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They never put it down on my record beyond 'needs glasses.' "
Southern Command's recruiters had the sense to weigh shortcomings against strengths, almost always in favor of giving a candidate a chance to prove their mettle. "You tore through the SC Intelligence and Aptitude tests. Your test scores make mine look like an illiterate's."
"Six years in a Church academy in Columbia District," Rand said.
"Church background? I'll introduce you to Brother Mark. How'd you like it?"
"The schoolwork was fun. And there were all the outings and marches and drives, singing the happy tunes as we worked. I'm embarrassed to think about it now."
"You were eleven. How could you know?" Valentine said.
"Same for you? You kind of choked up there, sir."
"I grew up in a different church, luckily."
"I would have run on my own during summer leave if my parents hadn't decided to try."
Valentine read over the file again. "Platoon leader and then a lieutenant in the militia. Five trips into Kentucky, three into Tennessee with the LCs. No combat?"
Rand shrugged. "Logistics Commandos think that if you get into a fight, you're a screwup."
The Logistics Commandos were odd units. They went into Kurian Zones to beg, borrow, or steal items Southern Command had difficulty manufacturing or maintaining. Mostly they were made up of veteran Hunter members, Wolves and Cats primarily, but Valentine had heard that with Hunter training slowed to a trickle, more and more regulars had been doing the hazardous duty.
Valentine read to the bottom of his assignment orders. Lambert herself had placed Rand with his company. If she believed in the man, there was no need to probe further.
"Welcome to Delta Company," Valentine said. "At the moment Sergeant Major Patel is running the show, turning the men into a team. When we're on the parade ground, he's in charge."
"Yes, sir," Rand said.
"I'll introduce you to the company. You'll stick close to me for a week or so until you find your feet, then you'll take over. I'm going north into Grog country. I'll be back in a few weeks, barring catastrophe."
* * * *
Rand sank into his duties easily enough. To Valentine's delight, he soon swam lustily. He was all knees and elbows in the field and had a tendency to trip. After a sprawl he had a way of pushing his thick glasses back up his nose that disarmed the laughers and charmed the more sympathetic.
He accepted formal command of the company from Valentine with a nod and a yessir, then took off his glasses and cleaned them with his shirttail.
Valentine had a final word with Patel as the groom from the brigade stables held his horse, a sturdy Morgan named Raccoon. A packhorse stood just behind. Valentine hung his baggage and the odds and ends he'd been collecting on the packhorse.
"Keep up the good work, Sergeant Major," he said as Patel helped fix a clip.
"Enjoy your leave, sir."
"It won't all be fun. I'm going to see if I can do a little more recruiting in Missouri."
"You don't mean . . ."
"Yes. Grogs."
The horse holder snorted. Valentine took the reins and Patel shot the groom a look and growled: "Thank you, Private."
Valentine and Patel walked toward the gate. Well, not so much a gate as a big chain with a Southern Command postal number hanging from it and blocking the camp's entrance.
"Since you got out of the Wolves, sir . . . any head injuries?"
"The Cowardly Lion says it wasn't so much a head injury as Bud ringing my wake-up bell."
"Bud? Ah, yes, my old friend who tried to climb up a tree to God. Your memory's still on target. I was going to ask who was the first governor of the Ozark Free Territory."
