Devil's Due (Destroyermen #12)(77)

“Not ta worry, Legate,” Meek assured. “They’re prob’ly guardin’ ’im careful as a hooker tendin’ her nest.” Hookers looked like miniature Grik—with claws like long fishhooks for catching prey; thick, bristly fur; and the temperament of a jackal.

“It may not matter,” Bekiaa murmured grimly.

In the event, she was mistaken. The long military train—Bekiaa looked upon Republic railroads with fervent greed—hadn’t been there long, and no one was exiting the passenger cars behind the coal tenders yet. The pair of surprisingly compact—by naval standards—engines were still venting excess steam, and Gentaa stevedores were just moving forward to begin their work.

Gentaa are weird ducks, Bekiaa considered again, barely aware of what a duck was, but equally uncertain about Gentaa and the legend surrounding them. Word was they were a hybrid mix of humans and Mi-Anakka. And they do look like crossbreeds, she confessed, built a little like both, with big eyes, but less furry than ’Caats. And shorter tails, of course. Like most true humans in view, they wore jackets or coveralls. The ’Cats wore more clothing than Bekiaa was accustomed to as well, but also grew longer fur. Still, Bekiaa didn’t know what to think about Gentaa. They didn’t go for soldiers, though some slipped off to join the Republic navy. And apparently, they actually did have to sneak away from their people to do so. Mostly she just saw them at labor such as this or on the docks in port, and knew they worked in the steel and timber industries—anything involving heavy, manual toil. By all accounts, they loved and supported their country, but had gained such an organized monopoly over relatively unskilled labor that they commanded considerable collective political power. They were even excused from military service and deemed essential to the economy. Particularly now. Bekiaa understood that, but wondered why so few ever broke ranks from their class. As far as she knew, though every race in the Republic was uncomfortable with the official origin story of the Gentaa, only the Gentaa themselves seemed intent on keeping their people so insular. She shook her head.

Behind the engines, on the folded iron rails and wooden ties paralleling the road through the city, were scores of flatcars heaped with everything from limbered guns, to ordnance, casks of salt meat, tentage, even penned animals. Most of the animals were horses; remounts for the excellent Republic Cavalry already scouting past the mountains beyond the frontier. Bekiaa wouldn’t put Repub cav on a par with Maa-ni-los and their dangerous me-naak mounts, but they were good.

There were also quite a few suikaas, stoically awaiting their fate—and food. Suikaas were large gray-furred beasts that Jack said his ‘da’ told him looked like a cross between a camel and a giraffe—whatever those were. A generally passive—if disagreeably slobbery—draft animal, they were used like the other Allies employed more temperamental paalkas. Suikaas, quite contentedly it seemed, drew heavy wagons and artillery with apparently boundless energy, as long as they were properly fed. They grew recalcitrant at the least shortage of fodder, however, and seemed quite aware of times when they should be awarded more than usual, after extra exertions.

Beyond the flatcars were countless boxcars, vanishing around the bend. The doors had already opened and hundreds of troops, dressed like Optio Meek, minus the armor, were hopping down. Supposed to be another whole brigade, or legion, just on this train, Bekiaa mused. An Allied brigade consisted of two (sometimes more) regiments of around a thousand troops each. A division was composed of at least two brigades, but usually five or six, and Allied cavalry and artillery assignments were made by division commanders. A corps was built around two or more divisions.

Republic legions were supposed to be self-contained, however, and were composed of about 3,500 troops, including support personnel. Each had its own “cohort,” roughly a battalion, of cavalry and artillery. This arrangement worked well when legions merely protected a section of the frontier, but few had ever trained or maneuvered together as a larger force. One of Bekiaa’s greatest challenges still was convincing Choon and Kim, and ultimately the Kaiser, how important it was that their admittedly competent regular legionnaires, not to mention the reserves and new recruits, learn to cooperate seamlessly in larger concentrations. Equally important, the legions needed to surrender their personal packets of artillery and cavalry so they could be massed as needed, as well. A confusing compromise had been reached, by which each legion surrendered half its artillery and cavalry to form legions of their own, under the direct control of Kim’s general staff. Bekiaa supposed that was better than nothing, but remained concerned how it would work.

She continued to watch the new arrivals. Still so far from Fort Taak, on the far eastern frontier, they’d been raised and organized under the old system, and it was largely her and her growing staff’s job to sort them out, as she’d tried to do with all the others when they arrived. But time was short. The Grik were concentrating, Captain Reddy was planning something big, and they might get the go order any day. And we’ll need these guys, she reflected sourly. Ready to go; ready to fight. Regardless how much work had been done to prepare for the campaign, besides her, possibly only Choon had any real idea what they were getting into. The Republic had gathered more than sixty thousand troops near Fort Taak, but there were reportedly several hundred thousand Grik at Sofesshk. And they’d have to fight through more to get there. Motioning Jack forward, they strode past the engines toward the foremost passenger car.