Pollen Season

For the ten minutes it took to reach camp, the woman persisted on questions like, "Will you renounce the path of war?" or "Which of the Gods of Peace do you abide?" Both Alex and David remained obstinately mute to her constant chatter, and were relieved to release her to the company of her singing and brightly dressed peers.

"Thanks Guang Gong!!" David cried. "One more minute of "The Path of Peace" and I would happily strangle her."

Alex deposited the empty sacks at one corner of the camp and picked up his chain gun. "Looks like the Sergeant wants us."

A tall, dark man indicated to them to join the circle of ten individuals huddled around the dim illumination from a flatscreen monitor. On screen, was the topographic layout of the island and the surrounding waters.

"Lieutenant Bruce, Private Chen," the Sergeant started, "I apologize for starting without you. We’ve intercepted UHF radio signals that indicate that the One Wayers will launch an assault tomorrow. We believe that given their advantage, they’ll attack late afternoon when the sun is facing us and the tide is highest. Lieutenant, are the defense parameter ready?"

"Yes Sergeant," Alex nodded formally, pointing to the screen. "Twenty mines are set to go off at North Beach at the tide margin. That’s if those hippies don’t accidentally set it off first, rate they go up there. Five mines are rigged at South Beach though it’s very unlikely they’ll use that route. The rocks will do more damage than all our mines!! "

Alex looked around than continued. "As for shootout area, you all know the drill and which rock you should hide behind if they attack either the South or North beach. Those niches give you the best target range while providing the most shield."

"Very good Lieutenant. I’m ordering that we break camp at dawn tomorrow, with Corporal Liew Kwok Seng," he pointed to the troop’s medical doctor, "and Private Manning reestablishing camp at the ledge of Marvin’s Hill. Dr. Liew, hope your pine dust gamble pays off."

David sneezed as some pollens irritated his nose. If he survives tomorrow, there is a good chance he will not need to endure another day of hayfever from pine pollen.

"Oh it’ll," Corporal Liew assured them in his lilting Chinese accent. "If it’s true that the One Wayers are inoculating against TB, than they’re in for a shock when they come ashore. That’s if you all actually scattered the pine dust at them."

The troop kept a polite silence. Corporal Liew only explained the purpose of this pine dusting to the Sergeant, no one else. Whatever it is, the Sergeant has been sufficiently convinced of its battle potential that he got every soldier to collect, grind and pulp pine day in day out, than later at night, scatter it out to sea. No one understood the exact purpose for this apparently futile ritual that has attracted the assistance of more and more local hippies daily.

David tried to catch some sleep that night as the rhythmic drumming from the hippie village rolled into the camp. Early next morning, red eyed, he swore that he will break that drum if he ever make it out alive that evening.

"They’re moving," the Sergeant called out later that day. Most hippies have long evacuated their village with the news of an impending attack. Only a few straggling individuals chose to keep true to their pacifist ideology and sing on the beach. What they hoped to achieve no one could fathom. "Get into position, all of you. Looks like they’re heading into North Beach as predicted."