"Not a sign," Dieter said. "We have people looking for them, though."
"God, you're not thinking of putting him in charge, are you?" Alita said, coming around a bend in the passageway. "Hi, Dieter. Men."'
"Sergeant. Good to see you again."
"Sergeant Kylei" Haley said, brightening. "How'd you get assigned to this billet?"
"Knew a thing or three about Bolos, Haley. Hey, you guys look cleanl"
Dieter jerked a thumb over his shoulder, back toward the hatch. "The shower facilities are open. I think Hector here turned on the spigot."
She wiped at the dried mud caking her face, succeeding only in rearranging the dirt somewhat. "I may take advantage of that." She looked at Jaime. "So, boss. What are we going to do about Spratly?"
"Well, we're going to have to decide that, aren't we? This is still a military organization."
"And Spratly's the senior officer," Dieter put in. "But, damn it all, you know how he feels about Bolos... ."
"Goddamn collaborator, is what he is," Haley said.
"We don't know that, Sergeant," Jaime replied. "As for how he feels about Bolos, I think now that I know why he feels that way."
"Why?"
Jaime shook his head. "Let's not go into it now. We're going to need to hold a council of war and get all this stuff sorted out. Dieter, you start rounding up our senior people. Officers. Senior NCOs. Let *em know we're going to have a meeting . . . let's make it this evening, at suns-set."
"It may take longer than that to track everyone down."
"Well, we can't wait for 'em. Haley, Xin, you two
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lend a hand. Get the whole Brotherhood together."
"I'll do the best I can. Things are kind of chaotic out there." Dieter shrugged. "We didn't really expect that we were going to win, after all!"
"Well, right now, our best hope is in getting as far away from Celeste as we can, as fast as we can. You men can start passing the word that I'm planning on leaving tonight."
"Excellent!" Alita said.
"Tonight!" Dieter shook his head. "Major, do you have any idea of the logistical problems we're facing here? Four, five thousand people, most of 'em half-starved to begin with, most of 'em without shoes or even decent clothes, can't just up and set off on a crosscountry hike. We need to find food and supplies. Hell, we need to figure out just where we're supposed to go!"
"I have some ideas there, too. Just get our people together, those you can find. We're going to have to take this thing one step at a time."
Dieter didn't look convinced. "Yeah, well, I sure hope you know what you're doing, Jaime!"
"Hey, the major can do anything*" Haley said. He sounded offended. "He got die Bob workin', right? And he busted us out of the camp! Hell, that's nine-tenths of the battle right there!"
