Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...
Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...
Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...
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women warriors in the Alliance had—but she got a good pair of shoulder-guards that could be adjusted,<br />
<strong>and</strong> a new dagger. The rose glow of dawn had changed to the harsh gold of full day, showing with<br />
wordless clarity the sleepy country l<strong>and</strong>scape littered with corpses, darkened with blood.<br />
"Word is, we've done our duty for the day," Shkai'ra told the unit, once she'd got Sova to read the letter<br />
of orders. "We get the battle off. And we're duly commended, signed Brigadier-General First<br />
Maka-unpronounceable." That brought a laugh, <strong>and</strong> shouted corrections from Yeolis in the unit.<br />
She'd vaguely been hoping for the signature to be Chevenga's, actually.That really would have smelled<br />
like promotion. I guess it's too much to expect for a mission of spearing fish in a barrel. Oh, well .<br />
Brigadier-General First, as the Yeolis called it, was the position Shkai'ra aspired to, being the highest she<br />
could hope for; it was directly under the First General First <strong>and</strong> meant membership in the privy<br />
Comm<strong>and</strong> Council. And a name in history, if she helped keep this war going as it was.Maybe, as time<br />
goes <strong>by</strong> <strong>and</strong> Gold-bottom gets more trustful of foreigners , she thought,I won't have to be a Yeoli to<br />
get it .<br />
"This doesn't meanyou get to relax," she said to Sova, once she'd dismissed the troop. "We're going to<br />
watch from the most convenient hilltop <strong>and</strong> see if you can't learn a thing or two about comm<strong>and</strong>ing from<br />
Gold-bottom himself?"<br />
On a rise over the plain, they settled, with a motley crowd of other watchers, walking wounded, camp<br />
followers <strong>and</strong> so forth. Reclining catlike on a blanket while Megan <strong>and</strong> Sova prepared the picnic,<br />
Shkai'ra scanned the field, where, wide <strong>and</strong> distant as a painting, the two armies were deployed.<br />
"Well, there you have it, apprentice. Plain ground, two armies straight on, everything wide open—a<br />
strategist's fight. You knowour number, or at least what the rumors say, since it keeps getting bigger."<br />
Sova had heard anything from sixty-five to seventy-two thous<strong>and</strong> in the last little while. "About sixty-odd<br />
on the field today, nine-thous<strong>and</strong> cavalry. What would you say, from a look, istheirs ?"<br />
Sova tried to estimate with a professional eye. "Uhhh… about the same? Maybe a little less?"<br />
"Look closer," Shkai'ra barked.<br />
"Ummm… less… uhhh…" The Kommanza's fingers drummed her knee significantly. "Oh, ya! Arkan<br />
close order isn't as close as ours, so it makes them look like more—fifty thous<strong>and</strong>." She tried to make it<br />
sound authoritative. "Would've been fifty-too thous<strong>and</strong> if it hadn't been for us this morning—heh, heh…<br />
ahem. Judging <strong>by</strong> the number of cavalry they have, too. Yep. Fifty-thous<strong>and</strong>. I think."<br />
"Good enough for our purposes," Shkai'ra sniffed. "All right. Tell me who's making the first mistake."<br />
Sova surveyed the field through Shkai'ra's far-lookers, then squinted without them. "Nobody's moved<br />
yet. I want to say the Arkans, but that's assuming. I don't think that the way he's got them ranked is that<br />
smart—"<br />
"Comm<strong>and</strong>ers say things clearly, girl. He who, Zh'ven'-gka or the strawhair?"<br />
"The strawhair. I'd say him anyway because his center can't really move without plowing over everyone<br />
else."