“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Jenkins,” the colonel said.
“Likewise,” Mike said, grinning. “I’m going to be dumping a load of work on you. I hate paperwork,”
“And I’ll find someone else to dump it on,” Nielson replied, smiling back.
It was only marginally cool today and most of the snow had melted. There was still ice in shadow patches but the air felt balmy after the winter and the trainers looked as if they had caught the spring fever. Or maybe it was the girls lined up behind Mike, holding trays loaded with mugs of beer.
“Welcome to the valley of the Keldara,” Mike said, looking the group of trainers over. They looked as if they had seen the elephant, one and all. Given the way the U.S. military, and especially special operations, had been used for the last two decades, finding people with combat experience wasn’t hard. None of them were young; the youngest was a former Marine NCO who was twenty-seven. But most of them were still in shape. The exception were a couple of big guys who looked as if they couldn’t run but they could carry an M-1 Abrams around on their backs.
“The Keldara know where you’re going to be bunking,” Mike said. “So dump your gear on them, grab a beer and follow me.”
He led them to the dining room, his office being too small, and got them settled around the table.
“Anybody a teetotaler?” Mike asked. “There’s water and some different sodas. Also tea or coffee. Ask.”
“I’d prefer a cola,” one of the females said in Georgian. “Barring that, water.”
“Mopsy,” Mike said.
“Yes, Kildar,” the girl said, nodding and hurrying out.
“Servants,” Adams said, grinning. “You’re going up in the world, Ass-boy.”
“So have you,” Mike said, looking around the table. “Okay, first of all, rations and comfort. Meals will usually be served here unless training dictates otherwise. Mother Griffina is the cook. She’s going to be getting some Keldara girls to help her out. Eat as much as you’d like but it will probably be Dutch choice; that is, there will be food on the table and that’s what’s for dinner. Breakfast is the usual eggs to order and all that. Or cereal, although most of those are European; getting American out here is damned near impossible. You’re bunked upstairs, mostly one to a room but some of the juniors will have to double up. They’re pretty Spartan, but you can fix them up how you like. We can order stuff in from catalogs. In that case, we can get some stuff from the States. I’ve set up one of the parlors as a dayroom. There’s a keg in there for as-preferred serving. If any of you can’t handle the sauce, you’ll be out on your ass. This is the usual training thing; keep your partying away from the troops except on special occasions.
“On the subject of partying,” Mike continued, looking up as Mopsy came back in and set a glass of Coke in front of the female who’d asked for it. “The young ladies here present are on limits. For convenience sake they’re named Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Bambi,” he said to chuckles, pointing to each. “They’ve been hired for the duration to ensure your comfort. There’s four of them and about twenty male trainers: handle that. Getting into fights over comfort providers is unprofessional.” He nodded at the girls and they discreetly left.
“For the ladies,” he continued, looking at the three females and shrugging. “You’ll have to make your own arrangements. For a dozen obvious reasons, stay away from the Keldara men. That pretty much means if you have needs find your outlet in the team. Unless, of course, you go the other way. I don’t frankly care but if you do, make your arrangements with the girls. Questions?”
“Not from me,” said the one who’d asked for a Coke. “I’ve already made arrangements.” She was a slim redhead with a hard face, about forty probably but looking a bit older from time in the sun.
“I dunno,” one of the big guys said, shrugging. “That Cottontail is a looker, Sandy.”
“We’re good,” one of the other females said. “We’ll make arrangements. And I have to agree, that blonde is a looker.”
“Cottontail is one vicious bitch,” Mike said. “I tried to avoid bringing her in, but she’s here. If she gives anyone trouble, tell me, I’ll handle it. But, for general info, she’d just as gladly slide a knife in as anything else. Don’t let her fool you. On the other hand, she can fuck like a mink. Have fun. I’ll take Bambi any day.”
“I take it they’re getting paid for this,” Sandy said.
“Very well by local standards,” Mike said. “And various comfort items to make them happy. Flopsy, Mopsy and Bambi will be happy as clams as long as Cottontail doesn’t screw with them too bad. They’re all bunked in the extremely convenient harem quarters. You guys are upstairs. They’ll handle stuff like bedmaking. If you don’t like the job they do cleaning up, explain it to them. I haven’t had time.”
“What’s the training schedule?” Colonel Nielson asked.
“In a week or so the ground will be soft enough for rock picking,” Mike said. “That’s an all-hands evolution. After that comes planting. That used to be all hands but with the equipment I’ve brought in there will be spare hands. I want to use that time to get to work on some projects. Notably I want to see if we can build a small hydroelectric dam. We also can start doing some work with specified leadership types and work out the training schedule. After planting there’s a period when they usually repair winter damage. I understand there’s a bit of a party to celebrate spring. I think the day after the party would be a good time to start training,” he finished, grinning evilly.
“Be nice guys until training time,” one of the trainers said with a strong British accent. “Then evil bastards?”
“You got it,” Mike replied. “I’ll just make one comment now on training. Generally in U.S. mil training they use the ‘show then tell then do’ method. I’d prefer that you use, to the greatest extent possible, ‘do then show then tell.’ Carefully instruct them as they set the demo charge, then let them blow it, then give them the class.”
“Keeps them interested,” Colonel Nielson said, nodding. “And experience is the best trainer. Will do.”
“There are a hundred and twenty guys and forty females,” Mike said. “Training the females is going to be tricky. The Keldara don’t, in general, think much of women. The usual back country story. But I’ve convinced them that the women have to be trained to hold fixed positions. Most of that training will have to be done by the female trainers since they’re also really picky about having males around the women. But I’ve got some push I can use there. Questions, comments, concerns?”
“What’s with the feudal lord look?” one of the younger trainers asked. “I’m not trying to be challenging, sir, but it’s pretty odd.”
“It is that,” Mike said, sighing. “This culture is odd. Some ways it’s like every third world rat hole you’ve ever dealt with. Other ways… it’s not. The Keldara are a small little insular tribe. In a lot of ways they act like the tribes around them and in other ways they don’t. They sure as hell don’t look like most of the people in the area. Bottom line is that the guy whose held this castle always seems to have been a foreigner, at least foreign to the area. They call the owner the Kildar, which doesn’t have any clear etymology I’m aware of. Doesn’t mean baron or duke or sheriff, just ‘Kildar.’ Obviously it’s related to Keldara, but how I’m not sure. I think the answer might be somewhere in this fort. The construction is odd, especially on the lower floors. It almost looks Roman or Greek, but I don’t think the Romans and Greeks got this far.”
“Byzantines might have,” the heavier trainer who had been bantering with Sandy said. “They extended up this way for a while if one of my college classes is being recalled right. Have you taken a good look around?”