More than one hundred people were now participants in The Academy; all were very fit and proficient in handling their weapons, even the new short-barrelled automatic rifles Jonathan had legitimately acquired from the army. The two day exercise of trainees being left in the bush and having to find their own way back to the village had been successful both on foot and on horseback.
'We should now engage trainees in a real test,' suggested Mark to Derain. 'Maybe a three or four day journey back to The Settlement, on horseback.'
'Two group,' said Derain, holding up two fingers. 'Not enough people in my village to manage all at one time.'
Before any of these major exercises Mark always gathered the trainees together, emphasising the importance of The Academy. 'We will probably be compelled to defend ourselves. If you don't want to be killed, you may have to kill another person. We need to understand and deal with our environment. Yours and The Settlement's very existence may depend on your ability to survive on your own in the bush for extended periods. One threat we can anticipate is the emptying of the prisons. Remember Demetriou? He and some others in Goulburn prison hold grudges against us. He may try to come back to this place, most probably with hostile intentions. These exercises are necessary and will help to make us as prepared as we possibly can be.' He watched as his message gradually sank in.
Tanya was relieved to be in a separate group from Mark, so there was no competition between them. Since he arrived before her in the two day walk, she and Kim had beaten Mark and his partner by half an hour when the exercise was done on horseback.
Tanya and Kim were in the second group of people in pairs. An Aboriginal man, on foot, escorted them outbound for four days and as planned abandoned them to their fate. They had only been allowed to carry a small amount of food, meaning they had to forage for at least half the journey. It was the same with the horses, so each group had to plan on allowing their mounts to graze for part of each day. Tanya and Kim took it in turns. The first evening, Tanya had seen a large black snake sunning itself on a rock. She picked it up on a stick as Derain had instructed and, with a swift stroke from a heavy knife, cut off its head. Kim shot a possum the second day and a wallaby on the fourth evening.
After the guide had left, Tanya said to Kim, 'If we are able to find some berries or roots, maybe we could try to get back home in three days instead of four. We will certainly be back before anyone else if we manage that.'
Kim said cautiously, 'Is that necessary or wise? If we rush things we may lose our way and we don't want to hurt ourselves or the horses.'
Finally, Tanya's wild streak prevailed. They made good progress on the return trip, passing the third day's campsite just after midday. By four o'clock in the afternoon the pair stopped and Tanya said, 'I noticed this site on the way over, so we're on the right track. It has good water and grazing for the horses.'
'We don't want to flog the horses too much,' said Kim. 'Remember the penalty for bringing horses back in poor condition.' But, on inspection, the horses were okay. 'I have sorted one of the shoes on my horse, maybe you could have a look after our gourmet meal,' she laughed, enjoying the grilled wallaby.
'They'll last until we get home,' Tanya announced as she stood up and stretched, having carefully examined both horses. 'It won't help if we rest them for a day anyway, any damage has already been done.'
To everyone's surprise, they arrived at the eastern gate just before dark on the third day.
'There is a bit of an emergency,' the man at the gate said. 'I will alert them.' He rang on the makeshift telephone.
'Mark wants you at the hospital. I will take the horses.' Tanya was told. 'If you try to ride down there in the dark, you might break a horse's leg.'
'Not to mention our heads,' said Kim quietly.
They scrambled down the steep slope and, three hours later, arrived dirty and scratched at the hospital. Mark greeted them, saying nothing about the record-breaking journey home. 'One of the guides came in and told us a garbled story about a bad accident. We'll need the helicopter, I'm afraid, first thing in the morning.'
'Do we know roughly where the accident happened?' asked Tanya.
Mark managed to find Amaroo, the Aboriginal guide, and they were able to pinpoint the approximate area where the accident had occurred. Mark and Tanya, together, were at their absolute best in these circumstances. There was no hint of any rivalry and both were intent on finding a solution.
'Kim,' said Tanya, 'we must refuel and service the helicopter, remove seats to accommodate a stretcher, and install abseiling equipment in case there is nowhere to land.'
Mark made a move to help, but with a glance from Tanya he withdrew, understanding Tanya wanted Kim to be fully involved. In Derain's absence, Mark tried to quieten Amaroo's fears about flying. He spoke almost no English, but somehow Mark managed to convey to him that he was needed to help find the victim.
Before they took off, Tanya said to Mark, 'Kim has considerable medical knowledge, if we can find the place I will lower her and Amaroo down. I may then have to return here for more manpower.'
Taking off to the northwest, Kim tried to calm Amaroo's fears. To start with, Amaroo was unable to orientate himself. Tanya then took the helicopter as low as she dared and hovered slowly over the bush; suddenly, Amaroo became animated, having recognised a landmark. He was then able to quickly guide Tanya to the accident site.
'Can't land there,' announced Tanya. 'Kim, harness Amaroo and lower him to the ground, then go down with all your equipment. Take this GPS device so I can find you again.'
Amaroo was harnessed, but it took all Kim's powers of persuasion to get him to leave the aircraft. A few minutes later Kim scrambled into the harness, 'Make sure you are firmly strapped in,' said Tanya, 'one accident is enough.' Kim nodded impatiently and lowered herself to the ground.
Communication between the aircraft and ground proved difficult, but Tanya understood she should lower the stretcher. She did so with difficulty while trying to keep control of the machine. Heavy rain started to fall, making the operation more dangerous. Kim waved from the ground to raise her into the machine.
'One female with concussion and a badly broken leg,' said Kim as she crawled back into the aircraft. 'The patient was kept warm by her companion, Stephanie, but is in a bad way and needs hospitalisation. Stephanie put down one horse with a broken leg. Let's lift the patient up here. I will accompany you to the hospital. Amaroo, Stephanie, and the remaining horse will return home on foot.'
The stretcher and patient were precariously winched into the helicopter and strapped down.
'Is she okay by herself with Amaroo?' asked Tanya anxiously as they closed the door of the helicopter.
'Stephanie is young, but as cool as a cucumber. Our patient wouldn't have survived without Stephanie's ministrations. She'll be fine. I'm quite sure she trusts Amaroo.'
Landing at The Settlement thirty minutes later, the patient was examined, in situ, by the local doctor. 'We will deal with this here. Any delays will put her life further in jeopardy.'
The other groups struggled in over the next few days followed by Stephanie and Amaroo two days later.
'There needs to be some sort of medal given to Amaroo, Stephanie, Kim, and Tanya,' David said to Mark when it was clear the patient was out of danger.
'Count me out,' said Tanya firmly when consulted. 'All I did was pilot the helicopter, which is well within my comfort zone. The other three deserve the highest honour though. If Amaroo hadn't dashed back here, she would have died.'
David held a ceremony some days later. 'Due to the bravery of some of our own, we have decided to make the first Settlement bravery awards.'
'To Tanya, The Settlement George Medal for bravery in the face of danger.'
'To Amaroo, Stephanie, and Kim, the highest award for extreme acts of bravery, The Settlement Victoria Medal.'
The applause continued for ten minutes. Tanya had meant the emphasis to be placed on the other three, but many in the community noticed Tanya's attempt at self-effacement and their admiration grew.
'I don't want to spoil your party,' Chloe whispered to Tanya afterwards, 'but what the hell did you do to those horses? It will take weeks, if not months to get them right. Both have strained fetlocks and all the shoes need replacing.'
'I offer no excuses. Kim tried to slow us down, but I wouldn't listen. Maybe it was some sort of divine intervention, if we hadn't picked up the patient when we did I don't think she would have survived.'
'You were by far the quickest. I suppose it tells us what's possible in an emergency.'