Chapter 6

It didn’t take long for the men to begin to chafe under the constant strain of moving through treacherous and unfamiliar territory. And the first signs of chafing made themselves apparent beneath their armor.

Even the best designed armor cannot be built to be worn for an unlimited length of time, and, at first, the men could see no reason for the order. They soon found out.

One evening, after camp had been made, one young officer decided that he had spent his last night sleeping in full armor. It was bad enough to have to march in it, but sleeping in it was too much. He took it off and stretched, enjoying the freedom from the heavy steel. His tent was a long way from the center of camp, where a small fire flickered, and the soft light from the planet’s single moon filtered only dimly through the jungle foliage overhead. He didn’t think anyone would see him from the commander’s tent.

The commander’s orders had been direct and to the point: “You will wear your armor at all times; you will march in it, you will eat in it, you will sleep in it. During such times as it is necessary to remove a part of it, the man doing so will make sure that he is surrounded by at least two of his companions in full armor. There will be no exceptions to this rule!”

The lieutenant had decided to make himself an exception.

He turned to step into his tent when a voice came out of the nearby darkness.

“Hadn’t you better get your steel plates back on before the commander sees you?”

The young officer turned quickly to see who had spoken. It was another of the junior officers.

“Mind your own business,” snapped the lieutenant.

The other grinned sardonically. “And if I don’t?”

There had been bad blood between these two for a long time; it was an enmity that went back to a time even before the expedition had begun. The two men stood there for a long moment, the light from the distant fire flickering uncertainly against their bodies.

The young officer who had removed his armor had not been foolish enough to remove his weapons too; no sane man did that in hostile territory. His hand went to the haft of the blade at his side.

“If you say a single word--”

Instinctively, the other dropped his hand to his own sword.

“Stop! Both of you!”

And stop they did; no one could mistake the crackling authority in that voice. The commander, unseen in the moving, dim light, had been circling the periphery of the camp, to make sure that all was well. He strode toward the two younger men, who stood silently, shocked into immobility. The commander’s sword was already in his hand.