Another Night on Mars part II

"That vile noise out there in the village is starting to give me a headache. Why they cannot wait nice and silent like proper soldiers for the morning when the Imperial artillery will show up to blow them into smithereens?" complained lieutenant McGregor and leaned back in his foldable field chair.
"That noise is starting to get on my nerves too", answered captain Harrison to his second-in-command and set down his wooden pipe. "But keep in mind that those heretic scum we are fighting against are little better animals - though quite savage ones, they put up a stiff resistance today when we blocked their retreat down there in the valley. But don't expect them to behave like real gentlemen. Hey, Anderson, is that brew getting ready soon?"
"In a minute, sir" answered corporal Anderson, Harrison's loyal and stalwart military servant. The three men were sitting in the company command tent. Though the tent was located a safe and convenient distance away from the foxholes surrounding the cursed village, the chill air still carried the deranged chanting of the worshippers of darkness all the way to their tent.

McGregor and Harrison were sitting on two foldable field chairs, surrounding a table with a couple of maps spread on top, and an electric lantern hanging on the roof just above it. Anderson was sitting upon a wooden crate and watching over a small teapot warming up on a small gas stove. Once the pot started to whistle, Anderson lifted it up and brought it to the table, where he had already set up a couple of plates and cups. For further enjoyment, he already brought in a bottle of brandy and two more plates - one laden with biscuits and the other one holding some cheese and ham.

"I guess we will have to pluck some cotton wadding to our ears so that we can sleep well tonight", spoke McGregor, sipping on his tea and brandy, "remember that we should wake up tomorrow fresh and rested to watch the fireworks. Perhaps we could go up to the other hill, where there is a perfect..."

Before the lieutenant could finish his sentence, the fold acting as the door to the tent was drawn aside and the trencher standing on guard outside poked his head in - but before he could speak a word, a tall stranger brushed him aside and stepped into the tent.

The newcomer was wearing a long, light-brown, high-collared civilian style trenchcoat and had black boots on his feet. A long scar ran along his cheek up to his dark brown hear, and biker-goggles hid his eyes. He was all over covered by a light layer of the red Martian dust. Slung under the stranger's right arm was a trembling and sobbing man wearing the greyish-brown trencher field uniform - having stepped inside the man dropped the trencher to the dusty floor to free up his hands, then threw back the goggles and started dusting off his clothes. A considerable cloud of orange dust floated around the room, and some of it settled down on McGregor's cheese-laden biscuit.

Before any of the men present could recover from the surprise of his sudden arrival, the newcomer started bombarding them with questions: "Have I arrived to the A company of the 45th Trencher Battalion of Her Serenity's Martian Expeditionary Army? And is this trencher one of your men - I found him quivering and sobbing behind a large rock close by?"
"Yes, this is the company command post, I am captain Harrison, the commanding officer here, and this is my second-in-command, lieutenant McGregor. And that man you just dropped down looks like private Greenwell from our second platoon", captain Harrison answered and tried to look menacing. "But tell me what a civilian like you is doing in the middle of a night in an area that has been just declared as a war zone?"
"I am not a civilian, but agent Cooper from ISC, and I have been dispatched here to investigate this uprising. I have traveled here for four hours by motorcycle from Scarborough tonight, and I bear the authority from Her Serenity to commission any Imperial citizens, civilian or military, to my help. Here is my license."

Captain Harrison took the paper that Cooper handed him, fished out his monocle and scrutinized the paper carefully. Once satisfied with its authenticity (and annoyed by not being able to throw this unwelcome guest back to the wastes) he handed back the paper and took another sip from his cup of tea.

At that point, private Greenwell, who had managed to draw some breath, started sobbing aloud disturbingly, "Blood... blood raining down... the pits, the dead... coming to take away... oh Cardinal...� A sudden burst of loud maniac laughter from the village sent him quivering down on the floor, screaming and crying.
"Sergeant, please take private Greenwell away from this tent and slap him around until he again starts behaving in a proper and soldierly manner", Harrison snapped at the guard who was still poking his at the entrance, unsure to what to do. At his captain's order he dragged the screaming man out of the command post.

Agent Cooper had been looking for a third seat around, and having found none had decided to sit upon a backpack lying next to the table. Anderson hurriedly brought him a cup and filled it with boiling tea. The tall man drained the cup empty with a single gulp, and then took a long look at both of the officers on the chairs before starting to speak, "Now gentlemen, can you give me a thorough report of the recent events? But please, try to be short, it might happen that we don't have too much time available."