Isaiah Vernon had wondered aloud whether the Wyzhñyñy might have a way of detecting starlight vision, too. And of course no one knew, or would know till they fought.
At any rate Esau could see in the dark, could see Jonas Timmins ahead of him, it being Jonas’s time to lead the squad. Off to the left, twenty yards or so, was a meadow, with thin wispy fog on it. Odds are, Esau thought, it’ll thicken through the night.
Ahead of Timmins was the rest of the platoon, and ahead of it, Ensign Berg, Sergeant Hawkins, and the point man.
Esau was a little irked that Timmins was leading 4th Squad tonight. He considered himself the rightful squad leader. But the ensign was giving others the experience, which Esau realized made sense. And Timmins was probably the next best leader after himself. Timmins and Jael. His wife had surprised him with her willingness and ability to make decisions and give orders. And to his further surprise, he liked her even better that way.
Somewhere up ahead, the ensign or Sergeant Hawkins raised an arm, and the file of trainees stopped silently. This was a simplified problem, Esau realized, one suited to their training level. Somewhere on the other side of the meadow, the platoon’s scouts had spotted the enemy outpost. The platoon was to capture it. The problem had no broader context, strategic or tactical.
An order spoke in their ears, and the file became a rank, slinking toward the meadow’s edge. Halfway there they dropped to their bellies and stopped. To lie waiting, while Timmins and the other squad Page 122