Bhavacakra
Twenty
(9/20/06 0700, Guadalupe, Chihuahua, Sunshine League / Ruidosa, Texas League)
The storms had swept east and the rain had lightened to a steady drizzle that did nothing to help the morale of anyone not a water type. The Rio Grande was still up and the temporary pontoon bridge that spanned its width groaned alarmingly as the large wagon made from a tractor trailer flatbed and carrying the UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter on it slowly moved across the river and onto Texas soil, following the Bell civilian chopper that had preceded it and now waited on the asphalt road. Lined up behind the Huey trailer were the three supply wagons made from modified farm tractor wagons.
The departure had started at sunrise, with one company already across and broken down into platoons that had spread out to scout ahead of the main body. Radios and batteries were nonexistent and because of this flying and fast ground pokegirls had been pressed into service as messengers.
Major Garza kept his binoculars trained on the bridge. “The soil is going to be too soft to go cross country. We’ll have to stay on the roads for the wagons.”
Coronel Ruiz grimaced. “I know and I hate it, but there’s no choice if we’re going to make decent time. We’ll have to travel to Interstate 10 while staying as far away from El Paso as possible and use that to move as quickly as we can to Austin.” He spread out a waterproofed map. “We will take Pinto Canyon Road to 2810. That will take us to Marfa and there we will then switch to 67. That’ll take us through Fort Davis and Balmorhea before we hit I10 and can turn due east. That’s a little over a hundred miles and should take no more than five days. After that we’ve got nearly four hundred miles. At our best road speed it’ll take us sixteen days to get to Austin.”
“Assuming nothing happens,” Garza muttered quietly, but Ruiz still heard him.
“It’s our business to make sure nothing happens, major. I’ll be with 3rd company if you need me.”
Garza’s eyes widened. 3rd company would be in the van and they both knew that Ruiz had no reason to be there, but they also knew that the coronel made his own rules and as long as he was successful, their commander in Mexico City would remain quiet on the issue. “Yes sir. The 5th company is scouting and 2nd and 1st companies will be behind you. I’ll be with 4th company in the rear watching our back.”
(9/20/06 0730, Wolf Lodge, Texas League)
Kerrik sipped his tea and watched the wind driving the rain against the lodge windows. The front that had been pounding the western border of Texas had finally started moving eastward again and had arrived at the lodge last night. It was picking up speed and satellite observation indicated that it would pass sometime tonight. While Typhonna hadn’t had the chance to destroy the continents, something had definitely changed the weather. Storms like this usually only arrived as part of a hurricane, but they’d been increasing in frequency since Sukebe started his war of conquest. Checking the historical data available on Bastion showed that weather all over the world had become very unpredictable, and it made him wonder what the future would bring.
He turned to look at the other person at the table and nodded towards the storm. “After a life in space, how do you feel about rain?”
Bishop made a face. “I took conditioning treatments while growing up and we let it rain as often as we could in the hydroponics and garden areas, but I still don’t like it. Thanks for letting us stay here during this.” The tarps had done their job, but the building still leaked while the roof was growing and the storm had been blowing rain in through the damage in the walls. “Do you know where Naomi is?”
“Out in the storm with Autumn and all the other elves. I think they’re working on getting plants established, but they could be just enjoying the rain.” His ears flicked. “I’ll be out there in a little bit.”
Caradoc looked from Kerrik to the window and back. “Whatever for?”
“Misery, Morwen and I are going on patrol to see what the place feels like when the weather is like this. I like being outside and I’m going to enjoy this.”
“You’re not right in the head.”
Kerrik laughed. “I’ve known that for centuries. What are you going to do?”
Bishop regarded the rain. “I’ve been going nonstop since I came to this world. I think I’ll spend today cuddling with Veronica, Shima and Winona.”
“Good choice. You’ve managed to get some good women to join your family. They’re all strong and will give you a good foundation to build on.” He drained his cup and got up. “Caradoc, your running days are over if you want them to be.”
“So I go from being Tirsuli to being Texan?”
Kerrik paused and nodded. “I plan on being both and I don’t see where I have to be unique in that regard. So, can the Bishops and the Wolves work together?”
“I’d like that. You’ve never treated the people you’re working with any less respectfully than you treat your own family and I need that right now. I had one real friend in Tropic and if I ever return he’ll have to put me to death, so I don’t think I’ll see him again.”
Kerrik nodded sagely. “That does tend to put a crimp in a relationship.”
“I had a question for Raven and I haven’t been able to find her. Where is she?”
Kerrik’s ears flicked. “She and Whisper are away today, or else my harem and I would be out training in the storm. Whisper’s visiting her sister in Nippon while Raven is going to see an old friend.”
(9/20/06 0730, Archer Winery, Capital League)
“Please don’t do this.”
Tattypoo’s eyebrows shot up. “You said please?”
Raven looked from Tattypoo to Glinda. “It doesn’t hurt to be polite sometimes and I’m giving it a shot to see if it’ll keep there from being trouble between us. I am not here to fight you and I don’t want to. I’m just here to see my friend Alice.” The three pokegirls formed an equilateral triangle with legs six meters long, with the Sorceress and Enchantress facing off against the Archmage.
Glinda blinked. “You don’t want to fight us? Why not?”
“I’ve learned that life doesn’t have to be just fighting. Kerrik has taught me that encounters between pokegirls don’t always have to end in combat, and he’s right. Even Sukebe promised that someday our fighting would end. He lied a lot, but he promised that to us.” Raven rested the end of her staff in the turf and leaned on it, trying to look like she didn’t want a brawl. “So I’m not going to taunt you about what you are and I’m going to try to avoid anything else that could precipitate a fight between us.”
“We are Hunters and Hunters fight.”
Raven nodded. “That’s true, but do we have to fight all the time? You certainly don’t fight each other to the death. I’m sure you get enough fighting when Winston is on the road. Do you have to invite a potentially fatal encounter when you’re at home?”
“Potentially?” Tattypoo sneered. “You may be one of the best of us, but together we would kill you in a fight.”
“That’s probably true, but even if you did I’d cripple both of you before I died. Where would you be then?”
“Alive,” Tattypoo said with satisfaction.
“Only until Morwen and I killed you.” Misery grinned when the witches whirled around to face her. Her hornet rested across her chest while next to her Morwen stood with her hand on her hip just above the butt of the pistol that rode there. “We came as soon as you two braced Raven in case you didn’t understand that we really don’t want to fight you.”
Tattypoo grimaced. “It’s not natural for pokegirls to want peace. All we’ve known is war.”
Raven chuckled. “Who said anything about wanting peace? I said I don’t want to fight you. You are not now and never have been an enemy to me, Tattypoo, and fighting you and your sister would be a waste of potential on both sides.”
Glinda frowned. “We’re not in the same harems. Doesn’t that make us enemies?”
Morwen shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. Besides, we’re on the same side. Our men are working together and so should we.”
“I know them,” Tattypoo nodded at Raven and Misery. “Who are you?”
“I’m Morwen Wolf. That doesn’t really mean much to anyone but me, but that’s who I am. The problem is that you have only known war, but you’re not really that old, and you’ve got so much life left to live that throwing it away in random battles is,” she paused while thinking, trying to find a word that wouldn’t be insulting. “It’s wrong.”
Glinda gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”
They don’t know. Whisper appeared next to Raven. Glinda, everyone here but Morwen is a Hunter, and all Hunters have longevity. Longevity means that we will live at least six hundred years unless we are killed first. It is, unfortunately, both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing to have such a long lifespan, but the curse is that you will watch Winston and Alice age and die. She will become a pokewoman and give him human children while we must wait three hundred years have human children of our own. Until then, we will only be able to have pokegirl children, which the humans will call kits in a further attempt to dehumanize us. And Hunters have very low reproductive rates to begin with, so those children will be very few and far between.
Tattypoo scowled. “You are not welcome here, Whisper.”
I know. Alice fears my powers, but she doesn’t understand that others fear hers just as much as she worries about mine. While I’m sorry about the situation that caused me to have the reputation she can’t stand, I acknowledge her feelings and would not have come here if you hadn’t threatened Raven’s life. She is my maharani, but more importantly, she is my friend and I will fight to help protect her. I would point out that the fact that we are all here is a testament of the respect we give to the power that you and Glinda possess. Could you not accept that as your due and let Raven pass?
“What of the rest of you?”
“They’ll go home.” Raven glanced at Whisper. “Except perhaps you.”
It turns out that my sister wanted to my visit to include Kerrik and her invitation was merely an attempt to get him within the reach of the Imperial family because they would like to spend some time with their reluctant family kami. Since Kerrik and I thought that might be the case when she sent the message, I went alone on this visit. I will not be going back for some time. The Cabbit scratched a bare breast and snickered. Besides, I started leaking again, so I thought I should get back to our daughters. That and it embarrassed Moirai. Fangs gleamed as she grinned amusedly. She couldn’t stop staring or trying to get me to wear a shirt. She almost became violent when I suggested that she was jealous of me.
Misery snickered loudly. “Stupid bitch.”
Glinda blinked. “You have children?”
“We have another harem sister and she had five daughters. We are all feeding them.” Raven grinned at the hunger that appeared in their eyes. “Assuming we don’t kill each other in the next five minutes, you are more than welcome to visit with us and see our daughters. Alice is my friend, but she does not have to be my only friend here. That’s up to you and Tattypoo. Actually, we all know perfectly well that it’s just up to Tattypoo since you always follow her lead.”
Tattypoo gave Raven a thoughtful frown. “We have been rivals in the past. However, you’re right that it does not make us enemies unless we let it.”
Morwen nodded. “And we shouldn’t do that.”
Tattypoo glanced at her and back to Raven. “You let the kid speak for you?”
“No, but we are all allowed to speak if we think it’s important. Morwen has a unique perspective that sometimes sees things that we miss.” Raven grinned. “She is from a different world where pokegirls have been around for three hundred years and their presence has changed things in profound ways. Morwen was born a human and without warning turned into a pokegirl when she was fourteen. Her presence is one of the reasons I now know things about pokegirls in general and me in particular that I didn’t know before.”
“Would you share this knowledge?”
“To an extent we already are, at least to our friends. Winston has a lot of this information as part of the package that Kerrik gave him before Alice brought us together.” Raven looked at Misery. “We’re not going to fight today, so take Morwen home.”
The Mini-top nodded and paused. “Someday, I’d like to meet Alice. I don’t know any other Snugglebunnies and it might be nice to talk to her sometimes. Ask her if she’d be willing to meet me.”
“I will.” Raven watched them vanish and looked at Whisper. “You need to go too. He’s alone right now with Bishop and his harem and I don’t like it. He says Bishop can be trusted, but I’m not so sure.”
You didn’t say anything to Misery about it. Isn’t she supposed to be watching him?
“I’m keeping a firm grip on my temper in front of Morwen. It’s good practice for the other children. Don’t worry; I’ll have my say with Misery on the mountain later.”
That distinctly sounds like it’ll be a pity I’ll be watching him while you kick her around. Whisper teleported away.
Tattypoo had been watching with interest. “How did you weld such disparate elements as Misery and Whisper into the same harem with you?”
“I didn’t weld anything. Kerrik is the glue that holds us together.” Raven waved her staff and it dissolved. “If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be together like we are.” She smiled mirthlessly. “Considering that I would have had to eat at least one of them by now.”
“But I don’t understand how you can tolerate Misery. She is like the wind, ever changing and temperamental. It’s astonishing that she hasn’t gone berserk and killed someone.”
Raven shrugged. “It turns out that Misery isn’t as unstable as we all thought. The Creator made us to be social, and we all know that we will eventually go feral if we can’t find enough sex. What isn’t as commonly known is that those who are alone and yet can still find enough sex to stay awake will slowly go viciously mad. Misery was almost completely alone except for very rare visits to Whisper. Now that she’s with a family, she is still willful but hasn’t murdered anyone she or I would miss.” She cocked her head as the sisters looked at each other. “Yes, you need the socialization as much as she does, and more than each other or you’ll just go insane together. Now, where is Alice today?”
Glinda glanced at her sister, who nodded. “I’ll take you to her.” They headed towards the buildings just visible through the trees. “We don’t like being around the people here. They don’t understand what our life is like and get uncomfortable when we talk about our past.”
“I thought they might, which is why I offered to let you visit us. You can play with the babies and you can spend time with other Hunters.”
“What do you do?”
“We talk, drink, dance, fuck and blow up or shoot things.” She frowned slightly. “However, we’ve now got a bunch of Elves stinking up the landscape and we’ll probably have to set up official places to make messes since their queen is that harem sister I mentioned and she’d miss any of her people we accidentally splattered. Still, at least Kerrik chose someone else with a name we all can recognize.”
“You have a famous Elfqueen?” Glinda’s ruby hair shook as she snickered. “And just who would she be, General Autumn?” Her mouth dropped when Raven grinned broadly enough to show her fangs. “You’re kidding, right? She’s dead.”
“The rumors were wrong and she’s doing quite well with us. It turns out that she knows Misery from the war and showed up looking for help with her pregnancy. She thought she wanted to go to Haven, but decided Kerrik was a better choice. I don’t necessarily like her presence, but she’s not your average Elf, which is only two steps brighter than a Hamtit. She has a real brain and isn’t afraid to use it. She also shows good taste in men in picking my male.” Raven chuckled. “And she doesn’t taste too bad, herself.”
“I think I would like to visit. It would be nice to talk with others like myself. If nothing else, we can trade professional tips. We have more failures than you do.”
Raven nodded. “Between the three of us, we have only one mission failure, and I don’t fault Whisper for it. Her target was wily and extremely cautious. She never slept in the same place twice and almost never on the same continent. When she finally picked a permanent lair, nobody but she knew where it was.”
“So it was an individual and not a breed.” It wasn’t a question. “Who filled the contract?”
“Nobody did. She’s still alive today.”
“Who was it and how did she manage to disappear?”
“She didn’t. Whisper’s target was Misery.”
Glinda stared. “But they’re friends now.”
“This isn’t the war and the controllers died when Sukebe vanished, usually at the hands of the Hunters they’d had as play toys. I know that Whisper finished hers off quickly, but very thoroughly. I ate mine. Only after the war did she and Misery become friends.”
“How?”
Raven shrugged. “That’s not my story to tell, but you may ask them about it.”
“I think I will.” While talking, they’d crossed the grounds and now they stopped outside a prefab building. “Raven, you’ll have to wait here while I let Alice know you’re here. We’ve instituted security protocols, mainly on your male’s advice.”
The Archmage leaned against the wall. “I don’t have a problem with you trying to keep your charges safe. I know how hard it can be, especially since Alice tells me that Winston is good enough to be really dangerous to his own health.”
Glinda scowled. “That he is, and he doesn’t like us watching out for him when he thinks we need to be hunting our prey. I shouldn’t be long.” She disappeared inside.
Raven was juggling a handful of rocks when Alice came out. The Snugglebunny grinned. “Hi, Raven.”
She reached out to hug her when the Archmage jumped backwards. “You touch me and I get to drink your blood.”
Alice laughed. “That’s been the rule, but I had to check. So what brings you here?”
“I haven’t seen you in a while and we had a free day due to some heavy rain. I also wanted to try and make my peace with the witches.”
Alice blinked. “How did that go?”
“There wasn’t a running battle, so I think we made some progress today. How’re you doing?”
The Snugglebunny was watching her closely. “You’ve relaxed a lot. Is Kerrik that good for you?”
“I don’t have to kill unless I want to. That’s a big weight off of my shoulders, Alice. And it turns out that pokegirls who are alone too long can go insane. I was headed down that road until you played matchmaker.” She flashed a smile. “That explains the legendaries and their oddball behavior.”
“Why do you think that?” Raven hesitated and Alice frowned. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure you want me to discuss my sisters with you. There are two that make you uncomfortable.”
“Whisper.” Alice’s black ears flicked backwards for a heartbeat. “I knew she’d joined you, but who else would bother me?”
“Misery.”
Alice’s jaw dropped. “Someone accepted Misery? I’m shocked that you didn’t kill her.”
Raven smirked. “I almost did, but Kerrik forbade it. Since then she’s turned out to be much more of an asset than I thought she’d ever be. She’s also calmed down a great deal. She’s the one who gave me the evidence to prove that loneliness is just as dangerous as going feral.” The Archmage cocked her head. “She’d like to meet you.”
The color drained from Alice’s face. “I don’t think that would be a good idea, at least not for me.”
“I wouldn’t have passed the request along if I thought you were in danger, Alice. Misery is even feeding the kids along with us.”
“Kids and Misery? Who would trust her with children?”
“Autumn does. In fact, Misery is her second favorite babysitter.”
“Autumn.” Her eyes went wide. “Are you talking about the Elfqueen general named Autumn?”
“I am. The rumors of her death were wrong. She’s with us now, and thanks to her we have five daughters to dote on.”
Alice’s hand twitched. “It’s almost worth you drinking my blood to know everything that’s going on.”
Raven grinned. “If you’d rather I not, you know that you could just drop by our new home so you could find out. However, you have to be nice to Whisper if you do. She’s been good, too, and she regrets your opinion of her.”
“She regrets my opinion or the actions which made me form it?”
“Both.”
Alice smiled broadly. “It’s amusing, I’ll admit. I’ll be pleasant to her if I come and visit.” She stretched luxuriously. “How long can you stay?”
“I’m free for the whole day.”
The Snugglebunny chuckled. “It just so happens that so am I. We don’t have a job right now and Winston is off with Paul and Priss while they discuss ideas to improve grape yields from the stocks Kerrik gave us. How about we get a bite to eat and find someplace quiet where we can talk. I’ve missed spending time with you.”
Raven grinned widely. “And what are you offering me to eat?”
Alice blinked and went white. “I meant me.”
“You’re offering yourself? I accept.”
“Raven, your sense of humor has definitely gotten lower. I meant I’ll get something to eat while you watch.”
The Archmage looked thoughtful. “I hadn’t realized my humor had changed. I guess Kerrik’s sense of humor is rubbing off on me.”
Alice cocked her head, her black ears flicking. “Are you happy with him, Raven?”
She nodded. “I am. I didn’t think about being happy before you introduced us, but he has made me happy by accepting me as I am. It’s a feeling I’m still coming to terms with, but I am happy.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Let’s find me a sandwich and we’ll catch up on the last several months.”
“I’d like that.”
(09/21/06 0100 Bastion Station, Near Earth Orbit)
Cassiopeia drummed her fingers in time to the music pounding around her where she sat in one of the secondary gardens and watched the robins argue with each other about territory. Stations like Bastion usually had animals in the garden decks and she’d asked Kerrik for and received permission to do some animal retrievals from Earth. So she’d picked a set of remote areas and collected animals that were locally endangered and originally indigenous to the planet. They’d been put through decontamination and then given veterinary care that left them parasite free. She’d breed them here and return some of the offspring to where their parents had been taken from. She’d picked mostly small herbivores, although there was a herd of mule deer that were in another garden.
She was considering where to collect her next set of samples and was wondering if Kerrik would like parrots and other birds from Africa when an anomaly registered on one of the O&I satellites. She instantly accessed the data feed while initiating a diagnostic on the station’s weapon arrays. Considering that she was also monitoring or running every other subsystem on the station, it wasn’t much of a stretch for her.
The observation and interdiction satellite was reporting that a Sunshine League community on the Sunshine/Texas border had vanished. Infrared scans taken before the storms swept over the area had over a thousand individuals in this community, and for them to up and leave was unusual enough to raise a warning flag in the processor.
Then another anomaly report from the same satellite overrode that one. A new community had apparently been established roughly thirty kilometers from the original site, this time deep within Texas League territory.
Kerrik’s instructions were to passively scan the region, and Cassiopeia didn’t hesitate as she violated those instructions and ordered the satellite to go active. She also gave it another order and a small capsule detached from the O&I satellite and headed for the area while behind it the satellite unfurled sensitive sensor arrays and defensive weapons. The spectrum wide absorbent capsule reached one kilometer from the surface and disintegrated into dust that drifted over the region. The dust was composed of microscopic sensor devices. Individually very dumb, they interacted through a communications network that made them as sophisticated as the AI on the satellite they’d come from. It was also almost undetectable by Tirsuli systems.
They settled unseen over the community and began reporting back to the satellite. Cassiopeia immediately identified the error that this was a community. It wasn’t. This so called community was actually a military unit currently bivouacked in a defensive posture. She began building a comprehensive database of the unit and sending that information to Virtue, who was vastly better equipped to analyze ground combat units.
Virtue consulted with her brothers and sisters, profiling the existing data and extrapolating probable lines of travel and potential goals. The analyses were rough, but more data was needed before certain conclusions could be reached. Testament was detailed to liaison with Cassiopeia and immediately requested that the O&I satellite drop the remainder of its sensor packages at predetermined points.
Cassiopeia instructed the satellite to obey Testament’s direct orders and deployed a shuttle with more sensor packages to reload the satellite’s cargo points. She also began manufacturing sensor packages and additional satellites against possible future needs. She contacted Vallation and, within a minute, cargo vessels carrying raw material were accelerating towards Bastion.
Vice was detailed to inform Kerrik of the developing situation and promptly moved to do so.
(9/21/06 0115, Wolf Lodge, Texas League)
The generator that the weaver had built into the foundation of the lodge created subsonic impulses that traveled through the structure of the building and, not incidentally, through everything inside it. The frequency was set so as to resonate in the bone structure of one particular individual.
Kerrik felt the pattern and began untwining himself from Whisper, who promptly wrapped her arms tighter around him and brought some of her enhanced strength to bear as he tried to move away. She had his arms pinned and he was almost completely helpless, so unless he really wanted to hurt his bed partner he was pretty much stuck. He nuzzled against her and lifted his head to take the end of one of her antennae into his mouth. Then he bit down gently.
Whisper jerked and her eyes opened. What are you doing? Her thought managed to be lazy with sleep, but he knew it was just an act.
He licked her short muzzle and she whined softly in the back of her throat. “When I want to get up, you’re supposed to let me up.”
Her eyes widened innocently. Perhaps I was asleep and didn’t realize what I was doing. We haven’t cuddled for long.
Kerrik chuckled and kissed her on the nose. “You know, the fact that you have to couch that in such a way that you’re not obviously lying to me is a giveaway that you are.”
Whisper pouted prettily. I thought you loved me.
Kerrik carefully extricated himself from her grasp and leaned over to kiss her thoroughly. “I’d try to find a way to weasel out of that one, but you spend way too much time in my head not to know that I do love you.”
She grinned toothily and sat up. The fact that I know what the others have not yet learned does not mean I don’t want to hear you say it to me when they aren’t around. I am human enough that those words are important to me, especially since I know how seldom you utter them.
He leaned down and nuzzled one of the long, soft ears before he murmured softly into it. “Whisper, I love you.”
She relaxed against him. I love you too, Kerrik. Her expression sharpened. You don’t normally get up until after at least four am. Is something wrong?
“I don’t know yet. I need to get my comlink.”
Do I need to wake Raven and the others? Whisper slipped out of bed and followed him as he headed for his pack.
“Not until I know something one way or another.” He gave her an exasperated look. “You don’t have to come with me.”
She gave him an impish look. I usually don’t. I come several times before you. However, I disagree on this. I want to be there in case there is an emergency.
“What makes you think there might be an emergency?”
Your ‘I don’t know yet’ was not very reassuring that things were perfectly normal.
He smiled slightly. “No, it isn’t but the fact that I can’t lie makes it difficult to quibble. Besides, even if I could I wouldn’t lie to you.”
She sat down next to him as he clipped the comlink in his hair. You say the nicest things.
She wiggled her ears at him and he bit back a laugh before speaking to the com. “You signaled that there might be a problem.”
Vice’s voice issued from the device. “I did, sir. A community just over the border from Ruidosa was apparently a deception. It was instead a bivouacked military unit of approximately reinforced battalion size, at least according to the known Sunshine League order of battle. It has crossed over into Texas under the cover of the storm, probably today due to the lightening of the weather, and is currently south of Marfa on Pinto Canyon Road.”
Kerrik looked at Whisper as she used telekinesis to pull his pants to her and removed his pokedex. “Show me.”
The pokedex lit up and a hologram of that portion of Texas suddenly floated over the piece of electronics. It slid sideways and zoomed under Vice’s control as a cyan dot appeared. “Here is the current location of the battalion. A red dot began to pulse just over the border in Sunshine territory. “This is where the unit came from. It was already in place when you ordered infrared scanning and no detailed evaluations were made. That is being corrected and the border between Texas and Sunshine will be examined to locate other masked military units.”
The image zoomed on the current location. “Sensors have been deployed approximately ten minutes ago and are beginning to send back data. Currently the unit appears to be a dismounted mechanized infantry unit with some evidence of pokegirls. A count is ongoing, but analysis indicates that the unit is over a thousand personnel in number.” Whisper sucked in her breath in a gasp as Vice continued. “Force composition is still being evaluated at this time, but no armored or mechanized transport elements appear to be accompanying the unit. The unit appears to have access to minimal light air support. Although the functionality of the two helicopters noted is in question, if they were disabled it is likely they would have been abandoned until repaired or left in place when the unit moved out. The fact that they are taking the trouble to haul them suggests two things. One, the helos are operational and also that they have minimal flying pokegirls support.”
Kerrik nodded unconsciously. “Speculate for me.”
“When the unit reaches Marfa it has five possible routes. The first is to retrace its steps back to Ruidosa. It could choose to do this without ever entering Marfa. It may also proceed west on 90 towards Van Horn and possible engagement of the city of El Paso. Or it may move east along 67 towards Alpine and possibly Fort Stockton or south on 67 and back towards Sunshine territory. Finally it may continue in a straight line to Fort Davis and then on to Balmorhea. The initial route taken suggests that the unit will move on Fort Davis for reasons which are currently unknown. Sensors are being distributed along the probable lines of march and more will be known when the unit moves out. Because the helicopters are being pulled on makeshift flatbed transports, there is a 95% probability that the unit will be confined to road movement until and if they decide to abandon the machines. It should be noted that as far as I am aware Texas has no organized units large enough to meet this battalion on the field of battle and that it therefore may essentially go where it wills without fear of effective resistance.”
Whisper hissed angrily. We are here and we are not something to be trifled with. Her ears flicked as she cocked her head. However a direct assault would still be foolish.
Kerrik looked thoughtful. “Oh, I don’t know. A direct assault might be just the thing to put paid to them. However, it would have to be something that they never saw coming.”
You have an idea. It wasn’t a question.
“I have lots of ideas. Most of them are terrible.” Kerrik reached for his pants. “This one, however, has potential. Wake the others, including Caradoc and his harem. Vice, have the weaver construct a breakfast heavy on carbs and protein. Whisper, after you’ve gotten everyone up, I’d like you to please go out to the weaver and pick up breakfast. We’ll talk over food. Vice, continue as you’ve been doing. I’ll want a sitrep in two hours. While you’re at it, convey my appreciation to Cassiopeia for being on the ball.”
“Yes sir. There is one other thing. You have a message from Thai Silvati. It arrived three hours ago.”
Kerrik blinked and pulled on his shirt. “Well, things aren’t falling around our ears just yet, so play it.”
The others are getting up. I’m off to get breakfast. Whisper pulled on her skirt and blew him a kiss before heading onto his balcony and stepping off to fly down to the weaver.
The display changed to show a fairly nondescript young man reaching back from having activated his recording unit. “Hello, Mr. Wolf. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.” The young man chuckled softly. “I must admit, I didn't expect to be contacted by someone who looks younger than me and claims Shikarou as his son, so that was a surprise. Anyway, as to trying to contact Shikarou, I haven't attempted to do that for a while now. Not since the Institute closed its doors, at least, and even before then it seemed he was busy as the overseer of that island in Blue. I do hope he and his harem are all doing well.” He paused for a few seconds. “I am uncertain if what I might ask is even possible, to be honest. We've been hounded by hunters for years now, and I really do want to find a place away from the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, not even Opal has been completely safe and we were hoping to settle down someplace. I don't know if you have the same resources Shikarou has, and I would hate to assume that you do, but I would certainly appreciate it if you could share some information regarding a place where we could settle and have a family? I am uncertain how much such assistance would cost, but I do hope we might come to some sort of agreement. Thank you for contacting me, however, and please, just call me Thai, if you would. The mister part is always a bit disconcerting, makes me sound married.” Soft feminine laughter came from behind Thai and the young man rolled his eyes before continuing. “Though honestly, I might be interested. I know of at least two eligible pokewomen who have been with me for years and I think we could make a marriage work. Just don't tell the Opal officials; they don't look kindly on such marriages. Anyway, thank you for the offer, and I hope you have a good day as well.” The image froze as the message ended.
Kerrik contemplated it for a few seconds and his ears canted sideways. “Why the hell not,” he muttered to himself. “I could certainly use the help around here. Begin recording.” The image of Thai vanished and became one of him looking back at himself as the recording began. He smiled. “Hello, Thai. If we’re going to be on a first name basis, then you’ll have to call me Kerrik. Shikarou and his family are doing just fine and I’ll pass along your regards to them when I see them again.” His smile became a quick grin. “As for ages and appearances, looks can be deceiving. For example, my information suggests you, too, are a bit older than you appear to be. However, that’s not important. It just so happens that I do know of some places where you and your pokewomen would be beyond the reach of anyone in the leagues and, while you might be bothered by ferals, you won’t be chased by the government for being different. As you are a friend of the family, and as my son has horrible manners in regards to keeping in touch with them, it would be my pleasure to help you get to one of these places if you so desire. If you are interested in this idea, please contact me and I’ll begin making the necessary arrangements. If not, I’d like to know so I’m not wondering if this message got to you successfully. In either case, I wish you and yours well.” His ears flicked. “End message and send it to Selene for shipment to Prime.”
Caradoc nodded to him as Kerrik entered the dining room. Misery was loading a plate full of bacon and eggs while Raven watched with a faint look of disgust. Bishop’s harem was sitting together in a group, with almost identical looks of introspection on their faces. Kerrik recognized it and groaned mentally. There might be a worse day for their twee to come online, but it would take some thinking to come up with one. However, he faced the fact that they would be distracted for the next couple of days, which meant he would not be asking Caradoc to take them into combat.
Bishop noticed where he was looking and shook his head. “If there’s an emergency somewhere, I’m sorry we won’t be able to help.”
“Sure you will.” Kerrik blinked when Misery plopped the plate she’d filled in front of him and headed off to get one for herself. “Thanks.”
The Mini-top blew him a kiss and winked as she put extra sway in her hips as she walked away. He watched with an appreciative smile.
Bishop chuckled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”
“Who has girls who like to be appreciated? Nope, you’re not even close to unique in that regard.”
“How will I be able to help?”
Instead of directly answering, Kerrik raised his voice slightly. “For anyone who doesn’t already know, there’s a Sunshine League military unit that moved into Texas. Unless they’re really lost, it’s an invasion of some kind. It looks like it’s headed towards Fort Davis, but it doesn’t really matter since we’re going to smash it no matter where it goes unless it retreats back to Sunny soil immediately.”
Naomi cocked her head. “What’s our role?”
He would have liked to use them as a fast recon and assault unit, but it wasn’t going to happen this week. However, there was an even more important job they could do. “You are going to protect our tomorrow, which means that you and Caradoc are going to evacuate all of the children if the battalion heads for the lodge. I trust you to keep my daughters and yours alive while we fight. Autumn will command the Elf defenses protecting the lodge and provide medical care if we have to retreat. Autumn, I’m sorry but you’ll probably have to fight again.”
Caradoc got up. “My ladies, let’s let them plan while we work on how we’re going to evacuate the children.” They rose and followed him out the door.
Autumn looked up from where she was feeding one of the aforementioned daughters. “It’s not your fault, Kerrik. You didn’t start this and we’ll be ready.”
“Duat?” Raven settled down next to Kerrik and handed him the fork next to his plate. “And you need to be eating.”
“I want to show the Sunny government that if they stick their hand into Texas, they’ll pull back a stub, and I want to do it with you ladies so they’ll think that any Texas tamers could do the same thing.”
Nobody has a harem like yours. Whisper was carrying her meal, a freshly killed and gutted rabbit. So that’s not exactly true, is it?
Morwen suddenly grinned. “They don’t know that, do they? They’ll think that every Texas tamer could have a harem just as powerful as ours.”
Misery’s eyes glowed with pleasure, but her tone was disinterested to the point of being clinical. “We will have to make sure to smash them thoroughly enough that the tales they tell will make the Sunshine League think twice before doing this again. If we hit them hard enough, maybe it’ll make Indigo pull back their forces too.” Suddenly she grimaced. “Crap. That means we have to let someone on their side live so the Sunshine government can find out what happened. It’s always better if the story ends ‘and everyone died during the assault’.”
Raven raised an amethyst eyebrow. “Does that include us?”
“Of course not. That everyone is only for the fuckers on the other side.”
“Then how about you mention that?”
Kerrik’s ears flicked. “If you’re quite through, as soon as you’re finished with breakfast we’ve got a lot of work to do. And while I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Misery, we’re going to prepare to destroy them and then I’m going to go and talk with the commander and try to convince him to go home.”
Raven’s head whipped around to stare at him and out of the corner of his eye Kerrik could see she wasn’t alone. “You’re going to do what?”
“I’m going to try to reason with them.”
You realize that they’re probably under orders and because of this no entreaties will make them withdraw.
He nodded. “You’re probably right, but I want to appear reasonable before I hammer them flat. We’ll record the encounter and forward it to interested parties after the dust settles. Who knows, they might actually go away home and I won’t have to kill anyone.”
Misery glared at him. “That would royally suck.”
Kerrik’s ears folded against his skull as he glared back. “And everybody expects to win and sometimes the better combatant still gets their head chopped off because the other guy got lucky. I won’t hold back from a fight because we might get hurt, but I won’t go picking fights I don’t have to, no matter how much it disappoints you.” He continued glaring until Misery looked away. “Now, eat up. We’ve got a lot of work to do and not a whole lot of time to do it in.”
(9/21/06 0230, Wolf Lodge, Texas League)
“You’d better move faster than that if you want to keep up, little sister.” Misery grinned and teleported to the next pile of rails. Raven and Misery had covered the area with light spells they’d hung a dozen meters in the air and it was as bright as midday. “Maybe you should learn to teleport like the rest of us.”
Morwen scowled. “Bitch,” she muttered as she raised her energy blade high and slashed downwards with it.
Kerrik caught her wrist and stopped the swing. Her concentration broke and the blade vanished. “Careful. Don’t let her needle you. I want you to work at the speed you need to do the job right and not so fast that you mess it up.” He gestured at the line running down the stack of rails. “Just follow the line and don’t worry about being fast. Speed comes with practice.” He glanced at where Raven, Misery and Whisper were a couple of piles of rails ahead. “It can also breed carelessness and so far you are consistently closest to the lines I put there. It means you’re probably going to win the prize.”
The Vampire blinked. “There’s a competition and a prize? I didn’t know about that.”
He smiled. “I didn’t tell anyone. I want to see how they rise to a challenge without knowing there’s a reward. So far you happen to be doing the best job and I probably shouldn’t have told you about it.”
She nodded. “Now that I know, it would only be fair to tell the others.” Kerrik regarded her for a few seconds and she gave him a defensive look. “I know some of them would probably take advantage of this and keep the information to themselves, but I’m not that way.”
“That’s very fair of you and I respect you for it.” He turned and raised his voice. “I have to inform everyone that there is a contest for the most consistent and accurate cuts, so be warned that I’m keeping track of your work.”
Misery looked at the slice she’d just made and then back at him. “Oh, fuck.”
Raven snickered at her. “What’s the prize?”
“The winner and I are going to do something of her choice together. It can’t take more than a whole day and it can’t involve sex, since that wouldn’t be fair to Morwen, but other than that it’s the winner’s decision.”
Her eyes lit up. “Alone?”
“If she wants. If she’d rather the harem all learn line dancing together, that’s her choice too.”
Raven grinned at Misery and Whisper. “You are both going down.”
You wish. You can’t cut a straight line to save your life. I’ve got this in the bag.
Kerrik chuckled softly and Morwen gave him a curious look. “I can’t win, so how about you share what’s so funny so I’ll have something nice to think about.”
He smiled slightly. “I’ve been keeping a running count of cuts and accuracy. You’re way out in front.”
The Vampire’s eyes widened. “Really?” Then she sighed. “It won’t last.”
“Oh, your lead will shrink, but unless you start making really crappy cuts it’s already mathematically impossible for anyone else to win.” His eyes sparkled with glee as she stared at him. “So, are you going to let them beat you?”
“No way! My cuts are going to be as precise as I can.” She glanced at him as she created her energy blade again. “Do you know how to fence?”
“I know several different styles. Why?”
“My energy blade is a lot like a medieval rapier. Not a foil, but the kind with real edges and I thought that learning to fence might make me better with it. I’ve watched Raven and the others and other than throwing it they don’t seem to do more than slash and stab with theirs. Being able to fence might make me better able to compete, at least until they learn too.”
He nodded. “That won’t be your request, but I think it’s a very good idea. I’ll teach you whatever you want to learn.”
She beamed at him. “Thanks. Now go away so I can do this right.”
He winked and headed for where Autumn was sitting and watching the crib they’d pulled out for the babies. “How’d you get out of this game?”
She smiled. “I can’t teleport and I didn’t feel like listening to Misery trying to goad me, so I opted to watch the girls. Besides, as soon as the sun comes up, I’ll be very busy with your lure.” She glanced in Raven’s direction and dropped her voice. “Since I didn’t compete in the cutting contest, do I get a consolation prize?”
“You chose not to compete, so no. Do you think you’ll be able to set everything up?”
The Elfqueen nodded. “Just south of Fort Davis I’ll be putting in several fields of corn and oats along the road. It’ll look like someone is living in the area, but that’s what you said you want. They’ll look ripe and ready for harvesting, with some mild damage from birds. I have to admit I’d never thought of using food as a lure for humans.”
Kerrik smiled broadly. “There’s a farmhouse down there and as soon as we get done with this little job, we’ll go down there and put some scavenged furniture and a bunch of canned fruit and vegetables in so it’ll look like the place was lived in and hastily abandoned when the scouts showed up. Any army in the universe except a completely robotic one gleans. It’ll be close to the end of the day when the main body arrives and they’ll take the opportunity to camp there and gather as much as they can before moving on in the morning. That’s when I’ll go to meet with them.”
Autumn nodded. “My Elves are working with Naomi and her court to process as many railroad ties in the weaver as possible for rebuilding. We’ll put them at strategic choke points around the lodge area to funnel anyone coming here into places where we can turn or kill them with minimal threat to ourselves.” She grimaced. “I have more people than she has but hers have been together longer and work together better.” An unasked question glittered in her eyes.
Kerrik tilted her face up, kissed her gently on the lips and answered it. “You are my Elfqueen and you are in charge here. If Naomi gives you too much trouble, have Caradoc pokeball her. If he won’t, do whatever you have to do up to and including killing them all. The fact that I like him is not going to stand in the way of doing this the way I want.”
The Elfqueen let out a deep breath and relaxed as tension slid out of her. “It won’t come to that, but I’m glad to know where I stand.”
He smiled. “You stand with me and I will never abandon you. Remember, however, that there are plenty of places to live in our new queendom and so don’t sacrifice anyone needlessly to protect this place. Abandon it if things become too dangerous for you. Trust me when I say we will be along just as soon as we can to kill any Sunshine forces that make it this far.” He smiled slightly. “And if they burn down the lodge, we’ll rebuild it better than it is now.”
“I’m glad we’re more important than things and I’ll do what you want.”
(9/21/06 0530, Fort Davis, Texas League)
The wind was wet and chill as it whipped across the barren ground in front of them. Furrows showing that this had once been a field of some kind were more of a memory than a physical reality and you had to look very hard to see any sign of their presence.
The sky was just starting to lighten when Autumn nodded to six of her Elf pokegirls. “Go.” They sped off across the empty field as she linked hands with Naomi and several of the most powerful Elf and Elf breeds from both courts. Autumn used the physical connection and added their power to hers as she focused her will.
It was commonly known in Prime that an Elfqueen’s political power grew directly as the number of people in her court grew, but what they didn’t know was that, if she knew how, she could also harness each Elf’s personal magic in ceremonies like this one to cast spells much more powerful than any individual Elfqueen could control. There were strict limits on this power, however. Plant magic was by far the easiest to use in these power sharing ceremonies, with weather magic being a close second. Fire and ice magic were almost impossible unless the queen personally was an extremely powerful mage. Queens this powerful could also steal power from any magic using breed of pokegirl and therefore had more varied courts at their command.
This was one of the reasons that Elfqueens built courts and one of their most closely kept secrets. In fact, it was so closely held that most Elfqueens used magic to keep their people from ever speaking of it or having this knowledge taken from their minds. Elves that evolved to Elfqueen outside of a court didn’t know about this power and were never told as long as they were independent. The result of this was that many smaller courts in Prime didn’t know the power that their queen could control. Others knew about it, but were unable to find a queen who was willing to teach it to them. After all, Elfqueens jealously guarded their power from anyone who might possibly challenge their might, either now or in the future.
As the Elves raced across the field, they constantly scattered handfuls of corn kernels behind them. In the instant that each kernel touched the soil, it sprouted, growing at an incredible speed until the stalk was fully mature. Corn flowers opened and fell; the tiny ears they left swelled, growing and ripening until the ears of corn were so large that the stalk trembled beneath the weight. The corn wasn’t necessarily planted in truly straight lines, but from a distance the thickness of the crops would make this almost impossible to recognize. Besides, the lack of furrows would suggest that whoever planted the field did so with more primitive methods, making the staggered rows more plausible.
Naomi’s eyes were wide. “I didn’t know this was possible.”
Autumn’s voice was heavy with stress as she kept her mind focused. “The plants won’t live more than a week because of the demands I’m making on them. I wouldn’t do this except that Kerrik wants it. After this is over, we’ll harvest everything that we can for our own use.”
“Will you teach me how to do it?”
“We’ll have to settle on a price, but I don’t see why not. Since you’re paying a percentage of everything you harvest to us, it’s only to our benefit that your crop harvests are as large as possible.” She let Naomi’s hand go. “Now that’s finished, we’ll move on to the next field and plant some oats.”
(9/21/06 0700, Fort Davis, Texas League)
“I didn’t think making a lure would be so much work.” Morwen carefully placed the last of the clothes in the worn looking dresser and shut the drawer. “Why are we doing all of this?”
Misery glanced at her from where she was making the bed. “The scouts will hit this place looking for loot. If it doesn’t look like someone lives here, they’ll get spooked and the main body will be on alert when they enter the area. They might even go around, suspecting that this is some kind of trap, which of course it is. It won’t stop what we’re planning, but it might not allow Kerrik to talk to them. As soon as they see him, they’re likely to start shooting. If they think this place is inhabited, they’ll assume he and Raven are the people living here and that they’re not much of a threat.”
“I wish I could go with them.”
“Little sister, I do too, but Raven is the best choice for this. If any pokegirl in the Sunny unit knows about Mini-tops, they wouldn’t let me within a hundred meters of the camp. Whisper just looks odd. While you’d look innocent enough to pass, more than one pokegirl will make them warier.” She smoothed down the bedspread and fluffed the pillow. “And there are other potential issues.”
“Like what?”
“It’s very likely that Raven and Kerrik will be separated. I know they’re going to be using a flag of truce, but that doesn’t mean that those bastards will respect it. If they don’t, they’ll expect to turn Kerrik’s pokegirls to their side while she and Kerrik are separated.” She met the Vampire’s gaze evenly. “That means Raven is very likely to be held down and raped in their attempt to make her theirs. Possibly repeatedly. I haven’t spoken to her about it, but she may have to lie there and take it until we can act.”
Morwen shuddered. “That’s horrible! How can she put herself into a situation where that might happen?”
“Someone has to do it and she’s the maharani,” Misery said simply. “That and there’s the tiny fact that Raven would storm the gates of Hell barehanded for him if he asked.” A wistful expression crossed her face. “So would I.”
“What if she gets bonded to someone else?”
The Mini-top’s eyes widened and then she snickered. “That’s a good joke, little sister. Nobody makes Raven do anything she doesn’t want to, not unless their name is Kerrik or they have a death wish. She’s more than strong enough to keep from being bonded by some loser just because he managed to get his dick inside her. So am I and so are you.” Her long ears swung as they canted. “And that’s true even if you haven’t had any dick yet.”
Morwen grimaced. “I have, but nothing that doesn’t have batteries in it.”
“Speaking of dick, what’s the count, little sister?”
The Vampire grinned. “My count is currently one hundred sixty eight days and a wakeup. That night I become his.”
Misery shook her head. “You’ve been his for a while, Morwen. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be here goldbricking. Rest assured that if you weren’t one of us, Raven, Whisper or I would have accidentally,” she sketched quotation marks in the air, “killed you during sex or training. You are my little sister, now and forever until one of us dies.”
“Why is it the fact that you’d kill me if I didn’t belong makes me feel good?”
“Deep down inside you know you are one of his merry little band of killers, Morwen, that’s why. Now give me a hand with the canned food and I think we’ll be ready for the next step.”
They headed outside and grabbed the three wooden boxes filled with glass Mason jars full of canned tomatoes, corn and other vegetables which Whisper had deposited earlier. The jars were carefully stacked on some shelves in a closet, segregated by type and then by the date scratched on the top of the jar seals. When that was complete, Misery pulled a small bag from her pocket and carefully rolled the edges down. She pulled out a handful of dust and carefully sifted a light layer around and over the jars.
Fresher food had already been placed in a few cabinets. If anyone analyzed the place, the impression would be of someone not starving, but definitely counting on the crop Autumn had put in the fields to make it through the winter.
When she was finished, Misery grinned at Morwen. “Now for the fun part. You do the honors in the bedroom.”
“Thanks.” Morwen went into the bedroom and stripped the pillowcase from the pillow, carelessly tossing the pillow onto the bed. She opened a drawer and grabbed the first few things on top, stuffing them into the pillowcase before slamming the drawer shut and moving to the next one, leaving evidence of a hasty packing before a just as hasty a withdrawal.
In the kitchen, Misery pulled a few jars from the shelves and put them on the table firmly enough to knock dust from them onto the tabletop. Behind her, clean wood gleamed against the dust. The jars were then stuffed into a sack along with some of the fresh food and some cutlery. She carefully left one cabinet halfway open to reveal a dozen mostly full bottles of various whiskeys. “Enjoy your last meal, boys,” she muttered to herself. She headed for the bedroom and leaned in the bedroom door. “Come on.”
Morwen left the bottom drawer cracked open, a pair of pants partially hanging out of it. “Ok.” They headed outside and shut the door before sprinting to the north, leaving a trail obvious to any pokegirls with enhanced olfactory senses away from the approaching scouts.
(9/21/06 1745, Fort Davis, Texas League)
The temperature had risen into the low 70s and warm wind blew across them as the sergeant gestured towards the house. “The indications are that whoever lives here saw some of the scouts and fled. We’ve got a trail headed northwest, towards that mountain.” He pointed towards Raven’s mountain.
Coronel Ruiz frowned. “That’s also towards El Paso, sergeant. I wish we had the men to chase them down before they can get there.”
“It’s rugged terrain, sir,” Major Garcia politely disagreed as he waved the sergeant away from them. “Even if El Paso is their destination, by the time they get there we’ll be on I10 and halfway to Austin.” He nodded towards the fields of crops. “I think we should send a detail to harvest everything we can. Our supplies have always been tight and I’d say there’s at least a ton of corn there.”
Ruiz nodded. “Do it, but it isn’t going to hold up our departure in the morning. We’ll camp here tonight and clear Fort Davis in the morning. We’ll use the house as our command center and form the battalion around it. Don’t let the men just wander out there, either. This is almost too convenient and I want normal sentry posts established. Warn the others that if I suspect anything is amiss, I’ll be making checks myself and I’ll have any men away from their posts flogged. Be sure to make sure that all of the officers know that I’ll put them right next to their derelict men.”
The major nodded. It was fairly standard Sunshine League policy to punish the officers along with the men. “I’ll make sure they understand completely, sir.”
Kerrik Wolf
Harem
Raven: Archmage
Whisper: Cabbit
Misery: Mini-top
Morwen: Vampire pokekit
Autumn: Elfqueen