‘’WAKE UP, YOU BUNCH OF LAZY MAGGOTS! TIME FOR ANOTHER DAY
OF TRAINING! LET’S MOVE! YOU HAVE THIRTY MINUTES TO SHAVE AND
DRESS BEFORE INSPECTION.’
Brutally awakened by the screams of their instructors before the Sun was even up, the recruits got up from their bunk beds, but not fast enough to their instructors’ taste, with the slowest recruits being brutally pulled out of bed and sent crashing down on the floor.
There was then a rush towards the communal washrooms, where the recruits hurried to
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shave before returning to their bunks to put on their uniforms. At five thirty sharp, Master Corporal Lacaille shouted an order.
‘’EVERYBODY AT ATTENTION AT THE FOOT OF THEIR BED!’
Sergeant Villemin, who was standing next to him, started moving slowly from bed to bed twenty seconds later, stopping in front of each recruit and looking him up and down. He found something objectionable in the dress of every one of them, admonishing loudly each recruit for either having dirty boots or wearing incorrectly a piece of uniform. Kin got his share of remarks, this time for having a poorly shaped beret. However, he fared better than most and stoically accepted the criticism from Villemin, having been warned by Fernand Brunet and Jean Bigras not to play the smart aleck. He also happened to be the sole recruit of the platoon that had taken the time to make his bed before inspection, and this without having to be told to. That prompted another loud dressing down from Villemin to the platoon as a group.
‘’OUT OF 24 MEN HERE, ONLY ONE OF YOU HAS THOUGHT OF MAKING
HIS BED BEFORE THE INSPECTION STARTED. AS A PUNISHMENT, YOU WILL
NOW ALL DROP DOWN AND DO FIFTY PUSHUPS, ON MY COUNT!’
Villemin then turned his head towards Kin, to speak to him in a much lower voice.
‘’You too, Chasseur Comeau: we do everything as a team.’
‘’Yes, Sergeant!’ replied Kin, who then went down on his belly and bent both of his arms, ready to do pushups. With everybody now in position, Villemin then started counting slowly, leaving the recruits with their arms extended in the ‘up’ position for a second or two before calling ‘down’. The first recruits started faltering after some twenty pushups, earning themselves a few invectives and screams. By the count of forty, all but two of the recruits were face down on the floor, completely exhausted. Out of those two, only Kin managed to do the fifty pushups required, while the other remaining recruit had to stop after 45 pushups, his arms completely tetanized.
‘’Good show, Chasseur Comeau! You also did pretty well, Chasseur Jobin. As for the others, that was pretty pitiful. You better be able to complete fifty pushups by the end of this week, or I will find you some supplementary training to do. Now, go make your beds before lining up outside, so that Master Corporal Lacaille could march you to the kitchen for your breakfast. If I am not satisfied with your bed, then you won’t eat!’
That threat accomplished miracles in giving some strength back to the recruits, who hurried to their beds. Ten minutes later, the beds having been made to his satisfaction, Villemin finally allowed his platoon to go line up outside.
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With his platoon now gone to the cafeteria, Villemin walked out of the barrack building and was heading towards his office when the NCO instructor in charge of Number One Platoon, Sergeant Paul Chartrand, came to him at a furious pace.
Villemin, who had been cultivating a long professional rivalry with Chartrand, stopped and waited for the other NCO to come to a halt in front of him with an accusing index pointed at him.
‘’One of your recruits attacked and beat up some of my recruits last night, Villemin. I had to send three of them to the sick parade this morning.’
‘’Ooh!’ replied Villemin with a false air of commiseration. ‘’Was my man too rough with your little children, Chartrand?’
That earned him an angry frown from Chartrand, something that didn’t bother Villemin one bit. Chartrand then raised his voice noticeably while approaching his face close to that of Villemin.
‘’Watch out, you old fart, or I will have to straighten you up one fine day.’
‘’Now, you listen to me, Chartrand!’ replied Villemin, now dead serious. ‘’Don’t ever threaten me again, or I will be the one straightening you up. If your bunch of wimps could get beaten by a single one of my recruits, then they and you would look pretty bad in front of Captain Lemire if you complained about it, don’t you think?’
Realizing that Villemin was right about that, Chartrand contained his rage and turned around before leaving.
Some 35 minutes later, having his platoon form up in three ranks after exiting the cafeteria, Villemin posted himself some five paces in front of his recruits and shouted out for all to hear, with the recruits of Platoon Number One and their instructors within earshot.
‘’CHASSEUR COMEAU, DID YOU BEAT UP SOME RECRUITS FROM
NUMBER ONE PLATOON LAST NIGHT?’
‘’YES, SERGEANT!’ shouted back Kin without hesitation.
‘’WHY?’
‘’BECAUSE THEY ATTACKED MY COMRADES WHILE THEY WERE TAKING
THEIR SHOWER, SERGEANT!’
‘’EXCELLENT! WELL DONE, CHASSEUR COMEAU!’
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As Sergeant Chartrand stared furiously at Villemin’s chutzpah, Captain Lemire, who was observing and listening from the window of his office, couldn’t help chuckle to himself at the exchange. His assistant, Adjudant5 Pierre Mancini, who was standing next to him, also chuckled.
‘’I love this! That Chasseur Comeau did exactly what I would expect of a good alpine hunter: he defended his comrades and made the enemy flee.’
‘’Comeau certainly showed that he had balls last night. Good for him!’
5 Adjudant: Warrant Officer in the French Army.
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CHAPTER 3 – LEARNING THE TRADE
09:09 (Paris Time)
Friday, April 15, 1955 ‘B’
Lower northern slopes of the Mont-Blanc
Near the French-Italian-Swiss border
‘’ALRIGHT, MEN: FORM UP IN PLATOON FILES AND PUT ON YOUR
BACKPACKS!’’
Having just gotten out of the military buses which had carried them from Chamonix to the small town of Argentière, the 78 alpine hunter recruits hurried to obey the commands of Captain François Lemire, who was leading this cross-country training march of his company of recruits. Loaded down by their big backpacks, on which were attached pairs of skis, and by their individual weapons, the recruits soon started marching out behind Lemire, heading towards the Aiguille du Dru, one of the summits forming the rocky mass of the Mont-Blanc. While snow had by now melted in the valley of de l’Argentière, the Aiguille du Dru, culminating at 3,754 meters above sea level, was still covered with a thick coat of snow and ice, with glaciers flowing down its slopes. The ambient temperature in Argentière was close to zero centigrade, but the wind coming from the mountains was much colder, making many recruits shiver. As for Kin, he was truly
31
enjoying himself right now, as this was a near ideal temperature for which he was built for as a Neanderthal. Loaded down with over thirty kilos of equipment and supplies, the recruits found at once the march to be a difficult one, with patches of melting snow and ice alternating with grassy areas saturated with water in which boots sank and slipped.
The slope of the terrain also quickly increased as they marched towards the Aiguille du Dru.
Half an hour into the march, the slope increased dramatically as the column of recruits reached the foot of the mountains. There, marching turned mainly into climbing, with the alpine hunters having to frequently use their hands and picks to help themselves. At this stage of their training, only three weeks after arriving in Chamonix, the recruits had only received basic training in mountain climbing techniques and most of them had not yet improved much their level of physical fitness, especially in the case of the conscripts who had been students or office workers prior to their callup. Despite the admonitions of their NCO instructors, some of the recruits started falling behind, creating gaps in the columns of climbers, to the growing irritation of Captain Lemire.
‘’COME ON MEN, KEEP UP THE PACE AND CLOSE THOSE GAPS IN THE
COLUMNS!’’
Lemire then looked at his second-in-command, Warrant Pierre Mancini.
‘’Warrant, stay here and push the laggards into accelerating their pace as they pass by you.’
‘’Yes sir!’
The senior NCO posted himself on a near horizontal patch of rock as Lemire resumed leading the central column up the slope, then started encouraging the recruits who were slowing down with a mix of insults, encouragements and threats.
‘’COME ON, FONTAINE, SHOW SOME ENERGY AND PICK UP THE PACE!...
LAGARDE, CLOSE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND THE MAN AHEAD OF
YOU, OR WE WILL HAVE SOME EXTRA TRAINING FOR YOU TONIGHT… JAURET, YOU FAT LARD, MOVE YOUR ASS BEFORE I INSERT MY BOOT IN IT!’
Mancini’s intervention helped a bit in tightening up the columns, but only temporarily.
After another hour of climbing, Captain Lemire saw that he would have to slow down his own pace if he didn’t want to find his company of recruits badly strewn along this slope.
To make things worse, he could now see gray clouds forming up in the sky: they could possibly be facing a storm in the next few hours. However, he was not ready to put an
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early end to this training march. True alpine hunters did not abandon when things became difficult: they only redoubled their efforts. Besides, his recruits needed to learn their trade…the hard way.
Lemire finally had to stop the climbing once they reached an altitude of about 3,000 meters, with the nearly vertical rock face of the Aiguille du Dru some fifty meters away ahead of him. By now it was close to noon hour and he could see that many of the recruits were truly exhausted. Disappointed and shaking his head, Lemire shouted orders that were then repeated down the columns by his NCOs.
‘’STOP AND TAKE OFF YOUR BACKPACKS! WE ARE GOING TO TAKE A HALF HOUR BREAK TO REST AND EAT, THEN WE WILL RETURN TO
ARGENTIÈRE.’
The recruits didn’t have to be told twice and took off their backpack, then sat on them to eat cold some of the bread and cold cuts they had been given before getting into the buses in Chamonix. André Jonquière, who was one of the recruits who had been lagging behind, went to sit next to Kin, who had quickly become his best friend at the ÉMHM. While he had been able to witness the physical stamina and strength of his new friend, he was nearly shocked to see that Kin was not even sweating, contrary to André and everybody else around him.
‘’How can you look so fresh after such a march and climb, Kin?’
‘’Easy: I have done a lot of climbing in the last few years and I love to take long hikes. In truth, I was made to live outdoor.’
‘’Well, nobody will dispute you about that. I thought that I was myself in reasonable shape, but I guess that my university studies in history didn’t prepare me for this.’
‘’You will do fine, André. You just need more time to build up your strength and stamina.’
‘’Yeah, but will Sergeant Villemin be ready to wait that long?’
That retort attracted a grin on Kin’s face.
‘’Probably not!’
After a too short half hour, Lemire ordered his recruits back on their feet.
However, the recruits who had thought that they would simply pivot around and climb down in the order they presently were in were bitterly disappointed, as Lemire made his
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company make a ‘U’-turn in column, with the tail of the column having first to climb to where Lemire had stopped before being able to start going down themselves. In his haste to close up the gap ahead of him, one of the recruits suddenly slipped and fell on his bum while on the way down. However, that happened as he was on a patch of ice and he started sliding down the steep slope at a rapidly increasing speed. He could well have continued down to a fatal fall if Kin, who had been some thirty meters ahead of the recruit, had not reacted quickly. Planting at once his ice pick in the ground, he then took one step and extended his arms, managing to grab the collar of the sliding recruit with one hand and abruptly stopping his slide. He then stared hard in the eyes of the scared recruit: Albert Lépine was one of the recruits he disliked the most, having proven to be an arrogant, bullying young man.
‘’It looks like you are not that good after all, Lépine. Maybe I should have let you pass by me, but again you are supposed to be one of my comrades, even though you haven’t yet proved worthy of that title.’
Lépine didn’t dare reply to that, still scared by his near-fatal slip. He however didn’t thank Kin either and got back up without a word before returning to his previous place in the column. Kin shook his head at that.
‘’Once an asshole, always an asshole!’
It was Sergeant Villemin who was the one to thank him for his action as Kin marched past him.
‘’Well done, Comeau! You are truly of the stuff alpine hunters are made of.’
‘’Thanks, Sergeant!’ replied a happy Kin, feeling good about himself. The first days of his training may have been a bit difficult, with many vexations dished out by his instructors. Those vexations were meant to teach to the recruits unquestioning obedience to orders and to mold them to army thinking, but he had quickly grown to both accept and even like his new environment. Back at the secret base of the Time Patrol, he had grown while surrounded by many military veterans and field agents who had shown to him the true meaning of the word ‘comradeship’. The intense, stimulating training and education he had followed in his young years, added to an optimum diet, had done something that had surprised everyone at the base: his initial I.Q. of 96, measured right after he and Ani had been saved twelve years ago, had increased to an effective I.Q. of 106, while his already impressive physique had been further boosted.
Normally, a Homo Neanderthalensis man in his natural environment could hope to reach a maximum of 168 centimeters in height and about eighty kilos in mass. However, the
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optimum diet and modern physical training he had enjoyed with the Time Patrol had resulted in Kin growing well past those marks, making him taller than normal for a Neanderthal and also boosting both his strength and his stamina. As for today’s training march in mountainous terrain, it actually was the kind of activity that a Neanderthal was built for and faced in his daily natural life, some 50,000 years ago. As he climbed down the mountain slope with the other recruits, Kin started seriously wondering if a lifelong career as a French Alpine Hunter would fit him.
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CHAPTER 4 – JOINING A UNIT
French Chasseurs Alpins parading down a street.
11:17 (Paris Time)
Friday, May 13, 1955 ‘B’
Parade square, École Militaire de Haute Montagne Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Haute-Savoie, France
Captain Marc Lemire was all smile as he fitted the wide dark blue beret, nicknamed a ‘tarte’, or ‘pie’ in French, on Kin’s head.
‘’Congratulations, Chasseur Comeau: you are now a chasseur alpin. I am certain that you will have a successful career in the Alpine Corps.’
‘’Thank you, sir!’ replied a proud Kin before saluting Lemire. Lemire returned his salute, then took a side step to pass to the next graduating recruit in the line, in order to also fit him with a beret. While staying at rigid attention, Kin discretely looked at the crowd of family relatives and friends of the recruits lined along the parade square of the military school and smiled to his adoptive mother, Sylvie Comeau, his Neanderthal companion Ani, who was now sixteen-years old, Fernand Brunet and Jean Bigras.
While Sylvie and Ani wore conservative contemporary dresses, Fernand and Jean wore good suits on which were pinned an impressive collection of military decorations and
36
medals, earned during their service as French alpine hunters during World War Two, plus a few decorations earned from their service with the Time Patrol. While the four of them were grinning happily at him, Ani was the most enthusiastic-looking of the lot.
Sylvie had carefully groomed her appearance and hair and, while unusually stocky and muscular for a teenage girl, she still was able to pass as a normal, albeit not very pretty, girl to the other spectators in the crowd. The spectators all warmly applauded when the school commandant declared the graduation ceremony completed and invited the spectators to walk to one of the halls of the school, where a buffet had been prepared for the occasion. As for the newly graduated soldiers, they were marched out of the parade square and then dismissed, so that they could join their families and friends for the reception.
The moment that he approached his mother and three friends, Kin got a hug and a kiss from both Sylvie and Ani and solid handshakes and pats on the back from Fernand and Jean.
‘’I am so proud of you, Kin!’ said Sylvie between kisses. ‘’How was your training?’
‘’It was a bit tough at times, especially when we got verbally abused and pushed by our instructors, but I adapted quickly to that. Physically, I loved the training, especially the Winter mountain training part, where I did very well, according to my instructors.’
‘’Was there any hazing during your training, Kin?’ asked Jean Bigras, making Kin smile.
‘’Some tried, but they quickly regretted it. Thankfully my chief-instructor, Sergeant Villemin, covered for me when another instructor complained about me roughing up a few of his senior recruits.’
‘’Well done, Kin!’ said Fernand Brunet approvingly. ‘’That’s the way to treat bullies. Now that you are a qualified alpine hunter, have you been given a posting to a specific unit yet?’
‘’Yes, Fernand! We all got our posting orders before the parade. I am going to join the 27th Alpine Hunter Battalion, based in Annecy.’
‘’Aah, yes!’ replied Fernand, grinning. ‘’I served a few years there with that unit.
Annecy is a beautiful little town sitting by a lake and surrounded by mountains. You should love the place. The military barracks there are quite old and not very comfortable
37
but you will have plenty of things to see and visit in town and around it. Also, you will be serving in the kind of climate and terrain which you like and you will be able to do plenty of skying, mountain hiking and climbing. As well, the 27th BCA6 is an old and distinguished unit and is considered part of the elite of the French Army. You will have plenty of occasions to advance there as an alpine soldier.’
‘’Could his unit be called to some combat zones around the World?’ asked Sylvie Comeau to Fernand, looking a bit worried. Fernand reassured her by a shake of his head.
‘’In Timeline ‘A’ France, yes, but not in this timeline. While France in Timeline ‘A’
has just been defeated and forced to withdraw from Indochina by the Vietminh, France was still embroiled at that same time in a nasty guerrilla war against nationalists in Algeria who were fighting to have Algeria gain its independence from France. However, the intervention of the Time Patrol in 1942 ‘B’, by cutting short World War 2 and imposing peace and numerous geopolitical changes, prevented many of the wars the Timeline ‘A’ went through in the decades following World War 2. General de Gaulle was intelligent enough to follow most of the advice given to him by Nancy Laplante at the armistice conference of 1942 and has been gradually withdrawing France from its colonies in Southeast Asia and Northern and Central Africa. Today, France is mostly concentrated on providing military assistance and training, plus economic assistance, to its ex-colonies. As a result, everybody involved ends up happy…and in peace. The only few hotspots that concern France today are incursions by groups of extremists and fanatics into its ex-colonies, especially in Africa. So, yes, Kin could end up seeing combat during the next few years but the main occupation of the 27th BCA in Annecy, apart from training, is mountain rescue and border patrolling.’
‘’You do reassure me, Fernand.’ said Sylvie, sounding relieved. ‘’Well, let’s go visit the buffet table! I am getting quite hungry!’
As their group got close to the tables on which an assortment of sandwiches, cheese and cold cuts lay, Sylvie asked a question to Kin.
‘’So, how was the food here, Kin?’
6 BCA : Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (Alpine Hunter Battalion in French).
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‘’It was okay. However, it was a good thing that Fernand had arranged with Paris to allow me to get double rations. If not, I would be starving. Uh, Fernand, do you know if the commander of my new unit in Annecy will be aware of that derogation?’
Fernand Brunet thought over that for a moment before answering him.
‘’I am not sure about that, to be frank. I will go check with the school commandant after this and will ask him to call your new unit commander about your need for double rations on medical grounds.’
13:19 (Paris Time)
Office of the commandant of the 27th BCA
Annecy, Haute-Savoie
‘’Lieutenant-colonel Laurent Genest speaking!... Aah, Charles! How are things in Chamonix?... Good, good!... And what about the new batch of graduated recruits you are about to send me? Are they good materiel?... Uh, I don’t recall getting anything about this Kin Comeau? What’s up with him? Is he some sort of troublemaker or laggard?... Oh!’
At that point, Genest sat back in his chair while grabbing a pen and a paper notepad.
‘’And why would this young man be justified in getting double rations? This sounds like preferential treatment to me, Charles.’
That remark made some irritation appear in Charles Martin’s voice as he replied at once.
‘’Laurent, you know damn well that I don’t allow anyone to push preferential treatment for a recruit. I don’t care if the father of that recruit is a minister or a senior officer: that recruit will get the same treatment as the others. The case of Chasseur Kin Comeau is however very special and that requirement for him to get double rations was mandated by the chief-medical officer at our Paris headquarters. Basically, Chasseur Comeau’s physiology is most unusual and exceptional: He is built literally like a bear and is extremely muscular and strong, with next to no fat on his body. As the Corps chief-medical officer certified in his special directive concerning him, Comeau would simply starve if given only standard rations.’
‘’My God! Your Comeau sounds like some sort of freak. Was he a good recruit during training?’
‘’He was by far the best of his class, Laurent, and I am not exaggerating. When he arrived in Chamonix, he was already an experienced skier and mountain climber and
39
proved to have a phenomenal resistance to cold. He also is immensely strong and has incredible stamina, along with superior eyesight and hearing. While he is no rocket scientist, his intelligence can be described as average. In my opinion, Chasseur Kin Comeau has what it takes to be the near perfect Alpine Hunter.’
‘’Wow! I can’t wait to see that young man. When is he due in Annecy?’
‘’His group is due to leave Chamonix by bus at two this afternoon and should be in Annecy by five. Uh, there is more. However, what I am going to tell you must be kept strictly confidential. If fact, you should not repeat what I am going to tell you to any of your officers and NCOs. This comes from our Corps Commandant, Colonel Forant.’
That left Genest somewhat surprised.
‘’Gee! Is he the son of some big-shot politician?’
‘’No! Chasseur Kin Comeau is a Neanderthal man.’
Genest nearly fell off his chair on hearing that.
‘’You must be joking!’
‘’I am very serious, Charles. To make a long story short, Kin Comeau was born some 58,000 years ago in the Dordogne Region. He and his family group were living in a cave and were being studied remotely by a team from the Time Patrol. One night, giant cave Hyenas attacked that group of Neanderthals and killed all of them, saved for Kin, who was six at the time, and a four-year-old girl. I met that girl, now a teenager, today, when she came to watch the graduation ceremony, and she definitely is a Neanderthal girl. Both of the kids were then saved and adopted by a female agent of the Time Patrol who was part of the team studying that group of Neanderthals. By the way, forget about all the nonsense you may have read before about Neanderthals: they are no stupid brutes, that I can certify to you. Kin Comeau, who is now eighteen, stands at 1.71 meter and weighs 92 kilos, with next to no fat on him. He has incredibly large shoulders, a barrel chest and very thick and muscular arms and legs. However, when well groomed and shaved, he could easily pass as a normal man, albeit a bit unusual one. The other recruits of his class in fact never figured out that he was a Neanderthal.
One last thing about him: he was raised by the Time Patrol and trained physically with Time Patrol agents, many of whom are military veterans. In fact, ex-Lieutenant-colonel Fernand Brunet mentored him and watched his graduation parade with Kin’s mother and sister.’
‘’Fernand Brunet? I served with him before the war: a truly great officer and a great Alpine Hunter. Anything else that you can tell me about this Kin Comeau?’
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‘’Yes! He is a very decent young man, honest, dependable and always ready to help his comrades. He has successfully passed the practical exam for skying and mountain climbing and now has his BASM7 qualification, on top of his basic qualification as Alpine Hunter. He is also a good overall shooter with both rifles, pistols and submachine-guns. If I would have a recommendation for you concerning Comeau, it would be to assign him to one of your heavy weapons teams, like your mortar platoon, where his uncommon strength and stamina would prove a gift.’
‘’Sounds like good advice to me, Laurent. Very well, I will immediately pass a directive to my kitchen staff and to my senior officers about his legitimate need for double rations. And don’t worry: I will keep his secret to myself.’
‘’Thank you for your comprehension, Laurent. Anything else you would like to know before I hang up?’
A passing thought then made Genest smile to himself.
‘’Yes! That Neanderthal girl, was she pretty, ugly or just plain?’
Charles Martin chuckled at his question.
‘’While not truly ugly, let’s say that Ani Comeau is at most ‘plain’. On this, have a good day, my friend.’
‘’And a good day to you too, Charles.’ replied Genest before putting down his telephone receiver. He was thoughtful for a moment, then started writing a short directive destined to his staff officers and to the unit’s chief-cook.
16:52 (Paris Time)
Galbert Barracks, Annecy, Haute-Savoie
Kin, who had watched with interest the passing countryside as the military bus carrying him and 35 other graduate recruits to Annecy, some 110 kilometers by road west from Chamonix, had a good first feeling about Annecy by the time he arrived at the barracks complex of his new unit. The town, built on the shores of Annecy Lake and surrounded by mountains, was a pretty one with many old buildings dating from early in this century or older. As for the garrison of the 27th BCA, it was composed of over twenty buildings, most of them long, single-story barrack buildings with white walls and 7 BASM : Brevet d’Alpinisme et de Skieur Militaire (Certificate for Mountain Climbing and Military Skying, in French).
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brownish-red roofs assembled around a large central parade square, in the middle of which stood a high flagpole.
The Galbert Barracks in Annecy, Haute-Savoie. Home of the 27th BCA in 1955.
The bus, after entering the main gate of the garrison, immediately turned and stopped in a small parking lot where five men in uniform had been waiting for its arrival.
One of the five men, a sergeant, then climbed into the bus and shouted at the newcomers.
‘’ALRIGHT, MEN, GET OUT OF THE BUS, PICK UP YOUR KIT AND THEN
LINE UP IN SINGLE FILE IN THE PARKING LOT. MOVE!’
Kin thought as he got up from his bench seat that, while the order had been given in a firm and authoritarian tone, it at least had been free of swear words and insults, a nice improvement compared to his arrival in Chamonix two months ago. Taking his small travel bag from the overhead bin, he then followed the other young soldiers out of the bus, then went with them to the luggage bins situated under the cabin, finding and extracting his big kit bag and foot locker from it before lining up under the shouted instructions of the sergeant.
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Waiting on one side of the parking lot and watching the new soldiers lining up with their baggage, Lieutenant-colonel Laurent Genest quickly zeroed in on one particular recruit, while his senior NCO, Adjudant-chef8 Louis Volage, let out a discrete exclamation.
‘’Oulah! Look at that young man near the first opened luggage bin, sir: he is truly built like a bear.’
‘’Indeed! He must be Hunter Kin Comeau, the one I was warned about by Lieutenant-colonel Martin that he would need double rations because of his unusual physique. I can now see that he was not exaggerating. Please remind our cooks after this about that directive, Adjudant-Chef.’
‘’Will do, mon Colonel!’
Waiting for a minute more, time for the sergeant to line up the newcomers and make them stand at attention, Genest then walked in front of the group, closely followed by Volage, and stopped in front of the line of 36 young soldiers. After looking left and right at the soldiers, Genest then spoke out in a strong voice.
‘’SOLDIERS, WELCOME TO THE 27TH BCA! I AM LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
LAURENT GENEST, YOUR BATTALION COMMANDER. TO MY RIGHT IS
ADJUDANT-CHEF LOUIS VOLAGE, SENIOR NCO OF THIS UNIT. WE WILL NOW
REVIEW YOU QUICKLY, FOLLOWING WHICH YOU WILL BE GIVEN YOUR SUB-UNIT ASSIGNMENTS, SO THAT YOU COULD THEN BE LED TO YOUR
RESPECTIVE BARRACKS AND INSTALL YOURSELVES BEFORE SUPPER.
ADJUDANT-CHEF, WITH ME!’
‘’SIR!’
Walking at a martial pace to the right-side extremity of the line of newcomers, Genest then started examining the young soldiers one by one, standing for a few seconds in front of each young man and looking him up and down them before passing to the next soldier. Overall, Genest got a favorable impression of his new soldiers: the school in Chamonix usually made a good job of weeding out the recruits who proved problematic or outright unfit for military service. His stop in front of Kin was however markedly longer than for the other young soldiers, as Kin’s physique proved to be even more impressive from up close than from afar. Since Genest knew now that Kin was a 8 Adjudant-chef : Chief Warrant Officer.
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Neanderthal man, he was able to notice the prominent Kin’s brow ridge and receding chin. However, his eyes were not that of a simple brute and his expression was open and frank, something that Genest appreciated. He then continued down the line of young soldiers, to then walk back to his previous position in front of the line and shouting an order to the sergeant who had greeted the bus.
‘’SERGEANT MORIN, READ THE LIST OF SUB-UNIT ASSIGNMENT FOR
OUR NEW SOLDIERS!’
‘’YES SIR!’ shouted back the sergeant, who then grabbed a clipboard handed to him by a corporal and started reading from it, shouting the name of each recruit and the battalion’s sub-unit to which they had been assigned.
‘’I WILL NOW CALL YOU UP AND GIVE YOU YOUR SUB-UNIT
ASSIGNMENTS. MY NCOS WILL THEN GUIDE YOU TO YOUR RESPECTIVE
BARRACKS, WHERE YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED A BUNK BED AND A LOCKER. BE
READY TO GO FOR SUPPER FOR SIX O’CLOCK, ALONG WITH YOUR NEW UNIT
COMRADES. LET’S NOW START! HUNTER PIERRE ANGLOIS, TO THE THIRD
COMPANY!’
‘’SERGEANT!’
‘’IT’S ‘SIR’ FOR YOU: OFFICER ON PARADE. HUNTER BOILEAU! FIRST
COMPANY!’
As the names of his comrades were called up in alphabetical order, Kin felt a bit of anxiety, wondering to which sub-unit and job he would be assigned to. Then came his turn to be called.
‘’HUNTER KIN COMEAU, TO THE MORTAR GROUP OF THE HEAVY
WEAPONS COMPANY.’
‘’SIR!’ shouted back Kin a bit surprised: up to now he was the first young soldier not assigned to a rifle company. In fact, he ended up being the only newcomer to be assigned to the heavy weapons company, while three more young soldiers ended up being assigned to the battalion’s logistics support company or administrative support unit. With his list reading completed, the sergeant then called up a group of junior NCOs waiting on the sideline, who took with them the newcomers assigned to their respective companies and led them towards their barracks. Kin ended up being the sole newcomer who was taken charge of by a master corporal, a lean man in his late twenties who showed himself quite friendly with him, conversing with Kin while the later carried his luggage and followed him towards one of the single-story barracks.
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‘’So, Hunter Comeau, you are going to work as part of our mortar group. First off, I am Caporal-Chef Denis Vallière, the senior truck driver of the mortar group. All the enlisted men of our group lodge in the same barrack as the enlisted men of the other groups of the heavy weapons company. For your information, the mortar group is commanded by Sous-Lieutenant Louis Montreuil, who commands a total of twenty enlisted men and NCOs. Our group’s main armament consists in two 81mm mortars, which provide the battalion with indirect fire support. Mortars are important in alpine units, because they are often the only type of weapon able to provide fire support despite the presence of surrounding hills and mountains. You can thus feel privileged in being assigned to our group.’
‘’But I know next to nothing about mortars, Master corporal.’
‘’Don’t worry about that, Hunter Comeau. You will at first be used as an ammunition carrier, which doesn’t need any special skills or training. In turn, your strength and physical built should prove a boon to our group. Our Alpha Detachment has been short one ammunition carrier for about three months now, due to an accident that happened to your predecessor.’
‘’Oh?! What happened to him?’
‘’Hunter Larochelle fell down a cliff during a mountain exercise. Thankfully, he survived but is now crippled for life and was subsequently released from service with a medical pension.’
‘’Poor guy! Crippled at such a young age.’
‘’Yes! He was a nice guy and we miss him a lot. By the way, the leader of Alpha Detachment is Sergeant Pierre Dubreuil. He is a bit rough and short-tempered but will be fair with you…if you do your job correctly and with diligence. However, from what I can see of your physique, you should have no problems fulfilling your role as an ammunition carrier. Sergeant Dubreuil is presently waiting at our barrack with the other members of our mortar group, so that he could greet you in our little unit.’
Kin nodded his head at that, having a good first impression about his new assignment.
That he was not going to be simply ignored and ordered around was a good sign for him.
‘’Uh, is there a gymnasium in this garrison, or a place where I could practice weightlifting, Master corporal? I would like to practice and keep physically fit.’
Vallière gave a critical look at Kin’s extra-wide shoulders and thick, muscular arms, then nodded his head.
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‘’There is a small gymnasium with some weights on the garrison, close to the gate by which your bus entered. Just by curiosity, how much can you lift, Hunter Comeau?’
‘’I can bench press around 220 kilos, can snatch 165 kilos and do a clean and jerk with 200 kilos, Master corporal.’
Vallière’s mouth opened wide on hearing that and he nearly stopped walking while staring in disbelief at Kin.
‘’My God! That sounds like Olympic-level performances to me. Are there other sport disciplines you are good at?’
‘’I do like to practice Greco-Roman wrestling and I can throw a javelin quite far. I did a lot of sports and physical training while growing up, including skying and mountain climbing.’
‘’Decidedly, Sergeant Dubreuil and Sous-lieutenant Montreuil, our mortar group’s officer, should hear about this.’
‘’Uh, why?’’
‘’Why? Because the various units of the French Army often send their best athletes to compete in various Olympic sports disciplines and some of our soldiers even won Olympic medals on behalf of France. In the case of us Chasseurs Alpins, some of our soldiers often compete at the Winter Olympics, especially in skying and biathlon.
However, you look and sound like an interesting prospect for some Summer Olympic disciplines.’
‘’But, wouldn’t that detract from my military training, Master corporal? I enlisted to serve France, not to chase after Olympic medals.’
Vallières nodded again his head, impressed by Kin’s reply and sense of duty.
‘’Don’t worry about your service, Hunter Comeau: you will still be serving fully as a Chasseur Alpin. Aah, here is our group’s barrack. The guys from the machine gun group and from the snipers’ section are also lodged in the same barrack.’
Vallière opened the door of the barrack for Kin, as he was carrying two big pieces of luggage, then led him to one of the dormitories of the barrack, which contained a row of fifteen double-bunk beds facing wooden lockers set against the opposing wall.
However, only half of the beds were occupied, with all the upper bunks apparently unused. Seeing a junior officer in the room, standing in front of a group of enlisted men
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and NCOs, Kin quickly put down his kit bag and foot locker and came to attention, saluting the young sous-lieutenant9.
‘’SIR! HUNTER KIN COMEAU, REPORTING FOR DUTY, SIR!’
‘’At ease, Hunter Comeau.’ said the young officer. ‘’I am Sous-lieutenant Louis Montreuil, in command of the mortar group. Welcome in my little unit.’
‘’Thank you, sir!’
‘’Sergeant Dubreuil will first assign a bed to you, then you will have a chance to get to know your new comrades.’
‘’Yes sir!’ replied Kin, grabbing again his kit bag and foot locker and going to a bunk bed pointed to him by a solidly-built sergeant.
‘’You can take the top bunk here, Hunter Comeau. Just drop your things next to this double bunk, then I will present to you the other members of our sub-unit. I am Sergeant Pierre Dubreuil and I am the leader of Mortar Detachment Alpha.’
While putting down his luggage next to the bunk bed designated to him, Kin didn’t see Vallière speak in a near-whisper to Sous-lieutenant Montreuil, making the young officer stare for a moment at Kin. Next, Dubreuil led Kin to the small circle formed by seven other soldiers.
‘’Hunter Comeau, here are the men forming Mortar Detachment Alpha: our mortar pointer, Master corporal Fortier; our loader, Hunter First Class Maurice Panetton; our ammunition preparation specialist, Corporal Julien Harcourt; our two other ammunition carriers, Hunter First Class Daniel Vaillant and Hunter First Class Philippe Bonséjour; our driver, Hunter First Class Charles Jumonville and; last but not least, our mule handler, Corporal Samuel Benchetrit.’
Kin was not surprised when Benchetrit got named: he already knew from his training in Chamonix that the French Alpine hunters still used mules when operating in difficult mountain terrain where vehicles could not be used. While that could sound anachronic in this modern age, the fact was that mules were an excellent means to carry heavy loads in rough mountain areas, being able to carry as much as 120 kilos and to cover eight to ten kilometers a day on steep slopes. Kin exchanged handshakes with the others as they got named by Dubreuil, making many of them shake their own hand after having them crushed by Kin’s grip. After the presentations were made, and with Sous-lieutenant Montreuil staying nearby and listening, Dubreuil smiled to Kin.
9 Sous-lieutenant : Second Lieutenant in French.
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‘’Now that you are here with us, Hunter Comeau, tell us about yourself.’
‘’Uh, yes Sergeant! Basically, I am eighteen years-old and was born in the Dordogne Region, northeast of Bergerac. My parents died in an accident when I was still only six-years-old and I and my sister Ani were then adopted by my present mother, who is a French-Canadian doctor. She was at first a military nurse but then got her medical diploma and started working for various international humanitarian organizations. We have often traveled as a family as she served in or visited many countries all around the World. I also got to practice a lot various Winter sports in Canada and also visited the Canadian Arctic region, where I learned a number of survival skills. I am a good skier and mountain climber and am a fairly good shot with a rifle. I also like weightlifting, Greco-Roman wrestling and javelin throwing. I have a high-school diploma and can speak English and German on top of French. Well, that’s it, I believe.’
Sergeant Dubreuil applauded then, making the others do the same.
‘’A good presentation, Hunter Comeau. Now, take the time to place your things in your assigned locker. We will all go eat supper at fifteen to six and will march as a group to the cafeteria. Again, welcome to Mortar Detachment Alpha.’
‘’Thank you, Sergeant!’
Dubreuil then called the group to attention before leaving the room with Sous-lieutenant Montreuil, leaving Kin free to unpack and arrange his things.
With Sergeant Dubreuil gone, Kin then took the time to arrange his things and transfer his uniforms and his three sets of civilian clothes to the wooden locker assigned to him. Hunter Philippe Bonséjour, who occupied the bunk bed under the one taken by Kin, opened his eyes with interest when he saw the brown deerskin leather vest belonging to Kin as the latter hooked it inside his locker.
‘’Ooh, a deerskin vest? Can I see it?’
‘’Of course!’ replied Kin, who then handed his vest to the tall and athletic young man. Bonséjour was smiling while admiring the vest and caressing its surface.
‘’This is authentic deerskin, right?’
‘’It is! I hunt from time to time and I bagged that deer myself. My sister Ani then did the sewing, using old traditional manual sewing. I am quite fond of this vest.’
‘’You should be! This is a really nice coat. Deerskin items are quite uncommon here in France. Where did you kill that deer, Kin?’
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‘’In Canada! That country is a paradise for hunters…if you have the right permits and follow the rules. However, if you are caught poaching or hunting out of season, the fines could be quite hefty.’
‘’Canada… I heard a lot of good things about it but unfortunately never had a chance to travel to it and visit it.’
‘’I am sure that you will have that chance one day, Philippe.’
‘’I hope so. Unfortunately, the Army pay is nothing to shout about, so it could take quite a while for me to save enough for such a trip.’
‘’Well, if you ever go to Canada and if you don’t speak English, then I would counsel you to visit the Province of Québec: French is still the primary language there.’
‘’A good tip! I will remember it, as my English is limited to only a few words. And you, I suppose that you can speak English?’
‘’I do, plus German.’
‘’German? Where and when did you learn it?’
‘’We had ethnic German neighbors in Canada and I often played with their kids when I was growing up. The father in that family was from the Austrian Tyrol and showed me how to hunt.’
What Kin didn’t say was that nearly half of his friends at the Time Patrol were Germans or Austrians, like in the case of Otto Skorzeni. Philippe Bonséjour nodded his head at his words.
‘’Knowing German in this part of France is a definite plus for you, with Switzerland nearby. You will possibly be able to practice your German when we will be doing border patrols in the Alps: a lot of Swiss and German tourists come to the French Alps to ski. The one downer about visiting Switzerland is the prices there. The cost of things in Switzerland is much higher than here in France.’
‘’But it will cost us nothing for us to practice our skying, right?’ quipped Kin, making Bonséjour smile.
‘’Yeah! In fact, we will be paid to do so. Not much but we also get swearing at us and boots up our asses as bonuses.’
Both laughed at that joke, along with three other soldiers who occupied the nearby bunks.
As promised, Sergeant Dubreuil came back to the barrack at a quarter to six and had the seven men of his detachment who were single assemble outside and form in
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two ranks before marching them to the cafeteria. As for Corporal Samuel Benchetrit, the mule handler, as a married man he lived in an apartment block next to the garrison, along with other married men of the unit. The cafeteria proved to be a large, albeit modestly furnished facility, but the food there proved to be quite acceptable. To Kin’s relief, the word about serving him double portions seemed to have been received by the cooks, who served him a second slice of pork roast and extra potatoes without Kin needing to remind them about it. Contrary to most of his comrades, he chose fresh milk as a beverage rather than the traditional table wine served routinely in all French Army messes. That attracted a question from Master corporal Réjean Fortier, the mortar pointer and the most senior enlisted man in the detachment.
‘’You don’t drink wine, Comeau?’
‘’I drink alcohol only on occasions: it is not good for health if we abuse it. I do however like a cold beer on hot days. How is the beer in Annecy?’
‘’We have some excellent local brands in Annecy, plus a lot of imports from Switzerland and from the Alsace and Germany. The local bars and bistros are well stocked-up, both in wine and in beer. In fact, the biggest disciplinary problem in the unit is excessive drinking on weekends by some of our soldiers.’
‘’Talking of weekends, what are normally the times off allotted to us, Master corporal? In Chamonix, we were restricted to the barracks during our whole basic training.’
‘’Well, you will find things here are definitely more relaxed than at the school in Chamonix. We have the right to go out of the garrison after work hours, from seven in the evening up to the curfew at midnight, plus have the Sundays off. The commandant also frequently gives us part or all of Saturdays off, especially when they fall on official holidays.’
Kin nodded in appreciation at that: the local work regime was definitely more relaxed than in Chamonix, where the instructors harassed the recruits with numerous extra cleaning duties.
‘’I used to practice weightlifting before joining the Army but had to improvise while in Chamonix. Is there a gymnasium in the garrison where I could practice weightlifting?’
Fortier nodded his head in response.
‘’We have a small but reasonably well-equipped gymnasium near the main gate.
Physical fitness is considered very important at the unit and our commandant encourages sporting initiatives, as far as the unit’s budget will permit. We had to
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improvise dumbbells by using old tin cans filled with concrete but the final results worked. You certainly look like a very strong man, Comeau. Just by curiosity, how much can you bench-press?’
‘’About 220 kilos.’ answered Kin, making a number of his comrades choke on their food and stare at him with big eyes.
‘’Two hundred and twenty kilos?!’ exclaimed Philippe Bonséjour, himself a culturist and accomplished athlete. ‘’But that would qualify you for our national Olympic team! What about clean and jerk and snatch?’
Realizing that he may have said a bit too much about his physical abilities, Kin nonetheless answered frankly, pushed in this by his profound sense of honesty.
‘’I can routinely do 200 kilos at the clean and jerk and 165 kilos at the snatch.’
‘’My God! You are an Olympic-class weightlifter, Kin!’
‘’But I simply want to be a Chasseur Alpin! I don’t want to spend my military service as part of some sporting team. What I want is to help other people in mountain areas and help defend France.’
‘’You certainly have your priorities straight, Comeau.’ said Fortier. ‘’Still, it would be nice to confirm your claims after supper. How about we all go to the gym after supper, so that you can show us what you can do?’
With all his comrades then encouraging him to do so, Kin finally gave up and nodded once.
‘’Alright! But I will want to be able to warm up a bit before my demonstration.
Doing weightlifting cold could easily result in muscular accidents.’
‘’A reasonable precaution indeed! Alright, let’s finish eating, then we will return to the barrack and change into sporting gear before going as a group to the gym.’
When they formed up outside of the cafeteria at the end of supper, Master corporal Fortier walked the group back to their barrack, with the men then changing into regulation shorts, T-shirts and running shoes. When Kin changed out of his duty uniform and revealed how muscular and powerful his body was, his comrades nearly pushed a collective exclamation of stunned disbelief, with Philippe Bonséjour, himself an accomplished athlete, saying what the others thought.
‘’Kin, I never saw a guy built as powerfully as you. How the hell did you manage to have such a mass of muscles?’
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‘’Genes, I suppose. I was always big and strong as a kid and I trained to improve further my physique.’
‘’Wow! The girls in Annecy will be crazy about you.’ Said Hunter First Class Charles Jumonville, the detachment’s driver, making Kin smirk.
‘’Maybe!’
Six minutes after having returned to their barrack, the seven soldiers went out again, this time marching to a single-story building next to the main gate of the garrison.
The gymnasium turned out to be fairly small and shared the same building which housed the unit’s infirmary. Since most of the unit’s physical training was done in the open air, outside of buildings, Kin was not surprised or discouraged by the gym’s small size. It did however have a decent collection of weightlifting equipment, with the smaller ones being improvised dumbbells made of concrete-filled pairs of old tin cans linked together by a steel bar. As for the larger ones, they were properly manufactured, with a collection of steel disks of various weights which could be added or subtracted from a transverse steel bar. On entering the small musculation room, the group was greeted by a strong-looking man in his thirties wearing regulation physical training gear.
‘’Aah, coming to practice your muscles, hey?’
The man then froze while staring at Kin’s body.
‘’Nom de Dieu! That’s what I call muscles.’
‘’Hunter Kin Comeau arrived this afternoon with the batch of new soldiers from Chamonix, Master sergeant.’ replied Fortier. ‘’He told us during supper that he was good at weightlifting, so we brought him here to see how good he effectively is.’
‘’A good idea, Master corporal Fortier. Well, Hunter Comeau, why don’t you go warm up while I go get a clipboard, a pen and a physical evaluation form? By the way, I am Master Sergeant Maurice Delmar, chief physical fitness instructor for the unit.’
‘’Yes, Master sergeant!’
When Delmar returned with a clipboard and a pen after going to his small office, he found Kin doing warming up and stretching exercises, showing a lot more suppleness and agility than his impressive set of muscles and massive skeleton would have suggested. Delmar nodded in appreciation before speaking to Kin.
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‘’We will try with the snatch, then with the clean and jerk, followed by bench pressing. At how much do you want the barbell set for the snatch, Chasseur Comeau?
And be careful not to try too much at first.’
‘’I would like to start the snatch at 140 kilos, Master sergeant: that’s my daily standard for the snatch. As for the clean and jerk, I will start with 170 kilos.’
Delmar hesitated on hearing those numbers: they were easily within Olympic standards.
‘’Are you sure, Hunter Comeau? Those are truly punishing weights.’
‘’I am, Master sergeant! My personal record is 165 kilos for the snatch and 200
kilos for the clean and jerk.’
‘’Merde! Those numbers would place you on an Olympic podium any day. Very well, continue warming up while I go prepare the weights. Come help me for that, guys.’
The six young soldiers followed Delmar to a gym mat on which sat a barbell, with a collection of steel disks held on a steel rack.
‘’Alright guys, let’s set this barbell to 140 kilos. Let’s start first by adding four 25-kilo disks to the barbell, for a total of 110 kilos with the bar. Then we will add two ten-kilo disks plus two five-kilo disks.’
With the young soldiers spraining to lift and put in place the 25-kilo disks, Delmar supervised them carefully in order to avoid accidents. Himself an accomplished culturist and athlete, Delmar knew how easy it was for people not properly trained in weightlifting to pull or sprain a muscle when not properly warmed up. After a couple of minutes, the barbell was ready at 140 kilos of total weight. Looking towards Kin, Delmar saw that he was already walking towards the barbell.
‘’Do you feel fully warmed up, Hunter Comeau?’
‘’Yes, Master sergeant! I am ready.’
‘’Then, take position behind the barbell. Take your time before your first try.’
Kin obeyed him and put talc on his hands before going to stand behind the barbell.
Delmar hid his excitement while waiting for Kin to do his first try: if that young soldier succeeded in his snatch lift, this would become a new record within the French Army. In this case, Kin would have to squat behind the barbell, with both hands on the transverse bar, then throw the barbell up over his head in one shot and stand upright while holding the barbell above him. Right now, the Olympic record for the heavyweight class was 187 kilos, not much more than the 140 kilos this Kin Comeau was going to attempt to lift.
Delmar and the younger soldiers around him watched with anticipation as Kin crouched behind the barbell and carefully grabbed it with both hands. Then taking one deep
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breath, he pulled up the 140-kilo mass at the same time as he sprang up in an explosive effort. Delmar’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor when Kin completed the snatch with relative ease and stood straight for four seconds with the barbell over him at the end of his extended arms, then lowered the barbell down on the mat.
‘’Jesus! I can’t believe this! What was your personal record again for the snatch, Hunter Comeau?’
‘’One hundred and sixty-five kilos, Master sergeant.’
Delmar nearly fell on his bum on hearing that. With his head nearly swimming from the rush of blood to his brain, he noted down Kin’s performance for the snatch on his evaluation form, then pointed the barbell to the other soldiers.
‘’Alright, men: let’s set this barbell at 170 kilos. Use the waiting time to relax and rest a bit, Comeau.’
As Kin started slowly walking around while shaking his arms and hands, Delmar thought furiously about the implications of this. One thing was for sure: Lieutenant-colonel Genest needed to be informed about this.
When Kin returned behind the barbell, now set at 170 kilos, Delmar held his breath as Kin squatted behind it. The clean and jerk involved two separate moves: first, the culturist would lift the barbell up to just below his groin level, then would stand straight before throwing up the barbell over his head, bending forward a bit before straightening up while holding the barbell above his head, with both arms fully extended.
The present Olympic record for the clean and jerk for the heavyweight class was 224
kilos. If Kin succeeded now, he would easily qualify for the French national team. Then, again with relative ease, Kin sprang up, then threw the barbell up over his heads. The young soldiers around, accompanied by Delmar, then broke into wild applauses and cheers as Kin let the barbell go down on the mat. Delmar enthusiastically shook hands with Kin, a huge grin on his face.
‘’Hunter Comeau, your performance was phenomenal. Do you feel up to try your luck at bench-pressing after this?’
‘’Yes, Master sergeant! I will just ask for five to ten minutes of rest first. Could you set the barbell at 220 kilos?’
‘’As you wish, Hunter Comeau. Take your time to recuperate before your try.’
Now feeling downright jubilant, Delmar noted down Kin’s performance at the clean and jerk before using the other soldiers to reset the barbell once again. When Kin did his
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attempt at bench-pressing some ten minutes ago, Delmar yelled in triumph on seeing the young soldier succeed again. Going next to him, he then helped him get up from the bench and patted his back in congratulation.
‘’Hunter Comeau, consider yourself on the unit’s weightlifting team.’
‘’That won’t detract from my time dedicated to my military duties, I hope, Master sergeant?’
‘’Don’t worry about that. The only times you will officially perform with our sporting teams will be at the Alpine Corps sporting competition next month. As for your training, feel free to come here and train on your own time after work hours. Are there other sports where you excel?’’
‘’I am good at Greco-Roman wrestling and at the javelin throw, Master sergeant.’
‘’Then, I would love to take you on at wrestling tomorrow. I am not bad myself at Greco-Roman wrestling.’
That declaration made Kin smile and point an index at Delmar.
‘’You may regret it, Master sergeant.’
‘’Maybe, maybe not: I know a few tricks of my own, Hunter Comeau.’
The next day, watched on by nearly the whole battalion, including Lieutenant-colonel Genest, Kin did short work of Delmar, slamming him down hard on the mat after only twenty seconds and leaving the poor PT instructor stunned and out of breath for seconds before Kin helped him back up, a friendly smile on his face.
‘’I warned you, Master sergeant.’
‘’You sure did, Chasseur Comeau.’
However, not having a proper sporting field in the garrison, they were not able to do some javelin throwing afterwards. Still in PT gear, Kin was then asked by Lieutenant-colonel Genest to come to his office, which Kin did with some apprehension: this business of going big into sports competitions was not why he had volunteered for military service. Apparently, someone had told Genest about his reservations on that subject, so he gave Kin a reassuring smile after sitting behind his desk, with Kin standing at attention in front of the desk.
‘’At ease, Hunter Comeau! First, don’t worry about being pulled away from your military duties in order for you to train and compete in sports. I was told about your reservations on that subject and fully agree with you. In my unit, duty comes first, then we can think about sports and competitions. I will thus encourage you to continue
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training on your own free time and not to worry about competitions. While you may represent this unit during some of the friendly inter-unit competitions held by our Alpine Corps during the year, you will do it on a strictly volunteer basis. How’s that, Hunter Comeau?’
‘’That would be perfect for me, mon Colonel!’ answered loudly Kin, feeling relief.
‘’Then, you are dismissed, Hunter Comeau.’
‘’Thank you, mon Colonel!’ replied Kin before saluting and then pivoting on his heels and walking out of the office.
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CHAPTER 5 – MOUNTAIN PATROL
09:18 (Paris Time)
Saturday, November 26, 1955
Barracks of the 27th BCA, Annecy
Haute-Savoie, France
‘’Alright, men, gather around me: we have a new mission.’
On the urging of Sub-lieutenant Louis Montreuil, the men of his mortar group assembled around the bunk bed on which their young officer had sat in their barrack, eager to hear what news he had for them. Kin, who was part of the 21 soldiers now surrounding Montreuil, listened on carefully as his group commander spoke in a sober tone.
‘’Men, our battalion has received a new tasking from Paris, meant to lend support to our Gendarmerie. Some three weeks ago, a Gendarmerie border patrol encountered a group of seven suspicious men who were crossing from Italy into France via the Alpes, near Tresse. When that patrol of four gendarmes tried to intercept that group in order to check on them, the suspects opened fire on the gendarmes with automatic weapons.
Two gendarmes were wounded in the exchange of fire, with one gendarme dying from his wounds before his comrades could carry him to a medical facility. As for the suspects, they fled and continued to get deeper into French territory. Unfortunately, they managed to disappear before the gendarmerie could send reinforcements to the area of the incident.’
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‘’Sir, do we know why those men shot at our gendarmes?’ asked Sergeant Jean Delorimier, one of the two detachment leaders of the mortar group.
‘’We don’t know for sure but the surviving gendarmes noticed that the seven men carried apparently heavy packs on their backs, apart from lugging automatic weapons.
The Gendarmerie is speculating that those men were smugglers, carrying either drugs or weapons between Italy and France. Then, two weeks after that incident, another gendarmerie patrol encountered a group of armed men skying across the border from Italy east of Les Houches. Those armed men fired at our gendarmes from a distance, apparently to make them stay away, then continued towards the Northwest and Chamonix. Unfortunately, those armed men managed to escape the gendarmes. In view of those two incidents and of the fact that it had few gendarmes trained in mountain-climbing, the Gendarmerie asked for the help of the Army, which then tasked our Alpine Corps to lend assistance to the Gendarmerie by sending frequent patrols along our alpine border with Italy. I, along with other officers of the battalion, just got orders from Colonel Genest. As part of a battalion-level patrolling plan, our mortar group was given the task of establishing a base camp at the alpine refuge of Albert the First, near the Aiguille du Tour. From there, our group will run out patrols between the Aiguille du Tour and the Aiguille d’Argentière. Our job will be to intercept and control anyone seen crossing that portion of the Alps. If the ones we will check out are simple tourists and mountain climbers, then we will let them pass without further ado. However, if we encounter armed persons or smugglers carrying contraband, we will arrest them and hand them over to the Gendarmerie. As the two incidents involving the Gendarmerie showed, this could be a dangerous job, so we will be armed and will carry plenty of ammunition. However, we will not bring our mortars along with us for those patrols, just our individual small arms.’
‘’What are the rules of engagement, sir?’ asked Sergeant Pierre Dubreuil, Kin’s detachment commander, making Montreuil nod his head once.
‘’Our rules of engagement are both simple and straightforward: if we encounter suspicious men, we will challenge them and search them. If they carry weapons on them, then we will disarm and arrest them. If they fire at us or even point weapons at us, then we will have the right to open fire in order to neutralize them. We will have the right to use deadly force if the circumstances call for that. If any suspect tries to flee, we will give chase and shout a warning. If that warning is ignored, then we will fire a warning shot. If that warning shot is also ignored, then we will shoot to kill. Colonel Genest was
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firm about those rules: while we want to follow legality, we will not risk the lives of our soldiers by imposing rules that could get them killed. Questions?’
Corporal Samuel Benchetrit, the mule caretaker of Kin’s detachment, then raised one hand.
‘’Sir, are we going to bring our mules with us?’
‘’No! Since we are not bringing our mortars with us, we won’t need them for this mission. However, you and the other mule caretakers, except for Sergeant Nadeau, our chief mule caretaker, will come patrol with our other soldiers. As for Sergeant Nadeau, he will stay here and ensure that our mules are properly cared for. Yes, Master corporal Fortier?’
‘’How long will be this patrol, sir?’
‘’We will be up in the Albert Refuge for a month or so. Colonel Genest will then decide if we need to prolong our mission, depending on what happens in the meantime.
If we have to continue patrolling past Christmas, then we will rotate out those of you who are married with children, while the single members will stay up in the mountains.
Gendarmerie intelligence has noted a very distinct rise in armed crimes involving automatic weapons during the last few months, so those suspect smugglers may well be carrying weapons and ammunition across the Alps from Italy, counting on the weak manpower of the Gendarmerie in that region. Well, if they try again to smuggle things in across the Alps, then they will hit something a lot tougher than a handful of gendarmes.’
A concert of approving cheers greeted his last sentence.
16:02 (Paris Time)
Parade square of the 27th BCA, Annecy
‘’Hey, why are we going to use civilian tour buses rather than our own military trucks?’ asked Corporal Julien Harcour, the artificer in Kin’s mortar detachment, as five civilian buses of the type which drove around tourists coming to the Alps region rolled inside the garrison. Master sergeant Marc Laurendeau, the senior NCO of the mortar group, gave at once an explanation, speaking loud enough to allow all the soldiers around him to hear him.
‘’Because we want our move to Argentière to be discreet. The Gendarmerie suspect that those smugglers we will be looking for have accomplices in Argentière and in other towns near the mountains, accomplices who signal any unusual police
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movements to the smugglers. We will thus arrive in Argentière after darkness will have fallen. Furthermore, we will not get out in the town itself or at the nearby ski lift station for the same reason. Instead, we will stop and get out before the town and will then proceed on skis to the Albert Refuge.’
‘’But, renting those buses must have cost a bundle to our battalion, Master sergeant.’ objected Hunter First Class Charles Jumonville, the assigned truck driver of Detachment Alpha. ‘’I thought that our unit’s budget for fuel and transportation was strictly limited.’
Laurendeau nodded at that remark.
‘’An accurate statement, Jumonville. However, since this operation is in support of the Gendarmerie, we will not be paying for these buses: the Gendarmerie will. So, you can thank it for being able to travel in comfort rather than in the rear box of a military truck.’
‘’That’s nice of them, Master sergeant.’ said Kin, making Laurendeau give him a sober look.
‘’One gendarme is dead and another is in a hospital because of those smugglers, Hunter Comeau. The Gendarmerie will thus provide to us as much support as we will need in order to catch those bastards. The usual interservice rivalry between us and the Gendarmerie will thus be suspended for this operation. ALL RIGHT MEN! STUFF
YOUR GEAR AND SKIS IN THE BAGGAGE COMPARTMENTS OF THIS FIRST BUS
AND THEN GET ABOARD!’
Kin, like the other soldiers of the mortar group, obeyed at once and was soon able to sit in one of the comfortable, well-padded seats in the bus tasked to carry his sub-unit. He let out a satisfied groan as he sank into the soft seat.
‘’Aah! This is nice!’
‘’Talk for yourself, Kin!’ replied Philippe Bonséjour, who took the second seat next to him. ‘’With your wide shoulders, you are taking a full one and a half seat width.
We are lucky that there are enough seats in this bus to leave some empty ones. If not, I would be feeling like a sardine in its can.’
‘’Hey, I can’t help it, Philippe!’ replied Kin in a playful tone. Soon, the convoy of buses started rolling out of the parade square and onto the Avenue de Genève. The atmosphere inside the bus was sober but relaxed as it rolled through Annecy and started following the roads leading to Argentière. Kin, who had always been a quiet type,
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mentally reflected on the mission of his unit and its implications for him: he may well soon be called to fire at and possibly kill someone for the first time in his life. However, he had learned very early as a Neanderthal boy living in the wild hills of prehistoric Dordogne that you often had to kill in order not to be killed. His own parents and the other Neanderthal family living in their cave had been killed by cave hyenas hunting for preys one night, 52,000 years ago. Only Ani and himself had survived that devastating attack, thanks to the bravery and sacrifice of his parents, who had died while defending their group. Then, Sylvie Comeau, a member of the Time Patrol team which had been secretly following and documenting the life of his Neanderthal group10, had taken on her to come down to the cave in order to save him and Ani from certain death if left abandoned to themselves. He had extensively trained with a variety of weapons while growing up at the secret base of the Time Patrol, situated some 5,000 years in the past in New Zealand, coached in this by military veterans and Time Patrol field agents. Apart from practicing target shooting with them, Kin had also participated with them in a number of hunting or trapping expeditions in various time periods. He thus had already killed a number of times in the past, but always animals, never Humans. Some of those expeditions had also been conducted to capture alive groups of specimens of prehistoric animals, specimens which had then been transported to the far future in the 34th Century, where the civilization of the Global Council existed, in order to repopulate regions of Earth which had been devastated by a widespread nuclear war in the Mid-21st Century. The Time Patrol had originally been created and formed by Nancy Laplante and Doctor Farah Tolkonen as the first armed agency of the Global Council, a pacifist and unarmed civilization, in order to regulate and control time travel and thus prevent illegal manipulations of History which could have catastrophic consequences for Humanity. While the existence of the Time Patrol was widely known in this timeline, called Timeline ‘B’, contrary to the same century in the original Timeline ‘A’, the Time Patrol stayed mostly discreet about its activities and actions around the World. The one link apparent to all at present was the fact that Nancy Laplante was officially the head of state and ruler of the Holy Land of Palestine, the name for what would be called ‘Israel’
in Timeline ‘A’. However, what normal people didn’t know was that the original Nancy Laplante was dead, killed a few ago in relative time while practicing her profession of war correspondent in the early 21st Century of Timeline ‘A’. Her soul had then become a 10 Please refer to my novel CHILDREN OF TIME concerning that episode.
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powerful avatar and angel of the god-like entity called ‘The One’, an immaterial and immensely powerful being made of spiritual energy, which had been following and shepherding Humanity along for millions of years already. As an ex-resident of the secret base of the Time Patrol, Kin knew all this but nobody outside of the Time Patrol was in the know about the true nature of the ‘Nancy Laplante’ who was presently ruling under the title of ‘Overseer of the Holy Land of Palestine and that of Queen of Jerusalem’.
Plunged in his thoughts and souvenirs, Kin hardly paid attention to the scenery rolling past his bus and the three-hour trip to Argentière thus went by quickly for him. It was dark, with only a half-moon providing illumination, when the convoy of five buses stopped along the road at a temporary stop area a few kilometers short of Argentière.
With the senior NCOs shouting orders, the alpine soldiers got off the buses and retrieved their skis and packs from the underfloor baggage compartments, then put on their backpacks and their skis. With the soldiers wearing by their carrying straps slung across their chests their Model 49 semi-automatic rifles and MAT 49 submachine guns, the 92
men of the heavy weapons company of the 27th BCA started skying across the open ground, heading in parallel single files towards the Argentière Glacier and the Albert the First mountain refuge, situated at the junction of the French, Swiss and Italian borders.
23:15 (Paris Time)
Albert the First mountain refuge, altitude of 2,771 meters, French Alps Near the junction of the French, Italian
