Into the Fire
Forty Five
Author’s note: This chapter presumes that you are familiar with Kelvin’s Choice’s story, Tamers and uses characters and situations from it with his permission. If you have not read it, you are very naughty and need to remedy the situation immediately. It is well worth the time.
Kirabo stared at him for an instant before bursting out laughing. “That’s a good joke, captain. If you were Wolf, why would you be here?” She shook her head and began laughing again. “You, Wolf.” Her laughing grew louder.
Iain made a snap decision to take the more perilous path because it had potentially the highest reward. He kept his voice even and firm. “Because, Kirabo, Sanctuary has pursued me and mine relentlessly and I decided that the best way to stop them was to kill everyone on the High Council. I’m revealing myself to you because I suddenly wonder if I may be able to find a way to not add the burden of so much death to my soul.”
Beside him Eve and Ninhursag went very still.
Kirabo’s laughter choked off as her eyes went wide. “You’re serious.” Peony hissed and stepped forward, only to stop when Kirabo waved a hand. “You came here, into the heart of our power and put yourself at my mercy? All it takes is a thought and the massed might of Sanctuary would fall on you.”
“I am not exactly at your mercy, Kirabo. I am very much aware you have a teleport block in place that I do not have the key to unlock. I’m also aware of the precise areas that this block covers, so if guards did appear or I was attacked, we’d burn our way straight up, through everything and everyone in our way and escape before your people could seriously hurt us. This may not be the place in which I would have planned to reveal myself to you, but we are far from helpless here.”
Kirabo stared at him in shock. “You know us better than I thought. So what about the information you’ve given me regarding Kerrik Wolf?”
He held up his hand as if taking an oath. “It’s all been true. It’s too easy for you to have agents in place to corroborate any information I provide, so I had to be very careful not to lie to you about my movements.”
Peony scowled. “Does that mean Rudy Wells is Kelvin’s Choice?”
Iain shrugged. “Kelvin and I have never discussed it, so I cannot positively say one way or another who Rudy is.”
“Why has Wells been sending you information?”
“I’m not completely sure. He just started sending me messages out of the blue. He never really sent me many messages.”
Kirabo abruptly shot to her feet. “Why did you kill Jenova?”
“I was hoping you’d decide that because of my being able to kill her that I was too powerful to pursue and Sanctuary would leave me alone. That’s what I’ve wanted from the beginning.” He forced an appearance of calm as his anger got away from him for a moment. “You need to understand that whether you were the dupes of the Celestial Alliance or not in helping them to perfect their dimensional travel ability, what they told to you seems to be coming true. We, the authors, are all showing signs of developing unique abilities far faster than normal humans from this world seem to be able to. And since we treat our women as equally as possible and love and cherish them for who they are instead of what we can make them into, they are more willing to lay down their lives to protect us than you can ever imagine. In return, we would be just as willing to lay down our lives for them. We are not harem and tamer, instead we are family. It means that every day, your chances of taking one of us alive or even killing us becomes slightly more remote. It would also suggest that perhaps you don’t really want us as enemies and that it might be to your benefit to hear what I have to say to you.”
Kirabo took a deep, calming breath. “Jenova was our mother and helped to create us.”
Iain managed to keep the scathing sarcasm he felt from his voice. “No, she wasn’t and no, she didn’t. Jenova had no scientific skills worth speaking of. She was an opportunistic pokegirl with longevity who took advantage of the first Sanctuary Goths in the pursuit of her goal to become a goddess or legendary. Like Macavity, Jenova has never cared for anyone other than Jenova, and the fact that she has never returned to advise, lead, castigate, punish or reward anyone in Sanctuary is proof that she doesn’t care for anything other than your unthinking worship.” He cocked his head as she flushed angrily. “And if you think about it with more than blind belief unsupported by fact, you know I am absolutely right. Jenova did not care about you. She was incapable of compassion or empathy. It’s true that she might have known about the lab and led the refugees there, but it’s just as possible that she was stalking the pokegirls who became the first Sanctuary Goths before they found the lab because she was going to kill them for some reason known only to her. It is completely within her personality profile to have just taken advantage of the situation so Sanctuary would become her private power base if she ever needed it.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “If Jenova did care about you and your people, it would be the only case of her caring about anything besides herself and so out of character as to be a complete aberration. That’s not how people’s personalities work. If she cared about others, she’d have helped out other people and there is no evidence that she ever did.”
Kirabo apparently wanted to drop that line of discussion. “Why are you revealing yourself to me?”
He looked at Eve for a second and she gave him a reassuring nod. “I’m taking the risk of telling you this because I know that you and Desiree once dreamt of a Sanctuary that Sanctuary should have been and is not. It’s the real reason the two of you signed off on the author retrieval program, even if the reason for many of the others on the council is the subjugation of everyone not a Sanctuary Goth. That wasn’t really what you two were hoping for. Now you have a decision, Kirabo. Do you want to take the next step in achieving that dream and work with me or do you want to miss the chance?”
“You’re taking quite the risk. If I choose not to join you your plans to infiltrate Sanctuary are for naught.”
Iain smiled gently. “Are they really? I don’t look anything like Kerrik Wolf right now. Who is to say that I can’t look like yet a third person and find a way to infiltrate by affiliating with someone else on the council? I think you have already considered this idea and are merely whistling in the dark and hoping I haven’t thought of it yet.”
“You talk like you can perform miracles. I am not one of your worshippers. I don’t believe you are capable of miracles.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I do not venerate the Running Wolf.”
His face set. “Do a lot of people?”
“They tend to remain hidden, but there are rumors that the number of people who do so is growing.”
“Shit.”
She looked surprised. “You do not want this?”
“I know what can happen, so no, I’d rather not. Unfortunately, it’s not my decision to make. I can’t make people worship or not worship me. In any case, you have an immediate decision before you. You can attack; you can call for help; you can run; you can claim to want to work with me and betray me at the best possible time, or you can actually decide to remake Sanctuary with my assistance.”
“Into what? What is wrong with Sanctuary now?”
He cocked his head. “I know you’re not stupid, but I’ll answer that question anyway, even if we both know you will not like my answer. Sanctuary is a totalitarian and racist regime. It oppresses people, brainwashes children, sanctions murder and allies itself with horrible creatures, all in the name of freedom, which is itself a lie.”
Peony flexed her claws. “Sanctuary is all about equality! Prove to me it is racist and totalitarian!”
He looked at Kirabo. “May I?”
“I would like to hear your reasoning myself.”
“I’ll start with the present, since that’s more immediate than the past, then. How many non-Sanctuary Goth pokegirls are on or ever have been on the High Council?”
Peony blinked. “None are, of course.”
“How many humans are on it?”
“None.”
“So, Sanctuary Goths, who are maybe ten percent of the population, make up all of the primary ruling body. That’s as racist and discriminatory as white only drinking fountains or leagues in which pokegirls are not allowed to vote.”
Peony snorted derisively. “They sacrifice their time so the other citizens focus on the day to day requirements of Sanctuary.”
“Sacrifice their time, do they? So they don’t get paid? They don’t get perks or other non-monetary rewards?”
“Of course they do.”
“So it’s not really a sacrifice, is it? It’s a job. The truth is that you give them money out of your salary or other forms of taxation so they can pass rules for you to follow.”
Peony sputtered angrily. “Those rules are for our own good.”
“Now you sound like Montsho, who told me that she was savagely beaten as a pokekit for her own good and who was also indoctrinated to believe she was so stupid as to be nearly retarded. Fortunately that wasn’t the case at all and she turned out to be very bright indeed.” He sighed and looked away.
“What is it?”
He didn’t look at Kirabo. “I miss her,” he said finally.
The Sanctuary Goth’s eyes narrowed. “You said Kerrik Wolf killed her and Irena. Did you?”
Iain’s head came around and he growled loudly enough that Peony growled back. “No, I didn’t. They and others were killed by a mage who attacked us. I had to explain that Irena was dead to you somehow and blaming it on the person you had me trying to catch or kill was easy.”
Eve took his hand. “We were very fond of them and Kerrik cried over their loss when he thought we weren’t paying attention.” She ignored the withering glare he turned on her. “You did.”
“They are not family and don’t need to know that.”
“I disagree,” his wife said firmly, “and you don’t control me. Kirabo, we have a relationship of equals, something that seldom exists in Sanctuary, just as it seldom exists in the leagues. Kerrik is telling you the truth and you might want to consider that he just wanted you to leave him alone. Even after Aglaii tortured him to the point where he wanted to die, he did not seek revenge on your people after escaping from her. Everything he has done has been to protect him and us.”
Kirabo’s mouth dropped. “You destroyed most of our intelligence operations in Blue because you wanted to be left alone? I find that hard to believe.”
He met her gaze squarely. “Every fucking member of this High Council was trying to find me and coerce me into being their slave. They all ordered their assets to run me to ground. I had no choice.”
“You do not curse in the presence of the councilor!” Peony hissed at him.
Her expression changed to surprise when he bared his teeth and hissed back. “I am Kerrik Wolf and I think all the scars I carry from Sanctuary have cost you and yours any chance at respect from me until you earn it.”
Kirabo put her hand on Peony’s tail and jerked as the dinosaur pokegirl began to stalk forward. “You sit.” The Dameosaur settled down in front of the desk, watching Iain and the two ladies intently. “So, your respect for me as Austin Drummond was feigned?”
“Kirabo, if Austin Drummond or even if Captain Irena were disrespectful to you, you’d probably have had them taken out and flogged. Sanctuary rules by fear and you can’t afford to let that control slip for an instant.” He smiled brightly. “That is, of course, a major mistake.”
“Explain.”
“The leagues cannot easily project power this far, but if they ever managed to do so the vast majority of the villagers would stand aside and watch them go by without resisting. They have no reason to fight for the Sanctuary Goths or for the DCWS, which routinely harasses and steals from them.” He shook his head. “If Sanctuary really wanted to be the paragon of freedom and light that its propaganda claims, it would start by crushing the Limbec Pirates, if for no other reason than they selectively target and kill scientists working to cure pokegirls from going feral and humans from thresholding.” He snorted. “Hell, they raid Sanctuary’s coastal villages for loot and crewmembers and you tolerate them.”
“You make stopping the Limbecs sound easy.”
“It isn’t impossible by any stretch of the imagination. The British ended piracy by eliminating the ports the pirates had, by either taking them outright or by forcing them to stop buying booty and selling supplies to the pirates. You make the Dark Continent inhospitable for pirates and they’ll start dying out by sheer attrition. Nobody else puts up with them and the tiny island city-state nations they’ve founded don’t have any sort of agricultural or industrial base that would allow them to survive without being forced to parasitize off of more established societies. In a generation they’ll be a memory. They’ll die even faster than that if you gave your knowledge of them to the other leagues, all of whom have good reason to destroy their hodgepodge of ships.”
Kirabo’s gave him a look of distaste. “Why should we lift a finger to help the leagues?”
“Why? Outside of destroying your spies in their own lands, no league has attacked Sanctuary. Other reasons include the fact that they haven’t destroyed Jahanna, which they know still supplies you with critical components. They haven’t pulled their hidden nuclear weapons out of storage or turned loose Cologne’s pokegirl slaying robots on the Dark Continent, either.” He shook his head. “Sanctuary was started by a group of pokegirls who decided they didn’t like humans and that hatred, passed down from council to council, has perpetrated actions on Sanctuary’s part that have turned the leagues into your enemies. Before Sanctuary attacked them and before Sanctuary gave succor to the Limbec Pirates, the leagues didn’t give a damn about a group of pokegirls living in bleeding Africa, of all places. They have way too many problems at home.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his legs. “This is going to sound really bad to you, but you brought all of your troubles on yourselves.” He sighed. “And you showed such promise. If the authors did create this world, Gorgo deserves several swift kicks in the groin followed by being drawn and quartered for what he did to you. And the administration, of which I am a part, should be horsewhipped for letting Sanctuary as it exists remain canon.”
Kirabo’s eyes were watching him with wonder. “I have read the site rip stories. Why should he be punished for making us?”
“Not for making you, for making you so horribly. Sanctuary should be a place where humans and pokegirls live as much as equals as they can. It would have been so strong that it would have laughed at any league or collection of leagues who claimed to threaten it. They would have had to wall their continents to keep pokegirls and tamers who were dreaming about parity from flocking here to help you continue to build a golden age like this world has never seen! In the two hundred years it has existed, the ideas of this Sanctuary would have naturally spread to other leagues when the league’s citizens rose in open revolt so they could have a golden age of their own.” Iain’s eyes glowed with fire which abruptly died. “But, instead you recreated Communist Russia, Nazi Germany, North Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. One of the Khmer Rouge’s mottos would have fit Sanctuary almost perfectly.”
“What motto is that?”
“‘To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss.’ That is how Sanctuary Goths value life that doesn’t come with tattoos and aura abilities.”
Eve gasped.
“Your words are very harsh, Kerrik.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t like my response to a question you already knew the answer to.”
She nodded. “You are right.”
“Now I have a question of my own.”
“What is that, Kerrik?”
“I’ve already asked it, but I’ll ask it again. As children you and Desiree dreamed of a place of happiness and prosperity for all citizens of Sanctuary. As you grew up, that dream dimmed against the reality of what is. Do you want to take the next step in actually creating that dream and work with me?”
“Shouldn’t you follow that up with some kind of threat?”
“Kirabo, I don’t want to threaten you. You are free to say no to that dream. If you do, I’ll have to continue on the course I have established to convince the citizens of Sanctuary to leave me and my family alone.”
“You mentioned killing the High Council on that course. How would you do that?”
He regarded her for nearly a minute before giving a small shrug. “I already have a spell that will kill everyone in this complex, regardless of their physical warding or shielding magic.”
She paled but didn’t look away. “Considering how protective you are supposed to be, I’m surprised you haven’t already used it.”
“It’s not completely stable and if I do it wrong I won’t just kill everyone in the High Council complex. I could just as easily kill everyone in Sanctuary City and they don’t deserve to die by my hand, Kirabo. I don’t want that on my soul, which is why I haven’t obliterated you yet. Right now I hope I don’t have to kill you at all.”
“If I say no, will you kill me right now?”
Peony snarled from where she sat. “He will try. He will fail in the attempt.”
“I didn’t come here intending to kill anyone, Peony. If Kirabo tells me that she doesn’t want to rebuild Sanctuary, then I will leave and return another day. Besides, the conditions aren’t quite right yet.” He slowly rose to his feet. “Unless you intend to attack me, Kirabo, I’d like your assurance that I can leave without having some kind of running battle. After I’m gone, I’d like you to take some time and consider my offer.”
Kirabo gave him a bitter look. “How long do I have?”
“I can easily give you a month, which should be plenty of time. Peony or even you can contact me through the Drummond pokedex just as she has. Please, seriously consider my offer. I have found that I like killing and I don’t want to feed that lust any more than I have to and I have always known that not everyone here deserves to die by my hand.” He watched her as Eve and Ninhursag got up and tension ratcheted up in the room. “May we leave without violence?”
Kirabo rubbed her eyes. “I should sound the alarm.”
“That would be your decision to make,” he said carefully.
“You’re not afraid of that?”
“I never said that. I don’t think that showing fear right now is wise, so I’m not going to. I will admit that I don’t want to die, Kirabo.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to settle down and raise a family. I’m like Sean Thornton. I’ve done things I regret and I don’t want to do them again, but I will if forced to.”
“What if you don’t hear from me, Kerrik?”
“Not making a decision involves making a decision and I’ll take no response from you as a no to my question.”
“And then we will be at war.”
“No, Kirabo. We are at war now. I’m offering to end that war.”
“Why can’t you just work with us?”
“It’s not possible. It has been made plain to me that no human works with Sanctuary. Right now Sanctuary feels that they always have to have their boot on the throat of any human or even pokegirl working for them. It’s been that way for two hundred years and it’s time it ended.”
She looked troubled as she turned to Peony. “Escort them safely outside and let them go. Revealing who Captain Drummond is would cause us too much trouble.”
The Dameosaur bobbed her head in assent. “As you command, my mistress.”
“In one month, Kerrik Wolf, I will answer your question one way or another.”
He bowed, gaining a look of surprise in return. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
***
Eve looked at him and dropped her voice. “What do you think she’ll do?” They were back at the camp and sitting on a rock watching Monica brushing out Donna’s wool while Undine sat nearby trying to decide if she was jealous.
“I think she’s going to betray us.” April sat down on Iain’s other side from Eve. “You should have denied you were Kerrik and stuck to it.”
Iain shook his head, amused at what probably looked like a domestic scene from a distance but was in reality April and Eve guarding him while Pandora was off running training exercises with the rest of the harem. “Kirabo isn’t an idiot and didn’t get where she is by brute strength. She’s smart and she’s powerful and she knew about the rumors before we arrived and still she let us get that close to her. It was a calculated risk on everyone’s parts.”
Eve nodded slowly. “That would explain Peony’s behavior.”
April’s eyebrows went up. “I was watching through your eyes and I didn’t see anything odd about the way she was acting.”
“She was watching us like a mother Minotaura with kits watching a feral Lioness after saying she couldn’t play cards with me and Ninhursag. She wasn’t surprised by Kirabo’s revelation, either. She thought the rumors were true and had instructions to leave us alone unless we reacted aggressively. If they were going to attack us, the best time would have been in the foyer of the building. They could have hit us from at least two directions and massed an army outside the building that we wouldn’t have known anything about until it was too late without us ever getting close to Kirabo. Instead, Kirabo wanted to know and was willing to take the chance that Austin was Kerrik. It’ll be interesting to see what her answer is.”
Iain smiled slightly. “If it’s anything but yes, I’ll be shocked.”
“You really think she’s willing to betray Sanctuary?”
“She had a dream. Even if that dream died over the years, and I’m not completely sure that it did, this is a chance for her to help me remove the most radical elements from the High Council and secure her power base for the rest of her life. She won’t pass up the opportunity, but if she is securing her flanks, then when we enter the endgame she may try to kill us. In either case she won’t see herself as betraying Sanctuary.”
April frowned. “How do you know so much about her?”
“Kirabo has seven daughters, one of which she had after she became a pokewoman. I know so much about her because her seventh and only inseminated daughter is named Celestine and was the lover and partner of Graeme Wolf, the artificially inseminated son of Poppet and Jamie Harris. Kirabo wanted to see Graeme and Celestine and sent out one of her adopted daughters to retrieve them. Her instructions were a little vague and the adopted daughter went way overboard with the retrieval. It ended up with Graeme dead and Celestine fleeing where her mother couldn’t find her. I had to flesh out Celestine’s past for the story. I tend to make a lot of extra notes about characters that never make it into my writing.” He frowned. “I’m more curious as to how this Councilor Bromigo acquired the information that she did. Someone knows more than they should and they’re sharing it. I don’t like that.”
April elbowed him hard enough to knock him into Eve. “Chambers is coming over here.”
He was still rubbing his side when Monica stopped in front of them. “Undine tells me that you are married to Eve. Is this true?”
Iain looked past her to Undine, who had a gleeful smile on her face, and then back to Monica. “It is. Eve is my wife.”
Chambers smiled broadly. “Good for you, Kerrik. We need more of that in Blue.”
April blinked. “I’m surprised you feel that way. Marriage is still illegal in the league.”
Monica nodded. “Yes, it is, but I don’t agree with all of the laws in Blue and people like Kerrik are the only way that particular one will ever change.”
Iain smiled slightly. “And when you find out that I intend to marry other women in my harem, how are you going to feel, Cherry?”
A slow smile crossed Chambers’ face. “I think you’re just being too greedy then, Kerrik.”
He nodded and took April’s hand. “I am, but I’m not giving up on the idea, either.”
The Duelist clutched his fingers hard and winked at him. “And I’m not letting him get away. He’s mine now and marriage will just seal him to me that little bit more.”
Monica chuckled. “It’s a good thing Lindsey can’t hear you or the idiot would be squawking like a Chickenlittle right about now.”
April cocked her head. “I know why we don’t like her, but what do you have against Harris?”
Chambers eyed her for several seconds and then nodded almost unconsciously. “What I am about to say goes not further than this. Is that understood?” She waited until everyone muttered their agreement before continuing. “Lindsey Harris is a career politician and has spent the last forty years working for the government. In that time she has been,” she paused, obviously choosing her words with care, “adequate. She was appointed to her post before I became Minister of Defense and I had no reason to remove her when I did. I knew she was a plodder, but things were quiet and a plodder could do the job. And getting rid of her would have cost me political capital I couldn’t afford to spend at the time. But then Kerrik Wolf came and things changed. Adequate was no longer good enough. I needed someone running my special ops who could easily think outside the box and who was willing to take risks for commensurate rewards. Harris is incapable of that. She’s too cautious. I needed Churchill and I had Chamberlain. On top of that, she allowed her personal feelings for Kerrik to color her relationship with him.”
Eve frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Kerrik said he wanted an Ebony stone for the work he did helping us smash the Goth spy networks. He didn’t get one.”
April interrupted. “She said she wasn’t authorized to give one to him.”
Chambers’ mouth twisted for a second. “She was right when she said that, but I am authorized to do that sort of thing and if she’d come to me about it, I would have told her to give it to you.” Her eyes shifted to Iain. “You helped to crack spy networks that had eluded us for years. An ebony stone was a pittance to pay for what you did. I’d have given you a lot more than that for less than what we actually accomplished.”
Iain shifted uneasily. “You didn’t get them all. Kirabo told me that each of the councilors on the High Council runs their own spy ring and we missed some of them.”
“Kerrik, it’s impossible to get them all. You enabled us to cripple Sanctuary’s intelligence gathering capabilities. It’ll take them decades to rebuild, even with their auras and other magic.” She shook her head. “What Lindsey did manage to accomplish was to drive you away from us, possibly forever.” She smiled slightly. “And on a personal note, if that had happened both Lindsey and I would be dead right now.” Her smile faded. “Harris almost ruined our relationship with you, she misused the powers of her office in pursuing you and as my deputy she besmirched my professional reputation and my honor. She’s very fortunate I didn’t have her arrested on charges and sent to prison.”
April blinked. “That’s a lot.”
Monica’s eyes hardened. “That’s not all. On her watch, the Orange League infiltrated my ministry through her people and she was completely blind to it. If that had come out while she was still my deputy, I’d have had her executed for incompetence.” She sighed. “As it is, when this is all over, someone will have to fall on their sword for this and it may very well be me because it is my ministry. But if I can make sure my house is clean beforehand and that the league is safe, I’ll pay whatever price the league demands of me with a light heart.”
Iain shook his head. “I’d go down kicking and screaming, but then I never wanted a job in government. How are you doing with Undine?”
“I think she and I have reached an accommodation and we are ready to proceed. I’ve gone over your list and I have some suggestions as to strategy.”
Iain got off the rock. “Well, then, by all means let’s plot.”
***
The breeze rustled through the bushes and surrounded them with the warm smells of spring as they walked through the garden together for nearly half an hour without speaking, just enjoying the silence of each other’s company. It couldn’t last, of course, and the shorter of the two finally turned to the taller. “I know you didn’t ask me here just for this, as nice as it has been.”
The taller woman nodded slowly. “Desiree, do you remember our talks about what we’d do if we ever got into power?”
“Where we dreamed of making Sanctuary into a paradise?” The Mistress of the High Council chuckled. “We were so young then.”
“Young or not, it was still a noble dream. Do you ever miss those two idealists?”
Desiree eyed her friend sharply for a second. “I do indeed, but we have done what we could to steer Sanctuary to a better path. Why are you so nostalgic all of a sudden?”
Kirabo clasped her hands behind her back and regarded the roses in front of her absently as she thought. “You and I voted for the retrieval program because of that dream.” She paused before taking the plunge. “I was visited by a potential ally who would like to help us take steps to make that dream more of a reality.”
“I hope this ally understands we’d have to wade in blood to our waists in order to do anything like that. The whole system would have to be brought down and rebuilt from the ground up.”
“I don’t think that would really bother him all that much. In fact, I think it would be us who would have to decide where the killing ends.”
Desiree’s eyes went wide. “Him? This person is a human? How can a human help us here? Why would they want to?”
“Let me tell you a story about a visitor that I had recently. After you get over your shock, you’ll understand why he may be able to help us.”
***
Captain Douglas McKenna stepped off the bus and stretched before releasing Matilda, his White Tigress. Her ears rotated as she sampled the night air. “Home, sir,” she asked hopefully.
“No, I want to visit the pub and have a pint or three first.”
Her ears flicked backwards once before returning to their alert position. She wasn’t fond of his drinking and they both knew it. “Yes sir.”
The fastest route to the pub McKenna liked to visit cut through an alley and they headed down it with the assurance of complete familiarity. So it came as a surprise when something moved in the shadows ahead of them. Matilda stepped in front of her tamer, pulling a flashlight from her belt. The light quickly centered on a scruffy man wearing old, dirty clothes. He was leaning against the wall of the alley. A half empty bottle in one hand was half full of a pale green liquid that moved sluggishly as he lifted it to slug back a swallow. The man blinked owlishly in the light and grinned at them, revealing stained and uneven teeth. “Can ye spare some pokegirls for a man down on his luck?”
Matilda’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Behind her, McKenna made a disgusted noise. “God, what a mess he is. Keep him away from me but otherwise ignore him, Mattie.”
“Yes sir.” The White Tigress moved forward and shoved at the man. When her hand touched his shoulder there was a popping noise and she dissolved into a red cloud that floated to the pokeball on McKenna’s belt where it was sucked inside to disappear.
The flashlight had fallen from Matilda’s hand when she was involuntarily recalled and it rolled on the ground, casting the derelict human in flickering shadows as he straightened up. “What the hell?” McKenna groped for the pistol on his belt only to grunt as something grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.
A deep voice whispered in the darkness. “Scream and die or be silent and live.”
Iain picked up the light and turned it on McKenna to reveal him being pinned against the wall by Aurum, who was holding him spread eagle by the wrists. “Canaan.”
The Splice appeared next to him and stepped forward to rest the ends of her antenna against McKenna’s forehead. The captain jerked wildly for a few seconds before going limp. Only his wide eyes and heaving chest showed he was still conscious. “He’s one of them and I have what we need.”
“Why are you doing this?” McKenna’s voice was filled with fear as Aurum’s teeth glittered inches from his face. “I don’t have much money but you can have it all.”
Canaan turned to Iain. “What about his pokegirl?”
Iain pulled the pokeball from McKenna’s belt and handed it to her. “Vacuum out her mind and then give her to Eirian when you’re done. She’s not going back into general circulation after finding out about the recall spell.”
“I’ll see you in a bit.” Canaan vanished.
Iain turned to Aurum. “We’re done with him.” He quickly backed up to be out of the way.
The Dragoness released McKenna and smashed him sideways with her fist, knocking him farther into the alley and breaking several of his ribs. She strode forward as he gasped and tried to push upright, grabbing him by the shoulder and flipping him onto his back. Her head dropped and he tried to scream as her first bite crushed his ribcage and pulped his heart. She twisted her head and ripped free of his body, lifting her head to gulp down the mouthful of meat as blood ran her face and splattered around and over the corpse. Then she went back for more, this time her target the soft belly and sweet organs inside, deliberately slicing off the front of McKenna’s tamer belt where Matilda’s pokeball would have ridden as she bit down.
Iain watched as she continued feeding for a minute more before reaching out through the link they shared. That’s enough. They’ll think he was killed by a random feral. For an instant he felt something warm, soft and coppery with the taste of blood sliding down his throat as their minds touched and he gagged as his stomach lurched. Dominique appeared next to him and slipped her arm through his as the Dragoness straightened up.
Yes, my lord. Aurum spread her wings. I shall fly away as planned and then seek out Canaan for the cat. Dominique took Iain away as she vaulted into the air.
***
“It looks like they weren’t worried about being discovered as being from the Orange League since his real name was Douglass McKenna. The job where he worked, as you already knew, was as the base logistical coordinator here in Dublin.” Canaan’s eyes ignored Chambers as she sat next to Iain to focus exclusively on the man in her life. “He was receiving extra pokegirls that had been shipped out from two other bases and weren’t on the manifests. Those were transferred to an airship going to the Orange League. The BLSF trained pokegirls they were siphoning off were being replaced with mislabeled pokeballs containing civilian and feral pokegirls from long term storage and confiscations in Blue. Since the numbers were not changing and the pokeballs were marked for emergency use only, it was unlikely that the switch would be discovered for years. Even if one or two of the substitutions were discovered, the odds were very good that it would be blamed on a mix-up from when they were originally stored. Regular emergency stores inventories do not include releasing the pokegirl to make sure that she’s not feral and is what she is supposed to be.”
Monica’s face was grim. “How many did they steal?”
“This year they shipped a little over five hundred trained military pokegirls.” Her head cocked. “They were planning to start raiding the Saxony and other depot storage programs for the pokegirls stored there as soon as they could locate them.”
“I’ll see all of those whoresons in Hell.” Chambers looked slightly ill at the news. “Who does he know that’s not on our list?”
“Since I’ve already added them to your list, nobody, but there were nearly a dozen names that I had to add.” The Splice refocused on Iain. “You know what we really need to do. Cut off the head and the body will be easy to remove.”
Iain looked to his right. “Eve?”
“If they think that McKenna was killed by a feral, there shouldn’t be any extra security on Mulroney. Monica, do you have an idea of what kind of protection he normally has?”
Chambers frowned. “Regularly our security is provided by our harem, even for ranking members in the ministry. Only the league president and the other members of the council receive extra protection. However, considering that Mulroney is an Orange League spy, I can’t tell what might be waiting in his home.”
Iain smiled cheerfully. “That’s why I don’t intend to go anywhere near his property. That particular little adventure is a job for commandos and a bomb squad. Does he know I’m an admiral?”
“Considering he’s acting as the Minister of Defense in my absence, if he didn’t know about it before, he does now.”
“Good. That’ll help. How do you feel if the next step is Minister Mulroney, Cherry?”
“He’s a traitor to the oath he took when he joined the BLSF and he’s a traitor to the oath he took when he joined the Ministry. You’ll have to clean out the ministry when you take him or Orange will find out before I want them to.”
Canaan grinned savagely. “Unless they’ve got a parallel operation that Mulroney doesn’t know anything about, I don’t see where that will be a problem. He’ll know who everyone in the ministry is and as soon as I get into his mind, I’ll know what he does.” Her eyes flicked back to Iain. “It would be much faster if I could kill him.” Eating his brains would let me know everything about him and I wouldn’t have to be concerned about missing something important.
“No,” Monica said firmly. “I need him alive for the trial.”
Canaan snorted. “Now I know what you need. Kerrik, what do you want?”
“We’ll take him alive if we can. It’s possible he’ll have some kind of warning system or spell for if he dies.”
Canaan looked thoughtful. “The renegade Alaka-Wham is probably their surveillance system. Unless they’re delta bonded she can’t monitor him full time, but she probably does regular checks. She’ll have to go before we take him or at the same time because she can warn the others if we get unlucky. We’ll need to know her routine.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Iain looked thoughtful. “What is the composition of his harem?”
“He has three pokegirls that I know of,” Monica began. “He’s got a Sparkanine, a Demoness who is his alpha and an Omegan. They’re not out all that often while he’s at work.” She shrugged. “Because of that and my schedule, I haven’t had the chance to talk to them and learn their names.” She frowned thoughtfully. “I take all of my subordinates out regularly for meals and small events to get to know them and sometimes we have to work weekends. I try to meet everyone, including their harems because of how important I know they are and because it builds a team atmosphere that encourages strong esprit de corps. Now that I think about it, Duncan was always ready with an excuse so that most of his coworkers didn’t spend a lot of time around his pokegirls.”
“I wonder why he’d do that.” Eve was sitting crosslegged next to Iain. Her eyes narrowed. “How long has he had them?”
Chambers shrugged. “I don’t know. Harris would, though.”
Canaan’s antenna unfurled. “According to Lindsey, Duncan Mulroney liked being involved in the action and his harem was killed in a hostage situation in Dublin two years ago when someone set off a bomb. He almost died during the incident and went on some convalescent vacation, returning with the pokegirls he has now.” Her antenna shifted as if for better reception. “The Sparkanine was a Hound then.”
Dominique smirked. “Then we know what happened. He went to Orange and got a replacement team. They were handy and got slotted in and probably weren’t as well trained as he wanted. They could have off accents or mannerisms from Orange that might tip them off to someone vigilant. That’s why he keeps them away from everyone else.”
Eve’s eyebrows went up. “It could also explain why they’re all dark types. It would mean he didn’t have to worry about their stray thoughts getting picked up by a random psychic.
Chambers was looked at Canaan. “You do realize that you just violated Harris’ mind without permission. That’s a pretty serious crime in the Blue League.”
The Splice gave her an amused look. “First of all, I don’t work for you. Second, we are not in the Blue League and I can’t break its laws when I’m not in its lands. And finally and third,” she broke off and her eyes flicked towards Iain. “Nevermind.”
“What were you going to say?”
“Kerrik doesn’t think I should say it and, upon reflection, I agree with him.”
Iain spoke up. “Third, you made me an admiral and ordered me to do whatever I had to do in order to stop the agents, so drop it Cherry.”
She blinked and suddenly a smile flickered around her lips. “That’s Minister Cherry to you, mister.” Everyone chuckled at that. “You’re right, I did tell you to do whatever got the job done, but I can’t help suspecting you’d do what you wanted to regardless of whether I’d given you permission.”
Iain scratched his head and tried to look completely innocent. “I have no idea what you’re insinuating.”
“I didn’t think you would. How are you going to catch Mulroney?”
“I’m working on that. Taking him at home means we have to play on his territory and whatever preparations he has set up for unwanted visitors. I don’t want to do that. Taking him at work is just as problematic, since I can’t announce I’m arresting him for treason against the Blue League. It’s possible that whoever jumps me at that point might just be loyal to Blue and merely defending their boss and the acting minister of defense and have no idea he’s from Orange. He’s got his harem out when he’s driving to and from work, so that would involve a firefight in London. I don’t want to hurt people who are trying to do their jobs if I don’t have to and killing civilians is counterproductive.” He glanced at Eve. “I think I may have to try to lure him elsewhere.”
“How are you going to do that?”
He smiled. “I have an idea.”
***
Vanessa opened the door and threw herself into Iain’s arms. “It’s so good to see you!” She held him tightly and kissed him hard.
After a bit, Eve tapped her on the shoulder. “He’s starting to turn blue, Vanessa. I think he needs to breathe.”
She broke the kiss and relaxed her grip. Iain sucked air into his lungs. “Thanks,” he gasped.
Eve shook her head. “It’s only been a few days.”
Vanessa snorted. “Next time you stay away from him then and we’ll see how much you missed him. Do you two have time for breakfast?”
“We do.” Eve tugged Iain inside and gently kicked the door shut. “It’s not morning in the Dark Continent and we need to get back to Blue time. Want some help?”
“Sure. You get started while I get Iain’s letter from Kelvin.”
Iain’s groaned softly. “I’ve got more mail from him? Fine, I’ll be in the dining room.”
The redhead looked at him curiously. “You don’t like getting mail from Kelvin?”
“We’re not pen pals, Vanessa, and don’t exchange recipes or sports trivia in our mail. His letters come to me for a reason and mine go to him for a reason and those reasons never result in a simpler or quieter life for either of us. I don’t like messages from Kelvin and I don’t dislike messages from him either.” He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. “That probably sounds bad.”
Vanessa moved around behind him and pushed him gently but firmly into a chair. He groaned as strong fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders. “You’re as stiff as a board, Iain,” she said quietly as she worked. “You keep your stress in your shoulders, don’t you?”
“Shoulders and back, or so I’ve been told.”
“You’ve been pretty busy these last few days. It shows in your muscles.”
He snorted. “You could say that. I revealed myself to Kirabo and asked for her help.”
“If it seemed like the right thing to do at the time then I’m glad you did. If she’s willing to help, this might be a lot less bloody than the situation you and Dominique are planning for. What’s bothering you the most?”
“It feels like thing are spiraling out of control and I can’t get my hands on the situation. That’s when people important to me get hurt or even dead.”
“Everything will work out, Iain.”
“Of course they will, but that’s no guarantee that nobody else will die.”
She stopped and kissed him on the back of the neck. “You mean nobody on our side.”
“Of course that’s what I mean. I don’t want to kill people on the other side if I don’t have to, but if I do, I’m more than willing to do the deed.” He sighed. “And now I am waiting on Kirabo to decide what she’s going to do. Because I want her help, I am now forced into a position of being reactive instead of proactive. That’s when things get really dangerous since they can set up traps I have to enter to find out if they’re actually traps.”
“There is no way to guarantee someone dear to you won’t die, Iain. Even keeping them out of combat can’t protect everyone forever. All the preparation in the universe can’t keep that from being true. All you can do is deal with the calamity at hand. Remember that and your course will be obvious and easier to safeguard.”
He nodded and pulled away from her to stand. “You’re right. Please go get Kelvin’s letter and meet me in the dining room.”
When she showed up in the dining room, Iain had a cup of tea and had gotten what he called his writing kit out of his pokepack. He was whistling softly and tapping his pen on the tabletop in time to the music. She paused and watched him for a few seconds before he smiled and stopped whistling. “I’m not really doing anything all that interesting, I’m afraid.”
“You’re not as worried as you were a few minutes ago.” She came forward and dropped a sealed letter in front of him.
“Someone gave me an excellent backrub and good counsel, which I listened to a bit.” He picked up the letter and broke the seal. “Let’s see what Kelvin has to say.” He began reading.
Kerrik, I had an unusual request, from Granny, to transcribe a letter she wrote to you. I suspect so you wouldn't believe that either spell or chemical had attached itself to the letter. To that end, I've worn different sets of gloves while handling the pages of the letter given and the letter forwarded. I doubt that there is anything, but they are acknowledging your concerns, even if they regard them as paranoia. I also will be including commentary if I think clarification is necessary.
Mr. Wolf,
I suspect you know Granny, of the Sages. As another 'ex-Navy' I embraced Non sibi sed patriae. As you well know, the only easy day was yesterday. I have monitored yourself, your two immediate allies, as well as almost a dozen other minor players. Most of them made an initial splash, then went to ground and have not been seen since. I also know that you have not been well treated by the government you designed. A bit of schadenfreude makes me ask 'whose fault is that'?
While the mages of Nuevo Tenochtitl…n are drooling at the chance of having you as a teacher, student, or study subject. I can and if you desire, will put my foot down and get you a professorship, or lecturer position at any, several or all of the colleges and universities of the Sunshine League, including Nuevo Ten. After all, Pax per scientiam, you and your allies have access to information and more importantly techniques about science, engineering, even archeology that are unknown or imperfectly understood. Having someone else, especially a human male or two, who has access to much of that information, would profit not just the League that is my home, but the world as a whole. I ask you to consider emigrating. I also have the ability to make Kerrik Wolf, Iain Grey and Austin Drummond vanish completely. There is a branch of our government that debriefs and assists dimensional travelers, keeping them from falling afoul of those who would exploit them, while integrating them into their new lives. We have experience in providing for their needs.
You could also become an author, your and Mr. Choice's works are already among the most widely read and avidly studied in the Sunshine League government, and that of the few governments we have shared them with. I fear that they are equally of intense scrutiny by Sanctuary, who we obtained them from. Although their leadership regards them as Mein Kampf, and the populace as Uncle Tom's Cabin and Plato's Republic rolled into one. It would certainly guarantee an immediate audience should you decide to publish. I think I can picture Mr. Choice's face as he reads this. I'm glad you cannot see my laughter. Dignity, always dignity.
Not all of this is a recruiting poster. Sources have determined that someone or something has impersonated Legendaries, with sufficient precision that even other Legendaries are fooled. Several Legendaries have been impersonated, and they have always gone undetected. We have not detected a pattern, nor a goal. Beware.
I offer my sympathies for your recent losses. Another reason to consider relocation. We have resources that could preclude a repetition of such incidents. Resources that would not interfere with you leading as normal a life as you wish.
I do not wish to know your plans, unless they include relocation. In that case, I can assign a liaison to assist you. I will admit, we are more likely to 'study' although not to a Jane Goodall-level, than attempt control. I do ask you consider the option. And understand I will offer the other Authors we encounter the same options.
Regards,
Granny, Sage of the Sunshine League
Kerrik,
As they say, no news is good news. I can't see anything to comment on. Granny usually is straightforward. On the home front, I think I may change my 'stand clear' to a 'HELP!' Somehow, you'd think knowing what was coming would give you some warning that something was coming. The new surprise arrived, and if Lucifer and company have been dancing in the streets, it's because 1) they've coopted approximately 63% of the remaining Celestial Alliance. Mostly grunts, and a pack of mid-level managers who desperately want to go back to being mid-level managers. Amazing, Megami are immune to the Peter Principle. And 2), they've agreed to release the captives of Caomh Sith to us (the Des Moines and their new allies). The other shoe I was concerned would crush me and everyone in the blast radius has fallen. Caomh Sith is a storage depot, from the Revenge War, of politicals, and people for whom the transformation into Pokègirls hasn't taken properly. Yes, they have partially transformed humans, from 300+ years ago. By the way, you're simply adorable as a Candy Catgirl.
Hmm, heard the thud from here. Sorry, couldn't resist. How many of these will require extensive life-support on being released from timeless storage, I do not know. How many are insane from the process, I do not know. How many were swearing revenge to the death, and on whom, I do not know. How many there are, I do: Over forty-eight hundred. If Granny and the others want experts from the past, she may get several hundred, all of whom may need deep counseling and intense psychotherapy.
As I said, my cup runneth over, and I've got the boot-prints to prove it. And you always claimed I collected armies. I may just have one. I think my patron sent your patron the text of a plan to take Sanctuary's capital, and thus the Dark Continent, lock, stock and barrel. Without heavy gunfire support, I think it would be too risky, but guess what! We'll have heavy gunfire support very soon. I'd call it convenient, if I didn't see it as bait for a trap. Sorry to sound like I'm whining, but I put my depression on paper and get on with doing what needs be done.
Miguelito has worked out the parameters on dealing with our other problem. We only have a periodic launch window of 12 seconds, but all the vectors will drive that particular storage unit straight into the sun. Gravity alone should be able to hold that personality. If the molecular bonds hold under those conditions, the physics of this universe is seriously distorted.
Also, Miguelito mentions you enter fugue states, whether this was true or polite obfuscation for zoning out on him may be important. I have recently been getting flashes, glimpses of what appeared to be worlds overlapping our own. Then I detected their relative unreality, and their attachment to dreams/visions/ideas I've had for my own writing. Considering all the irrational stuff that's been happening lately, I'm uncertain how much is real, and how much is one of these fugue states. Unless I have witnesses. Reports are I 'wink out', so that even though they can see me, all bonds are useless to reach where my personality has gone. I suspect that a powerful psychic has been probing for weak spots and vulnerabilities. I will attempt to ascertain the limits of their powers, and deal with them. I thought as you did, that we were immune to psychic attack. Although it may be we are immune to having anything removed, we may not be immune to having something added. Something to keep your eye on.
Kelvin
Mr. Wolf,
I suspect you know Granny, of the Sages. As another 'ex-Navy' I embraced Non sibi sed patriae. As you well know, the only easy day was yesterday. I have monitored yourself, your two immediate allies, as well as almost a dozen other minor players. Most of them made an initial splash, then went to ground and have not been seen since. I also know that you have not been well treated by the government you designed. A bit of schadenfreude makes me ask 'whose fault is that'?
While the mages of Nuevo Tenochtitl…n are drooling at the chance of having you as a teacher, student, or study subject. I can and if you desire, will put my foot down and get you a professorship, or lecturer position at any, several or all of the colleges and universities of the Sunshine League, including Nuevo Ten. After all, Pax per scientiam, you and your allies have access to information and more importantly techniques about science, engineering, even archeology that are unknown or imperfectly understood. Having someone else, especially a human male or two, who has access to much of that information, would profit not just the League that is my home, but the world as a whole. I ask you to consider emigrating. I also have the ability to make Kerrik Wolf, Iain Grey and Austin Drummond vanish completely. There is a branch of our government that debriefs and assists dimensional travelers, keeping them from falling afoul of those who would exploit them, while integrating them into their new lives. We have experience in providing for their needs.
You could also become an author, your and Mr. Choice's works are already among the most widely read and avidly studied in the Sunshine League government, and that of the few governments we have shared them with. I fear that they are equally of intense scrutiny by Sanctuary, who we obtained them from. Although their leadership regards them as Mein Kampf, and the populace as Uncle Tom's Cabin and Plato's Republic rolled into one. It would certainly guarantee an immediate audience should you decide to publish. I think I can picture Mr. Choice's face as he reads this. I'm glad you cannot see my laughter. Dignity, always dignity.
Not all of this is a recruiting poster. Sources have determined that someone or something has impersonated Legendaries, with sufficient precision that even other Legendaries are fooled. Several Legendaries have been impersonated, and they have always gone undetected. We have not detected a pattern, nor a goal. Beware.
I offer my sympathies for your recent losses. Another reason to consider relocation. We have resources that could preclude a repetition of such incidents. Resources that would not interfere with you leading as normal a life as you wish.
I do not wish to know your plans, unless they include relocation. In that case, I can assign a liaison to assist you. I will admit, we are more likely to 'study' although not to a Jane Goodall-level, than attempt control. I do ask you consider the option. And understand I will offer the other Authors we encounter the same options.
Regards,
Granny, Sage of the Sunshine League
Kerrik,
As they say, no news is good news. I can't see anything to comment on. Granny usually is straightforward. On the home front, I think I may change my 'stand clear' to a 'HELP!' Somehow, you'd think knowing what was coming would give you some warning that something was coming. The new surprise arrived, and if Lucifer and company have been dancing in the streets, it's because 1) they've coopted approximately 63% of the remaining Celestial Alliance. Mostly grunts, and a pack of mid-level managers who desperately want to go back to being mid-level managers. Amazing, Megami are immune to the Peter Principle. And 2), they've agreed to release the captives of Caomh Sith to us (the Des Moines and their new allies). The other shoe I was concerned would crush me and everyone in the blast radius has fallen. Caomh Sith is a storage depot, from the Revenge War, of politicals, and people for whom the transformation into Pokègirls hasn't taken properly. Yes, they have partially transformed humans, from 300+ years ago. By the way, you're simply adorable as a Candy Catgirl.
Hmm, heard the thud from here. Sorry, couldn't resist. How many of these will require extensive life-support on being released from timeless storage, I do not know. How many are insane from the process, I do not know. How many were swearing revenge to the death, and on whom, I do not know. How many there are, I do: Over forty-eight hundred. If Granny and the others want experts from the past, she may get several hundred, all of whom may need deep counseling and intense psychotherapy.
As I said, my cup runneth over, and I've got the boot-prints to prove it. And you always claimed I collected armies. I may just have one. I think my patron sent your patron the text of a plan to take Sanctuary's capital, and thus the Dark Continent, lock, stock and barrel. Without heavy gunfire support, I think it would be too risky, but guess what! We'll have heavy gunfire support very soon. I'd call it convenient, if I didn't see it as bait for a trap. Sorry to sound like I'm whining, but I put my depression on paper and get on with doing what needs be done.
Miguelito has worked out the parameters on dealing with our other problem. We only have a periodic launch window of 12 seconds, but all the vectors will drive that particular storage unit straight into the sun. Gravity alone should be able to hold that personality. If the molecular bonds hold under those conditions, the physics of this universe is seriously distorted.
Also, Miguelito mentions you enter fugue states, whether this was true or polite obfuscation for zoning out on him may be important. I have recently been getting flashes, glimpses of what appeared to be worlds overlapping our own. Then I detected their relative unreality, and their attachment to dreams/visions/ideas I've had for my own writing. Considering all the irrational stuff that's been happening lately, I'm uncertain how much is real, and how much is one of these fugue states. Unless I have witnesses. Reports are I 'wink out', so that even though they can see me, all bonds are useless to reach where my personality has gone. I suspect that a powerful psychic has been probing for weak spots and vulnerabilities. I will attempt to ascertain the limits of their powers, and deal with them. I thought as you did, that we were immune to psychic attack. Although it may be we are immune to having anything removed, we may not be immune to having something added. Something to keep your eye on.
Kelvin
“Hmm, it’s actually two letters. Granny wrote to me and had Kelvin recopy it so I know she’s not trying to bewitch me. She asked me to move to Sunshine and says I have a job waiting for me. Kelvin now thinks he might want our help after all, although not necessarily with the same problem he had before. It looks like the assault on Caomh Sith has been canceled and they pretty much capitulated. He’s also got an idea for a plan to take Sanctuary City and then the Dark Continent.” He skimmed the letters at Vanessa. “Please read them and then take them to Eve so she can too.” He pulled some sheets of paper out of his writing kit and settled back to think for a while before answering the letters. He’d gone back to whistling when he decided what to say, at least in the first letter to Granny. Finally he decided what it was going to be.
Mistress Weatherwax,
While surprised to hear from you, I wish to express my gratitude at your concern for my wellbeing. My misfortune at the hands of certain incompetent individuals in the Blue League was due to the fact that I didn’t create the league to be a paradise for me or for anyone else. Instead I wanted it to be what the pokegirl universe needed in a place that wasn’t based off of a sporting event, video game or someone’s fantasy about nirvana and unbridled sex. It was to be a place where life is possible, gritty and tough, but not without reward. I believe I have succeeded since a lot of my ideas were borrowed for other leagues when their field guides were written.
While I am sure your heart is in the right place, i.e. located in your chest, behind your ribs and between your breasts, the truth is that I have not earned a place on the faculty of any of the universities within the Sunshine League and therefore I would not be comfortable with you or anyone else forcing the faculty of any place to accept me. Besides, their pleasure at my presence would probably quickly evaporate after my protector had departed since I had not earned my position there. Being a student might be interesting, but right now the school of magic I study is practiced only by me and therefore finding a master to tutor me might be problematic. So that leaves only study subject and, right now, I suspect that I would be a poor one indeed.
At the moment I do not appear to need asylum and, in fact, I’m back to working with the Blue League government on a small project that is currently taking a good deal of my time. After that I have some other commitments that I have to fulfill before I would be free to take on additional obligations. At that time, perhaps we might negotiate my visiting the Sunshine League to be a guest lecturer at Nuevo Tech or somewhere else. Who knows, I might even earn an offer of a more permanent position somewhere in doing so.
Becoming a writer again is a very, very good lure on your part, and I congratulate you on your strategy. Once things settle down and I have some free time, I may consider it.
Thank you for the information about the individuals who are masquerading as legendary pokegirls. It is very interesting, but from information that I possess I may have some suspicion as to who is behind at least some of the impersonations. The danger from them is minimal, but I must admit that I have no idea of what the goal could be. When I see them again, rest assured that I shall ask.
It is not necessary to have Kelvin rewrite any messages that you wish delivered to me. I know that you are devoted to the Sunshine League and that you will do what you feel is necessary to keep it safe and sound, but I am not a threat to anything that you hold dear and I know that you would do nothing that might change my status in that regard.
I remain respectfully yours,
Kerrik Wolf
Author and Misfit
He reread it and snickered. “That sounds just about perfect. And now it’s time for the response to Kelvin.” He sipped at his tea and stared at the ceiling while thinking. Finally he slowly started writing.
Kelvin,
I stand ready to give you whatever aid I can, as long as you truly desire it.
So, my analog here is a Candy Catgirl, is he? Poor sod. I wonder if he’s a mage like I am. If so, he might be interested in learning it in hopes of finding a way to become something else.
I am very glad I am not him.
Forty eight hundred political time castaways is a remarkable number. Given the possibilities inherent in a cross section of the world at that time, Granny might want to rescind her offers to me and instead help those people.
I haven’t heard anything about plans to take over Sanctuary, but, as Kerrik Wolf, I have made contact with one of the members of the High Council and she seems interested in an offer I made to her to transform Sanctuary from within. However, I would be interested in hearing about any plans that you have.
If there is a trap in the heavy support, then you should avoid setting it off, even if it means we have to wait a little while in dealing with that particular problem.
I wish you the best in dealing with that other problem. It is a serious one and any permanent solution would be vastly appreciated by everyone if they knew what had been done.
I was having issues with fugue states because my time sense had been damaged during my stays with the hosts provided by Sanctuary. It has gotten better, but I do still have them from time to time (pardon the pun). I don’t think these were caused by psychic pokegirls, but I will share that idea with my psychic therapist and see what she can discover in my head. If I can help your problem in any way, do not hesitate to ask for it.
I have fallen into a plot by the Orange League against Blue and have to deal with this since someone thinks that the death of a friend of mine and possibly my own demise would serve their purpose. While you returned once, I’m not in any hurry to see if I could possibly duplicate your accomplishment. Therefore Orange must be stopped. However, if you need aid, I will be there as quickly as possible and Blue can wait.
I haven’t heard anything from Micah in a while and I hope that he is as well as he can be.
Be well and I await your call.
Kerrik
He checked the letters over and put them down on the table for Eve and Vanessa to read. After that they’d be sealed and Vanessa would deliver them to the Daisy Mae.
***
Dominique appeared and let Chambers go. Having already expressed her opinion at the stupidity involved in this visit to Wales, she didn’t say anything as she looked around for something to vent her fury on, but the night was quiet. Her eyes flicked to Canaan when the Splice appeared for a second before she went back to watching for danger to Monica.
Chambers released Undine. “Where are we, Dominique?”
“This is Newtown. It fills the requirements you wanted,” Dominique replied curtly.
The Neo gave her an even look. “Show my mistress some respect.”
“This is insane. I don’t respect the mad.” She pointed, ignoring Undine’s glower. “Newtown has only one police station. As ordered, there it is.”
“Come with me.” Chambers headed briskly for the building.
Dominique glanced at Canaan, who shrugged. Eve’s instructions to allow this had been clear. Taking a deep breathe, the Archmage headed after Chambers and Undine. “Stay alert,” she muttered irritably.
“I will.”
Chambers marched into the police station and looked at the Officerjenny sitting behind the counter. She pulled out her identification and tossed it at the blue haired pokegirl. “In accordance with the League Protection Act of 110 AS I am invoking the Lexington protocol. You are officially moved from reserve to active duty in the BLSF military. How many pokegirls are on duty right now?”
The Officerjenny read the ID and shot to her feet. “Minister, counting myself there are nine pokegirls on duty right now. The morning shift is fourteen members and the afternoon shift is twenty strong. We’ve also got ten humans divided up between the morning and afternoon shift and two on duty at night.”
“As they report to work or to go home you are to activate them under the Lexington protocol.”
“Yes, minister!”
Canaan’s antenna twitched as she communicated with her harem sister. What is the Lexington protocol?
Dominique was outside, leaning against the wall beside the entrance to the police station. It means they’re supposed to not inform the humans here as to what has happened. They’ll continue with business as usual with the exception of putting together their assault gear in the armory, including opening the heavy weapon vault and distributing what’s in there. Chambers is turning them into a ready reserve in case she needs an ad hoc assault or detainment force. If nothing happens, she’ll stand them down and they’ll put everything back where it belongs with the humans none the wiser. If Monica needs them, they’ll brief their humans and activate them as well.
Canaan leaned against the wall inside the building in exactly the same point that Dominique was outside and watched the interior alertly. Isn’t this dangerous?
Officerjenny are completely obedient to the law and so they can’t be traitors to the league. They’ll vet the rest of the department and keep any questionable people out of the loop instead of activating them.
Is this Blue League paranoia in action?
Contingency planning isn’t paranoid. It’s prudent. Only a small group of people can invoke the Lexington protocol and none of them can countermand the Minister of Defense. Besides, if it means those Officerjenny can be used to soak up bullets and other unsavory things meant for Iain or us, I’m all for it.
Inside the building, Canaan grinned suddenly. You won’t get any argument from me.
***
Iain Grey - Tradesman
Living Harem
Eve - Megami-sama (maharani)
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
April - Duelist
Ninhursag - Elfqueen
Zareen - Nightmare
Pandora - Fiendish Fallen Angel
Canaan - G-Splice (Amachamp Hunter/Alaka-Wham)
Sofia - Peekabu
Raquel - Rapitaur
Dead Harem
Eirian - Silver Dragoness
Skye - Blue Dragoness
Emerald - Green Dragoness
Aurum - Gold Dragoness
Beryl - Red Dragoness
Julia - human
Ling - Cheetit