Scrambled, page 23
part #14 of Directorate Series
"Oh . . . One bloody Hell."
"Perhaps you . . . or one of the other guards . . . could develop an interest that brings you here more often." He was walking much too close to her. Arms nearly brushing.
"Oh . . . One bloody Hell."
Chapter Fifty-five
Stay if You Want
8 Rajab 1411 nyp
"Well, at least the officer the Earth Government sent ordered the soldiers to march, and didn't tell them to shoot us." Ebsa walked back to the suspicious miners. "So . . . can I interest you in a new home on a really nice planet? I can also send you back to your grandparents' home world. But the best option might be to homestead first, while you try to figure out if you've got distant relatives back home, and the skill sets to live there."
"And why should we trust you?" The purple-haired spokesman thrust out a belligerent jaw . . . but as his gaze switched to Ra'd the belligerence ebbed noticeably.
"Because the other choice is to stay here with very few resources." Ebsa did a quick scan and rough head count. About five hundred Natives, from two mining worlds. And originally from several different Worlds the Earth conquered. "We've rescued several other groups from the Mining Worlds. I suspect that there are people you know among them."
That caught their attention.
"Good climate, good soil. Grasslands and forests. Deer and bison, mostly for the large animals, rabbits, birds of all sizes. We've got teams out thinning the local predators . . . and Disco's bought a ton of emergency housing my world had stockpiled, and wound up not needing." He shrugged. "It's the best offer you'll get, and you can always go on to your grandparents' world."
"Hunting and farming sounds pretty good."
The purple guy turned to glare at the man behind him. "And you believe him?"
The man turned his back and waved a woman with a baby in her arms forward. "Let's get out of here."
That started the whole crowd moving, including the purple guy—grumbling about it all the way.
After the last one had corridored away, Ebsa dropped his shields and looked mentally.
Ra'd laughed. "I'll go fetch the ones in the Council Hall, you roust the two hiding over here."
"There's always someone too damned stubborn or scared . . . "
Chapter Fifty-six
Old Duties
8 Rajab 1400 ne
"We've quickly identified thirty people with strong magical abilities. The ones in your guard we'll start training immediately." Ahco looked from the minister to Ijje. "I'll work with your officers to switch their schedules around so I can get them all together."
"How many of my men are you planning on taking?"
There weren't many people in the ground floor office that had been hastily converted into new quarters for the minister, but it was a small room, and felt crowded.
"Eight. We'll see how they pick up new techniques. If it's easy for them, I'll lower my requirements."
Minister MacU shifted uncomfortably. "So you're going to train twenty-two civilians in dangerous magic?"
"I'm going to try." He let a bit of glum show in his face. "They don't have the discipline that military service instills. I may be wasting my time, but even a few more shielders will make a huge difference in combat."
"What about . . . that criminal?"
Good. I didn't have to raise the subject. "Yes. I . . . have reservations, but . . ."
"I heard what he did. A giant shield, three shots to take out artillery and two tanks. Tanks, dammit! Why don't we have tanks?"
Because we didn't need them in the middle of Paris, you . . .
"We may need to grit our teeth and welcome him into the community."
Multiple growls, all around.
"Humph." The minister curled a lip. "Maybe you could send a Princess to seduce him. Then poison him later. It's what they're trained for, after all."
Ijje looked indignant . . . and then thoughtful. "That might work. We need that gun of his." His gaze went beyond Ahco and he frowned. "Not that princess, though. She loves him already, she'd never terminate."
Ahco looked over his shoulder. Through the window, he could see Dipper, fists on hips, arguing with the entry guard. He looked back, shrugging. "With Nick, one suspects the love would be all one way."
A few sniggers.
Ahco continued. "I've talked to the younger adults and older teenagers—they've all been raised to think the military is crude and only stupid people go there. So I've started them with hunting. It'll get them acquainted with rifles as a starting point."
Ijje scowled. "You're too soft with those worthless desk jockeys."
"I'm introducing them to the new reality one shock at a time." Ahco looked back to the minister. "If I may sir? I need to organize a training program and figure out where I'll start tomorrow morning."
The sky was a deep luminous blue in the east and pale blue in the west where the sun had just ducked below the horizon. Dipper spotted him coming and walked away from the guard. Waited for him out of hearing range.
"Are we having issues with the guards?"
Dipper snorted. "Not us-versus-them type problems. No. They've got almost five hundred men, and only a hundred and forty women. We've only been here two weeks. It's just starting, but it's going to become a problem."
He nodded. "Ours is slightly the other way. Mostly due to elderly widows. I wonder how the Earth's are balanced?"
She glanced back and walked further away. "There's another problem, in the Red Zone." She held her left hand out, palm up and tapped thumb and ring finger together. Let her hand drop while he collected his wits.
Our third priority? Oh my fucking . . . in the Red Zone? He kept his voice very quiet. "Do you mean to tell me that . . . " The President's ten- year- old son is here! One! Don't say that out loud, Dipper's right, we need secrecy.
"Yes, sir, it's the problem with stray orphans, again. Nick said the pack of kids over there are much safer than here in a war zone. They're just adding any strays they find to the group. They aren't sending any of them here."
"What . . . how . . . "
"Amazing stories, some of the kids. One boy was in transit when it went weird. Apparently his . . . parents' car was cut in half, and he and his dog were in the half that wound up here."
"We have to . . . we need to . . . "
"Admit that bodyguard might not be our primary duty, at the moment?" Dipper bit her lip. "We're taking care of a whole bunch of people. Perhaps we need to send people over to the Red Zone regularly? Make sure they feel at home with us."
Ahco eyed her. The youngest Princess, just joined six months ago. So she has to be at least twenty-two. But trained or not, she's inexperienced in dealing with . . . attractive but violently dangerous men.
"Like him, do you?"
"He terrifies me. And . . . he is extremely attractive. He said to meet him on the hill beyond the apartments tomorrow. He said you should bring some people you want trained and he'll run through some training exercises, figure out what will work. What we need."
"Right. We'll be there."
I suppose it's logical to say that now Agzo is just one more kid. Except to us. Protecting him is our duty. Fortunately in this situation, protecting everyone and keeping the peace is the best way to insure Aggie's safety.
Chapter Fifty-seven
Magic Lessons
9 Rajab 1400 ne
Zog didn't want to go.
Nick shook his head. "Princess Deip recognized you. I told her you were safer as just one more kid running around the Red Zone. So come and get some basic lessons, and just face up to the fact that the Black Horse Guards are going to be hanging about."
The boy hunched his shoulders. "You wouldn't believe the stupid exercises they make me do. 'So you'll be ready when you touch the One.' Bah. They were stupid. Hakim and I have been watching Abbas when he practices. I want those kind of exercises."
Nick nodded. "I expect you'll move up rapidly now. But you'll be in the beginners class until I evaluate what those stupid exercises have taught you. Abbas will be in the intermediate class, and I'll have an advanced class as well."
"You think you can teach the guards anything? They're the best, you know."
Nick grinned. "Oh, so, now you like them?"
He got a scowl in return, but the boy was with the rest of them when they headed for the outcrop in the early dawn.
New View, one of the Skinner girls, was a Clostuone, moderately powerful, untrained. Miss Boot was a Clostuone, trained to control herself, not trained to do much of anything practical, not trained at all in aggressive magic. With Hakim and Zog, they'd be the basic class.
Abbas, Marco and Enuf were about ready for intermediate classes.
Gamer would be advanced . . . possibly with the guards. Ahco had brought two men and two princesses. Nick stomped on a spike of lust when he spotted Dipper. The other Princess was older, showing tiny signs of age, so she was probably fifty. He felt them, mentally. All five well shielded, strong.
"I'm going to start with the beginners group, as I don't know how and what sort of training three of the four have had. The rest of you may wish to meditate and listen in to see the difference between how you were trained and how potential Warriors were trained."
Nick turned away and grinned at the apprehensive trio. Hakim grinned, having some idea of what to expect. "Don't worry. It'll be worse than you think. Sit."
He sat on the cool stone, facing them, cross-legged. A bit irritated to find that he'd lost flexibility. Not practicing myself, not even basic stretches. Even Miss Boot managed a credible cross-legged posture. Behind him he felt the others sitting as well.
"Relax and soften your shields, lower them as you relax and listen to the world." He barely lowered his own, and compartmentalized the first lesson. "Feel the Sun clearing the horizon, feel the heat where it strikes the right side of your face . . .
He ran them through collecting and dispersing power, and mental shields to maintain privacy. Hakim and Miss Boot had enough training to manage it easily. Zog was irritated, and twice had to recenter, relax, and gather power. New View was timid and a bit frightened. But with a few shaky gathers and dispersions, she started relaxing enough to gather more power, more easily.
He released them after a half hour. They were all tired. "Don't worry, you will all get much better, quickly. It will take less effort, and I'll teach you how to use the power you collect to do the work, so you don't drain yourselves." He pointed at the sack he'd brought. "Grab a drink, then sit quietly and pay attention while I work with the other groups."
Miss Boot sniffed. "That wasn't bad at all."
"Today. I'd like to do this every day until both I and you yourselves are confident of your control, and that you won't accidentally kill anyone." Nick turned around, and sat facing the other nine students. Abbas and Gamer are the only ones younger than I am. Doesn't matter.
"So, center yourselves and gather power. Nice. Now disperse it. Good. mental shields? Now gather power. Think of that power filling you, running through your blood to fill your whole body. Now I want you to picture a tiny thread of power running from your forehead and out into that shield."
He watched them, making quiet comments, "Use less power, Marco. Just picture a smaller wire. Relax and just hold it."
He could see around their shields, which was good. He could spot their problems and " . . . shield both directions, Abbas. Keep your thoughts in and other people's out."
"Unless I'm spying on them?"
"Umm, even then you've got to be careful. You'd be vulnerable to an attack, either from the people you're listening in on, or someone else noticing you the old fashioned way."
"Enuf, ground your power . . . better, just collect a bit, and shield, thread, less than that . . . now relax further. You will all drill this until it becomes second nature."
"Going to make us look like Multitude?"
"If and when you want to be taken for Multitude, yes. Or so tight you are mentally invisible. Or glowing for social interactions. We'll get into attack after you've shown control."
They were all sweating, so he had them drop shields, ground out . . . and start again. Twice. Then he dismissed them, and turned to his advanced students..
He'd been keeping half an eye on them as they'd effortlessly raised power and shields, mental, physical, and energy.
"Very nice. I'll bet nothing gets through to your president. Now let's see how much aggressive magic you . . . " He stood up quickly and scanned for the pulse of panic.
A group of civilians southeast of them had been heading for the tree-lined stream, now they were turning and running from the three raptors charging out of the trees.
Nick took two quick steps to the 20mm, chambered the first round, raised it . . .
A distant figure just stood there, the fleeing crowd leaving him behind. A flash of power, a slice spell . . .
All three raptors collapsed.
Behind them, trees fell in a wide swath.
Nick lowered the gun. Took a long thorough look around.
"Captain Ahco? I think you and your people had better take over the situation down there. We'll resume the lesson tomorrow, an hour later than the beginners started. And Captain?"
Nick nodded toward the man cautiously approaching the dinosaurs. "Bring that man with you. That was an incredible display of inefficiency."
Chapter Fifty-eight
A Priest Awakening
9 Rajab 1400 ne
Ahco walked halfway down the hill before he dared to speak. "If he had said 'an incredible display' and stopped there, I'd have agreed with him."
Myyk stopped beside him, as they watched a massive tree start leaning, a ripple of cracklings as the damaged trunk finally lost to gravity and slowly leaned . . . accelerated and fell.
"Well, all those Grade B movies with the hundred meter death punch? Maybe those weren't quite the absurd exaggerations I thought they were."
Dipper joined them. "That's got to be at least eighty meters, and the width of his slice was nearly as wide. Cutting green wood at the far stretch of it. I . . . didn't think anyone could do that. Including Nick." She looked back over her shoulder.
Ahco turned and watched the youngsters gallop down the hill toward them. "And then there's Little Aggie."
Who flashed a grin their direction as he ran past.
Dipper sighed. "He really is safer in the Red Zone . . . but . . . "
"Our training is outraged. Yes." Myyk shrugged. "And now the priest. Ex priest, whatever. What do we do with him?"
Ahco grunted. "Train him so he's more efficient. Which I hope means safer, not more deliberately dangerous. Dough, Yucky? Go get some pack horses. And large knives." He trotted on down the hill and up to the first dinosaur.
Poe was staring down at it. Shaking.
"Perhaps you should sit down, sir. You've rather spectacularly overdone this morning."
Poe looked at him. "I do know how to slice. I've sliced up to ten meters away, before." His voice slid and squeaked.
Dipper swallowed. "Have you had any of that medical potion of Nick's?"
The short man frowned.
Ahco looked inquiringly at Dipper. "Yes. He had a double dose in the clinic."
"Nick says it can regrow entire organs. And . . . well, puberty is a major power threshold."
The priest looked at her, and his legs slowly folded. "I'm a hundred and twenty-two years old. I can't . . . That's impossible."
Dipper shrugged. "Only one way to find out. And he suggested you need more training. For control and efficiency."
Poe looked around and winced. "I just struck out, even though they were so far away. I thought if I could hurt the leader, they might go away."
Ahco grinned. "It worked, even if not quite how you'd planned it. So, I've sent for pack horses, and we'll feast tonight."
"I was thinking . . . berries and acorns." Poe looked past the dinosaurs to the fallen trees. "Do we need firewood?"
"Lumber."
Ahco spun . . . the two most wanted criminals in the empire had walked down to join them, the rest of their students behind them.
Nick and the Priest eyed each other.
Poe looked away. "I hated you . . . because you did what I wanted to do. That I was too weak to do."
"You were ten. I was fifteen and trained to fight."
"And later I despaired. What else could I do but stay? But my biggest sin was never speaking up for the boys they dragged kicking and screaming into the operating rooms. I am ashamed. I hate them, but mostly I hate myself."
"Good. You've made a start. Put the past behind you and do better, now and forever." Nick turned away from him, swept his gaze across the watchers and raised his voice. "Let me demonstrate a positive use for slice."
The other Red Zoners followed them to the fallen trees.
Ahco followed, Myyk, Dipper, and the priest on his heels.
"You youngsters don't have physical shields yet. So just watch. We'll start by cutting the limbs off the trunks, and cutting them into firewood size chunks."
Ahco was sweating by the time he'd managed to flow his physical shield off his body and just on his left hand, with a needle of power extending out twenty centimeters and slicing through everything. It was probably less work than chopping the wood with an ax. Probably.
Then Nick and . . . had he called her Gamer? Cut the tree trunks into long slabs, and levitated them into a loose stack.
"To dry." Nick shrugged. "I've heard that a stack like this, with good air circulation, will dry the wood but the weight will discourage warping. One more thing I'll discover through experimentation."
Dipper pulled some long thin poles out of the heaps of fallen trees. "Shall we make more travois?"
