so characterize the Edenites in order to discourage any feelings for them that might make a trooper hesitate to fire, should combat erupt. I cannot speak for his motives, but neither can I find anything so problematic with his approach as to warrant serious concern."