With their near total control of our communications, there was no way the Kristang didn't know what was going on. Maybe they didn't care. People on Earth knew what was going on there, and what could they do about it, with Kristang starships in orbit able to bombard any spot on the planet with maser beams, missiles and railguns? "We need to change our mindset about our mission here," I suggested. Mindset was a buzzword I'd seen on many an Army PowerPoint slide. "We, I mean, at least we Americans, have been thinking the Ruhar hitting us was another Pearl Harbor, and we're now out in the South Pacific in WWII, hitting them back. We now know all that is crap. The truth is, we're in Operation Torch, and we're not the Allies or the Axis, we're the Berbers."

"I'm not following you, Bishop." As a US Army officer, Wilson had to know Operation Torch was the code word for the American and British assault on North Africa in November 1942. "Berbers?"

"The Berbers." I almost added 'sir', this Colonel rank thing was still new to me. "I think that's what they're called. The natives in North Africa, who were caught between the Allied invasion on one side, and the Germans, Italians and Vichy French on the other. Neither side gave a shit about the natives, or their lands. The Germans and Italians wanted North Africa so they could control the Med, and to force the British out of Egypt to get access to oil fields. We and the Brits wanted to push Rommel back across the Med, so we could hit Sicily and then Italy." I was skimming over the truth; the Allies didn't decide where to go following victory in North Africa, until long after the Torch invasion. "The Berbers got caught in the middle, and all they could do was follow orders from whatever side occupied their territory at the time, get out of the way, and try to stay alive. That's us now. We don't mean shit to either side, except how they can use us, or use Earth as a staging base. We're just crunchies under the treads of their tanks. We need to stop thinking that we're allies of the Kristang, and realize we're just native troops they can use as cannon fodder. The Free French back then had Berber troops called Goumiers, but they weren't treated anywhere equal to French soldiers. UNEF needs to stop thinking of any grand ambitions out here, and focus on survival."

Wilson frowned, but nodded. "You may be right, Bishop."

I swallowed the dregs of my coffee and picked up my helmet and goggles. "If we're going to have any survival options, I'd better get back to planting potatoes. Lots and lots of potatoes."