Rough Riders On Mars! - Chapter 33 – Rumors In The Air

 Chapter 33 – Rumors In The Air

As we walked into the town, we were greeted heartily by the locals. Professor Edgren suggested that because these people had suffered nearly as much from Reytik’s oppression as the Ceraunians, they were relieved that changes were happening. In fact, we passed a number of injured men that indicated their participation in the recent struggles. These men in particular, greeted us most warmly.

Within a few minutes we arrived at the headman’s office. I was not sure what our reception would be. Was this man one of Reytik’s or a democracy man? Or was he solely looking out for his own interests. The Professor read the office sign and told me, “Is says that this is the office of Deytik.”

“Does it mention the name of his lieutenant? I suppose if Deytik is one of us, he will be in  Ceraunius.”, I said.

“It says that the junior headman is Deytik also.” Professor Edgren said.

“Hmm,” I said, “Well we may find no one here. Shall we enter and solve this mystery?”

“Indeed.”, he replied.

With that, we entered the office. Inside we found a young man pouring over some papers and looking rather perplexed. He did not seem to notice our entrance.

Professor Edgren addressed the young man who looked up and was rather astonished to see two earthmen in his office.

He then spoke to the Professor who translated the young man’s introduction.

The Professor said, “This is Deytik the Younger, the son of the headman here. He says that it is a pleasure to meet us as this is the first time earthmen have come to this town.”

“Please tell him that the pleasure is ours and that he can expect more visits from us in the future.” I asked Professor Edgren to reply.

With the introductions concluded, I got down to business. I asked Deytik what his opinion was of the events in Ceraunius.

“We here in Corax make our living from agriculture. It is a modest living at best. We are too close to the city for the convoys from the mountains to stop over so we are mostly ignored, except at tax time.” He said. “The ruling classes never cared about us, they just wanted our produce and our profits. So, we are happy to see the changes that have occurred” he added.

“I expect you will be treated fairly from now on.” I said.

“If we can survive, I believe we will.” He stated grimly.

“So, you fear retribution?”, I asked.

“No doubt.” He said. “We saw many soldiers and officials fleeing eastward. They have gone to the mountains, I am sure. There they will choke off the income of Ceraunius. Then they will return to rule leaving devastation in their wake.”

“Then you do not expect we can hold on to our gains?”, I asked.

“With what can we hold them?”, Deytik said. “You earthmen have shown you are superior fighters, but you are too few to stop the tide that is to come.”

“An army is being trained as we speak.” I said. “And from what I’ve seen over the past weeks, I believe it will acquit itself admirably.”

“If we were up against Reytik and his minions alone, I would have more faith.” Deytik said.

“What do you mean?”, I asked. “You have news?”

“Nothing direct,”, he said, “but I’ve heard things and seen things. The other states nearby do not want to see a change in the world order any more than Reytik did.”

“So you fear interference from abroad?”, I asked.

“I do.” He said. “How else can you explain Ma Gongi in Ceraunius?”

“I don’t understand.”, I said.

Professor Edgren interjected, “The Ma Gongi are the little yellow fellows we encountered in the recent conflict. They are native to the swamps and do not usually venture far from there.”

 “So you believe some other state brought these Ma Gongi here. How do you know they were not just hired mercenaries?”

“They were mercenaries, no doubt.”, Deytik said. “But Reytik can hire men much closer to home, and of better quality.”

“This is indeed disturbing news.”, I said “Has the new government been informed?”

“My father is there now, I am sure it is being discussed.”, Deytik said.

“I assume this help is coming from the east, that is the direction of the nearest swamp.”, I said. “Deytik, do you know how far up the canal our foe is?”

“If you travel to the third village from here, down the canal,” he said, “you will get more accurate news.”

Will they be friendly toward us?” I asked.

“Find Rejik the Merchant.” Deytik said. “If you have a Martian friend travelling with you, send him into the village. Rejik owns the third building into town.”

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Deytik.”, I said. “ We will take your advice.”

“Very good.” He said. “The next village will be friendly to you, but you would be wise to avoid the second.”

“Thank you again.” I said.

With that the Professor and I returned to our camp.

Rough Riders On Mars! Chapter 32 – Preparing For The Future

Chapter 32 – Preparing For The Future

We spent the next week repairing the fort and our station in town. The townsfolk were doing the same with their property. Of course, their job was much harder than ours. We helped where we could, but still it was a sad business.  Miss Linton spent much of her time caring for the wounded, When she could, she went with Professors Boas and Edgren to the Ceraunian Congress to give advice and support to the fledgling government.

I had to administer to the military situation. To that end, I sent out patrols to look for evidence of Reytik and his minions.  Jordak took the Iska Mahayi to the west to quell Reytik’s allies and rally her supporters. She was to be out for a month, so for that time we were relegated to ground movement. For this reason our patrols were close to our base. Chronto was also away, gathering men for the scouts. He was due back in two weeks. Upon his return, I could begin training my regiment to be true cavalry. This would extend our radius of operation and allow me to find suitable locations for outposts.

I did find time for a visit to the Ceraunian Congress myself. While I was there, the congressmen were debating how the rural districts would be equally represented if seats were allocated by population. Obviously, a bicameral legislature was the answer, with one chamber having an equal number of representatives from each district. With that settled, they moved on to their next topic of debate.

I returned to the fort to begin preparation for a scouting expedition down the Thyanis canal. My goals were to judge the tenor of the residents in that direction and to gain news of Reytik. I was taking two squads, one of my men and one of the scouts. In addition to the soldiers, Professor Edgren would accompany me along with 5 Martian sutlers and a couple of wagons.

My plan was to advance three days down the canal to see what there was to see in that direction. I was

going to avoid contact with hostiles if at all possible. With the number of wounded we currently had and with the recruits just getting into camp, I could ill-afford any more casualties. Banto, the sergeant of the scouts, and myself were to be mounted on Moa-iti. Professor Edgren was to ride on one of the wagons. The troops would be on foot.

for the defense force began to arrive. I made arrangements for their quartering and basic training. My staff and I spent much time evaluating our recruits to find suitable positions for these men. Their first orders were to scour the town and surroundings for abandoned weapons. This allowed us to arm the men without placing undo hardship on the haggard city.

 I was able to borrow two wagons from those transporting rubble out of town. Our foodstuffs I bought from our usual supplier. Fortunately, the rather short siege caused only a minor interruption in the importation of goods. We had brought our own tentage and other camping equipment, so I was adequately fitted out. I left our supplies and transport at the fort to be loaded and went over to the station to deliver my orders before I departed.

I put Lieutenant Ballard in charge while I was away. I had him police Ceraunius to keep the peace. He was also to send out small patrols to keep a lookout for hostiles from Reytik or curious desert raiders. Finally, he was to repair our telegraph line from the fort to the station and if enough wire was available, he was to run a line to the government office as well.

I arrived back at the fort to find everything set for our departure. Our wagons were loaded and each was hitched to a great Bumatak. This is a large animal, resembling a wooly rhinoceros with a single massive horn on its snout. They are docile creatures that lumber along at a good walking pace for the men. I figured that we could make ten miles a day on this mission.  For the first day’s march, I posted a half-squad of my volunteer cavalry with a half-squad of scout recruits in front of the wagons and the other two half-squads behind. This would allow the men to get to know each other, and the recruits would learn a few tricks about being on the march. I was somewhat concerned about having so few tried men with me, but this was a training mission in friendly territory so I expected few problems.

We marched north from the fort until we came to the Thyanis canal, then followed it in an east
southeasterly direction. The terrain was flat farmland as far as the eye could see. Periodically, we would pass a small village. These housed the local farmers and a small office for the local government officials. These offices were populated by clerks as the “Headman” was in Ceraunius attending the congress.

At the end of our first day’s march, we stopped outside a midsized town called Corax. I ordered our camp pitched to the west of town. I left Sergeant Fish in charge of setting up the camp while Professor Edgren and I went into the town to talk with the headman.