CHAPTER FIVE

Kade

M y master’s conversation with the other two soldiers ended abruptly as Vosh and I approached the camp, and I took that to mean they’d most likely been talking about me. I was aware of the sideways glances and curious stares I’d been getting ever since my master had introduced me to his teammates, and also aware that Kent in particular didn’t seem happy with me being there. Perhaps it was a lack of confidence in my training. Perhaps he was jealous of my commitment to my master, given my occasional refusal to defer to Kent. Jealousy was something I’d been trained to deal with, though, and it had been a simple effort to ask for his advice on a few menial issues, attempting to make the point that I recognised his overall authority on this mission, even if my loyalty remained with my master.

Thankfully, it seemed that either my efforts or my master’s ability to talk him down had been effective, as he offered me a tight smile as I sat down beside my master and said, “Thank you. You’ve been a big help this afternoon.” I nodded genially to him, but said nothing else.

Vosh and Nichols hadn’t yet eaten dinner, so they both rummaged in their packs until they came up with food packets. Nichols opened his, but scowled at the contents. “Hey, Kade?” he asked, looking up at me. “Can I have one of your protein bars? I’m sick of jerky.”

I glanced at my master, not sure what to make of the request. He gave Nichols a pointed look. “Two of his protein bars are worth one of your meal packets. You can trade him, but you can’t just take what’s his.”

Nichols looked disappointed for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Trade you?” he asked hopefully.

With a grin, I dug two of the bars out of my pack and tossed them to him. I wasn’t fussy about what I ate, and swapping the food seemed likely to improve my overall level of acceptance within the group. Nichols seemed like an earnest kid, if rather inexperienced.

I caught the cloth-wrapped packet he tossed back to me and opened it out of curiosity. Inside, there were strips of dried meat – something I’d eaten plenty of times before – and a large handful of some sort of bulky seed. They weren’t something I’d seen before, though I’d eaten plenty of seeds from various plants on Eumad.

“Jerky and nuts are generally what we’re sent out on missions with these days,” my master explained, seeing my examination of the packet. “They have the best calorie-density-to-weight ratios of anything we’re able to grow here.”

I nodded amiably, then stowed the meal in my pack. I’d already eaten tonight, and the food would be a nice variation from the protein bars tomorrow.

The rest of the team had a short discussion on the planned journey back to the base, but it didn’t last long. They were all tired and seemed content to simply stare into the fire and take a rare opportunity to rest. I shuffled a little closer to the fire. The night was becoming noticeably cool, and my clothing wasn’t designed to be particularly warm. Presumably, my master hadn’t been anticipating being in the middle of this mission when he’d arranged my delivery. Otherwise, he would have requested that my trainers provide warmer clothing. Still, it was a minor inconvenience, and two or three nights in the cold wouldn’t kill me.

It was maybe half an hour later when Kent and Vosh both yawned widely, Vosh rubbing at her eyes. She was a short woman, with bright yellow skin and thin black stripes running in horizontal lines across her face and arms. A Wasop, I think my master had called her. She’d been quiet all afternoon, and she’d mentioned to me while we were securing the tarp that the woman who’d been killed earlier that day had been a close friend of hers.

“Time to hit the hay,” my master said, though he hadn’t yet yawned, or displayed any other sign of tiredness. “I’ll take first watch. I’m not all that tired yet. Kade, can you take the second shift?”

“Yes, Master,” I replied eagerly, keen to be of service. But Vosh spoke up at that.

“Is he trained to do that? I mean, I know he’s been helpful this afternoon, but we barely know him. And there could be Geshtoch roaming around.”

My master turned back to me. “Have you been trained to keep watch? I mean, you’ve been on proper survival excursions, right?”

“Yes, Master,” I confirmed. “I’ve completed eight high risk training exercises in actual combat zones, along with dozens of simulated exercises in controlled environments. ”

My master’s eyebrows rose. “Nice. Kent, is that good enough for you?”

“If it means I get a couple of extra hours of sleep, I’m all for it,” the tall man said, standing up and brushing the dirt off his ass. “I’ll take third watch. Vosh, you’re on fourth.”

“But we could actually die if we’re attacked,” Vosh argued, apparently not yet convinced of my skills. “You’re going to trust him just because he says so?”

My master rolled his eyes. “Kade’s already saved my life at least once today,” he said to the younger woman. “And he’s been able to do everything he said he could, plus a bit more. If he says he knows what he’s doing, then I believe him.”

I felt a rush of elation at his praise. He’d announced to his whole team that I’d saved his life. Such public acknowledgement was something I’d been taught to savour. I stored the feeling away, knowing I would take it out and remember it in quiet moments, thrilled to know that I’d pleased my master so thoroughly.

“What about me?” Nichols asked, standing up with a little bounce. “When am I on watch?”

Kent snorted. “You’re a baby, Nichols. I wouldn’t trust you to boil water, never mind keep our entire team alive.”

Nichols sagged a little, though he didn’t seem genuinely upset by the scolding. “That is so rude,” he said, with overdone indignation. Then he brightened. “Well, that means I get to sleep properly all through the night.”

“Not fucking likely,” my master said. “You’re on watch with me. Pay attention and you might actually learn something.”

My heart swelled a little as I realised the implications of the arrangements. Nichols, an assigned member of this team, was not trustworthy enough to stand guard alone, but according to my master, I was. Both my master, and now Kent, trusted me enough to watch their backs while they slept. I gritted my teeth to repress my smile. Smiling right then could be taken as glee at someone else’s misfortune, and I didn’t want to antagonise Nichols. Instead, I heaped dirt onto the fire to make sure it was out properly, then followed my master to where we’d set up our bedding. Nichols stared at my thin mat, frowning as he noted that the rest of them all had sleeping bags.

“Are you going to be warm enough?” he asked.

I smiled in amusement. “I’ve slept outside plenty of times before,” I told him. And I had. Winter, summer, even in snow, a couple of times. We’d camped out in the rain, we’d slept in trees, we’d been taught to rest in a wide range of entirely uncomfortable circumstances, and to not complain about it. A dry mat on solid ground was hardly something to be concerned about .

My master, though, seemed to have entirely different ideas. “You can sleep in my sleeping bag for the first couple of hours,” he said, nudging me towards his bedding. “And after that, I’ll give you my jumper. It’s too cold to be sleeping without anything over you.”

“You can have my jumper too,” Nichols promised. “I won’t need it, in the sleeping bag.”

Now, I was smiling for an entirely different reason. “Thank you,” I said, ducking my head demurely towards my master. He was letting me sleep in his bed – albeit while he wasn’t in it – but that was just one more confirmation that I had nothing to worry about, as far as his approval of me went. Our first interaction had just been a fluke. His disappointment and shock hadn’t been directed at me after all. He wanted me. He valued me. Everything was going to be just fine.