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Grey Chronicles
Twenty Eight
(11/25/08 0430 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
The sentry was doing her rounds on the outskirts of Shield when she noticed something odd to the east. The horizon was flickering like a distant lightning storm. She had never seen anything like it before but as a veteran of the Sisterhood she knew what it had to be and her twee instantly sounded the alarm that they were under an artillery bombardment from Indigo.
Iain sat up and reached for his clothes as his twee fed him information. “Theodora, I need flight profiles on the incoming artillery.”
Theodora is not responding, his twee reported. The satellite constellation is reporting that two thirds of the satellites are not responding and presumed destroyed. Local C3 protocols are in place and operating at full efficiency.
“Shit. How the fuck did they do that?” Iain struggled into his pants and grabbed his shirt and boots before dashing out the door. “Activate two thirds of the radar installations and feed local control to the Gunvalkyries. Have half of them freeze in place and execute the firing plan as best they can. When the others begin arriving at their posts, release the frozen ones as the others go live. Order a satellite to park overhead when you’ve got the time. Tell Lucifer to evac the noncombatants.”
Done. As soon as the alert had sounded, the Sisterhood’s Gunvalkyrie pokegirls had begun racing for their designated defense posts. Half of them stopped moving and unlimbered their cannon as the other continued running. Their twee fed them telemetry from the two dozen radar units that bloomed into life around Shield and their weapons lifted and aimed. Ragged fire began destroying as much of the incoming artillery rounds as they could. As the others made it to their posts, they added their fire to anti-artillery operations, which allowed their sisters to begin joining them.
They got most of the incoming fire, but a handful of rounds made it through and the ground rocked as 155mm howitzer rounds blew apart houses and cratered roads. As more of the Gunvalkyries made it to their firing positions, fewer and fewer rounds penetrated the web of plasma fire they had to traverse to reach Shield.
Iain skidded through the doorway to the command post and tossed his shirt and boots in a corner. Analysis of the radar tracks and flight profiles indicates that we are under attack by nearly a hundred tubes of various sizes. It is likely that the ILA stripped most of the East Coast of artillery for this assault. This is not a probe. I will not be able to get a functioning satellite into position for half an hour.
“Motherfucker.” Iain’s head came around as Eve teleported in. “We’ve got no eyes. Get recon out to the bridge and the dam. If they’re already crossing we need to blow the bridge before they can throw the bulk of their forces across. Note for the future we need to preposition a unit out there as an advance guard and set up sensors in both the dam and the bridge.” He grimaced. “At least we did already rig the bridge for local detonation.”
She nodded and closed her eyes as she accessed her twee.
Sensors were emplaced on the dam when Theodora began repairs to it. They’re not combat grade units but I will look at data from them to see what I can discover.
“Less telling and more doing,” Iain muttered.
Iain, I can’t call up a storm. Ninhursag sounded irritated. The other side has somebody over there powerful enough to keep it from forming. They’re not strong enough to make their own, though, so the situation will stay static. I’m joining my Elves heading out to scout.
Be careful. He felt her acknowledgment. “Ninhursag got shut down trying to brew up a storm by the other side’s magic users. Considering we don’t have satellites right now it’s not really a bad thing. She’s taking her Elves to the bridge.”
Dominique flashed a quick humorless smile. “I asked her to teach me how to do it so I could throw my weight behind her weather witchery, but no, she had to be selfish and keep the spell to herself.”
Outside, fast centaur pokegirls raced east, carrying Ninhursag and her Elves. They dropped the Elves off a few kilometers from the bridge and headed back for Shield. Ninhursag, Dionne and Adrianna divided up the Elves into three squads and led them off, the Elf breeds fading into the terrain as they travelled.
Iain, the Indigos have gotten some tanks and infantry across the bridge already. Adrianna’s unit is moving to blow the bridge before more of them get across. I’m feeding location data as I see things. They have low fliers. I see Cobras and Apaches.
“Thank you, Ninhursag.” Iain looked at Lucifer. “I want a company to move down the road to engage the Indigo advance. They are to bloody them and break contact, so make sure they’re fast enough to get away. Note to self, know more about Thorn units, capabilities and composition.”
“I’m on it,” the Megami-sama replied. “The noncombatants are evacuated to the central Texas point.”
The bridge is destroyed. Ninhursag’s people are keeping out of sight and continuing to observe the ILA forces. She thinks they’ll try to begin bridging the river with pontoons.
“Good. She’s probably right.” Iain was setting up his pokedex. The display lit, throwing a hologram map of the area onto the table in the center of the room. “According to telemetry from Ninhursag’s unit, the bridge and the dam sensors it looks like most of a tank company and associated infantry made it over the bridge before Adrianna’s team blew it. The infantry is mixed pokegirls and humans. The good news is that the ILA has the pokegirls dispersed among the humans and the infantry is acting as support for the armor, so they’ll be moving no faster than the tanks do. Either they don’t trust them to operate independently or they don’t understand the capabilities pokegirls can have when turned loose to fight.”
“Who said it has to be either,” Dominique pointed out. “They could be untrusting and clueless.”
Incoming fire has slackened considerably. The tubes will have been forced by heat to switch from maximum fire to maximum sustained fire, which is usually one half to one third of the maximum rate. Even with that, the cost to the barrels will be immense and there’s no way to know how fast Indigo can make new barrel liners. We don’t know enough about Indigo manufacturing capabilities or if Haven is supplying them with such items.
“That’s more good news. Lucifer, you can have a third of the Gunvalkyries for those helicopters.”
The Megami-sama didn’t quite sneer. “Thanks but you keep them for Shield. Every company in the Sisterhood has aerial combat pokegirls in it and a heavy ranged technique squad. Those low fliers are dead meat when they attack us.”
“Fine. Dominique, take care of it. Ninhursag, you’re free to engage as soon as the Thorn company does so. Hurt those engineers.”
***
The sky was starting to lighten as Ninhursag watched the engineering unit laying pontoons on the river. Humans gave orders and worked alongside pokegirls with enhanced strength who manhandled the pontoons into position. The nineteen tanks that had made it over the bridge before it was destroyed had spread out and were taking advantage of any cover they could find. Their attention was focused to the west where any attack should come from. The infantry was dispersed in clumps close enough to support the tanks but far enough away to allow the armored vehicles to use their main guns without worry.
Interestingly enough, all of the tanks she could see sprouted lines of cable or heavy chain that were attached to the chassis and dragged on the ground behind them. It was an attempt to ground the tanks in order to mitigate the damage electrical techniques could do to the tank’s electrical systems. It made sense as a thunderbolt or electrically aligned arrow could blow all of the fuses in a tank without doing other serious damage, but leaving it as helpless as a rabbit in a cage.
The amusing thing, at least to Ninhursag and her Elves, was that they were already inside the perimeter and had been since before it was established. They’d grown up the grass as well as placed bushes and small trees everywhere weeks ago and these provided more than enough terrain for the Elves to hide in, although one poor Elf had to move a little when a tank had taken refuge behind her bushes. She’d slipped underneath the tank once it had settled down and was ready to cut the treads with an energy blade before escaping when the fighting started.
The Sisterhood unit had arrived on scene fifteen or twenty minutes ago and was still deploying for the assault. Ninhursag would have been happier if they’d moved faster, but she understood they wanted to do this right. The Thorn commander would want to evaluate the situation with her own eyes no matter how much data she’d received beforehand and the Elfqueen could appreciate that even while being concerned that her scouts would be discovered before the Thorns attacked.
Captain Nike reports she will commence her attack in forty five seconds. She requests that the Elf under the tank move somewhere else as that vehicle is slated for destruction in the first salvo.
Ninhursag gritted her teeth. Paeonia, get out of there. If you’re discovered we’ll cover you. Twee, inform Nike that I will tell her when Paeonia is safe and she is not to attack before then.
Captain Nike reports that she is in position and cannot delay long without losing the advantage of surprise. She requests your Elf move her ass immediately.
Ninhursag chuckled silently as she watched Paeonia slithering away from the tank. My Elf’s ass is in motion. Give her twenty seconds and Nike is weapons free.
Message delivered. Nike says good luck and keep your head down. Ten seconds.
Her twee spun down the count. At zero five hyper beams speared five tanks squarely. All exploded with tremendous roars, throwing heavy chunks of debris for dozens of meters. For an instant Ninhursag worried about where those tons of metal were going to land and then put it out of her mind as she drew her bow. Loose.
Fifteen arrows took fifteen officers and senior noncoms in the chest or throat. Not all of them were from the engineering unit, but each and every one of them had showed leadership potential during the time that Ninhursag had been observing them. All died instantly or within seconds of being hit. The next volley was in the air before the first one hit and fifteen more people, this time a mix of humans and vital pokegirls, were hit. Sporadic rifle fire began as the humans with the fastest reflexes reacted to the catastrophe, but it was random and ineffective as arrows killed dozens of Indigo troops every second. After their first two volleys the Elves had turned the focus of their aim on the infantry supporting the tanks. Their specific targets were the enemy pokegirls and these began quickly dropping under the Elves’ expert aim.
Six flying pokegirls of various breeds zipped overhead, tossing dark bombs and other explosive techniques as they passed. Two tanks exploded and an infantry squad that hadn’t dispersed adequately was scattered like tenpins. Two of the other three attacks were aimed at the pontoon bridge and shredded the center of it. The entire middle would have to be removed and replaced before anything more than infantry could use it. A Cobra gunship was moving into the area and the last flying pokegirl’s attack blew it into flaming fragments.
The hyperbeam equipped pokegirls had recharged and five more tanks exploded. Secondary explosions ripped the first tanks as their main gun ammunition began to cook off. The infantry was pinned down between Ninhursag’s Elves’ arrows and deadly accurate rifle and technique fire from Nike’s unit. Indigo casualties were mounting quickly.
As the flying pokegirls banked a loud ripping noise sounded from across the river and two of the pokegirls tumbled from the air in sprays of blood. A strange tracked vehicle lumbered into view, its four barrels trying to track the remaining flying pokegirls, who had instantly scattered and dived into the tree line as they retreated.
According to Iain’s mental data, that is a ZSU-23-4 Shilka, a radar guided anti-aircraft system built by the Russians and exported all over the world. The original unit at Fort Polk acted as an OPFOR and would have access to foreign built designs. It is very dangerous against flying pokegirls and infantry if it can depress enough to attack their positions. It is a priority target for destruction.
“Get away from me,” Ninhursag ordered as she stood, breaking cover as the Elves in her squad scattered. Her hands cupped towards the ZSU and light exploded from them in a line that ended on the ZSU’s turret face. The solar beam smashed the turret and ripped it off the vehicle. It spun away through the infantry moving behind the anti-aircraft platform. The crew was instantly killed, but in one of those freakish events the engine kept running and, once the driver’s body was removed, the vehicle could even be driven.
A bullet hammered Ninhursag in the midsection and she dropped to the ground. The grass around her went wild, growing frantically to give her cover even as the roots ripped at the dirt around her, in seconds creating a foxhole that she dropped into as more and more bullets sang by or thudded into the dirt above her. She huddled in the bottom of the hole and checked her armor. It had stopped the 5.56mm round from penetrating, but she was going to have to repair it before it would safely take another hit like that. She was also going to have a bruise the size of Daphne’s dinner plate over her stomach and lower chest, but that beat bleeding out into the dirt.
According to her twee one of the Thorns who was hit by the ZSU is still alive and critically injured, Dionne informed her. Request permission to medevac.
Other than Ninhursag, only Dionne among her Elves had mastered teleport. Granted. All units, break contact and head for the rendezvous point. All Elves will join with Adrianna’s unit until Dionne and I meet up with you again. Nike, we’ll see you there. Heltu?
The water Elves were watching the battle from the spillways of the dam, using their fade to keep from being seen. My queen?
There are enemies inside the dam. Kill them all and then continue surveillance.
Yes, my queen. I obey.
Ninhursag teleported away just in time. Three seconds after she had vanished one of the few surviving tanks put a high explosive round into her foxhole’s location.
***
Iain checked the holographic map and wondered at how tired he felt. He’d been doing nothing strenuous, but the strain of focusing on the battle and worrying about keeping his people alive was as draining as one of April’s training sessions. “Well?”
Lucifer glanced up. “I’m loading the updates now. Nike’s company and the Elves broke contact successfully and the Indigos were busy working on the bridge until they got word about what happened at Fort Polk. You were right and they stripped the base of most combat forces.” Flying pokegirls had ferried two companies of pokegirls with enhanced speed across the lake and then continued on with them to provide air cover as the ground units raced for Fort Polk.
Lucifer smiled grimly. “They destroyed most of the stockpiled fuel and a lot of the stored ammunition with only a few wounded and one dead. On their way back April vectored them to where the artillery units were firing from. Artillery will be much less of a threat now.”
Eve was looking at the hologram as it updated. “Destroying their fuel means the commander will have to decide if he wants to proceed with only his infantry or if he wants to dig in where he is. We’ve bloodied him enough to either make him cautious or really, really angry.” She shrugged. “I’d say he’d be too professional to let his anger make him throw troops away, but a lot of the current Indigo officer cadre is from the coup and they’re not professional soldiers at all, so which way he’ll jump is a tough call.”
Iain chuckled. “The world’s worst swordsman.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a quote from a writer named Samuel Clemens.” Iain closed his eyes for a second before speaking. “‘Don’t you know, there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn’t need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn’t do the thing he ought to.’ The world’s worst swordsman can’t be trusted not to do something completely stupid. In my case I’m not a trained military officer but I am former military, I have a general staff who is extraordinarily competent and I’m not a complete idiot.” He rolled his shoulders and neck in a vain attempt to try and loosen them. “Not that I would, but if I decided that armor was so important as to want it for the assault in the first place I wouldn’t want to leave it and the other vehicles behind if there was any other way. Not only are they useful but if I leave them behind they’re vulnerable unless I detail enough security to protect them, which would reduce my assault numbers even more. I’d push forward until fuel was low and dig in while working on resupply.”
“What about ammunition?”
He smiled. “I would rely more on the pokegirls than on guys with guns so ammunition would be a minor problem. Artillery would be nice since few pokegirls have indirect techniques but I can work without it if I have to.” He turned back to the map. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to show them that pokegirls are a new paradigm and they have no fucking clue what they’re doing yet. Lucifer, I want those fast companies rested and ready to go tonight. While we continue to bleed the advancing Indigo forces, they’re going on a raid. Tomorrow at 0400 hours they’re going to hit Washington and do as much damage as they can before withdrawing. They’ll also seed the place with a third of the captured ferals before they leave.”
April cocked her head. “It’ll take them nearly six hours to get to D.C. so they’ll want to leave before nine tonight.”
Dominique frowned. “You think attacking the capital will make the politicians yell for protection?”
“They tend to panic when faced with violence to their own person instead of to the proxies they send out to fight their battles for them, so yes. And every soldier sent somewhere else is just as out of the battle as if we’d killed him.” He looked at the map. “Eve, have Ninhursag and her girls rendezvous with the team at the first cache and begin planting antipersonnel and antivehicle mines back along the road. Lucifer, I want you to place units of the Sisterhood here and here. They’re to remain under cover unless discovered or we change their orders. Also stretch some people along the area between us and the lake. We did an end run around the Indigos to hit Polk, let’s make sure they don’t do the same thing to us without us knowing about it.”
***
(11/25/08 0432 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
Iain sat up and glared at the ceiling. “How in the fuck did they take you out?” Eve propped herself upright and gave him a tired look before collapsing back into the bed.
Theodora’s amusement was obvious in her mental voice. You specifically requested a worst case scenario for this simulation. Worst case includes the idea that they could somehow neutralize me and the satellite net. It is extremely unlikely that they could, but you asked for it.
He pulled on his pants and padded for the kitchen and a snack. “How unlikely is extremely unlikely?”
I do not see any way that they could destroy the Theodora or even seriously damage her with current technology or pokegirls. The only way it would be possible is if they purchased the necessary technology from Haven or Kerrik and then I’d see them coming and they’d have quite a fight on their hands. I suppose they could have contact with other dimensional travelers or advanced space aliens who could give them the means to destroy me. I think you’d agree that the scenario is extremely unlikely.
“You are so not funny.” He rolled out of bed and quickly dressed.
If it makes you feel better, in spite of not having me to help you did blunt the Indigo advance. You should have more pre-positioned equipment, but you were figuring that out and you will make the necessary changes in the next few days. With my help, even with the restrictions you have placed on me, you should be able to do much more damage to the Indigo forces if you so desire.
“Ok, that’s the worst case scenario. What’s the best case?”
I destroy Fort Polk after they mobilize and before any of the forces can leave the base. With control of the high orbitals and the use of armed parasites it would take me about two hours to kill everyone there and verify their death unless I went for a c-fractional bombardment. That would take about two minutes for the bombardment and roughly eight minutes in order for me to verify the extent of the destruction, but I am loath to do that as I’m concerned about the shockwave and thermal bloom on the surrounding civilians, the lake, the dam and possibly the ranch.
“I would say that the best case is we figure out a way to resolve this without having to create windrows of the dead on either side.”
Now who’s indulging in flights of fantasy?
“I am only stating the best case and not my opinion of the chances of it happening.” Iain stopped in the doorway to the kitchen. Vanessa and Dominique apparently had had similar ideas and water was already heating on the stove while Vanessa filled a plate with biscuits.
Iain chuckled softly and Dominique looked up from setting out a pair of cups. “Somehow I’m not surprised to see you’re up. What’s so funny?”
“I’m remembering the discussion we once had about the difference between biscuits and cookies.”
The Archmage blinked and grinned brightly. “I remember Shay’s statement that they both tasted good so who cared.”
“Just remember that if you ask for biscuits here in Texas you’re likely going to get scones.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She held up an extra cup. “Want some tea?”
“Yes, please.” Iain opened up the fridge and pulled out a steak and a block of cheese. He carved off a good sized piece from each onto a plate and returned them to the fridge.
Vanessa gave him an amused look. “What, biscuits not good enough for you?”
“I am getting a jump on breakfast and I need protein more than carbs.”
“April’s not going to be happy if you skip her breakfast.”
Iain shrugged as he settled down at the table. “I won’t miss breakfast and she knows I get up to snack. Next complaint.”
Dominique handed him a cup of tea. “Eve still doesn’t share you with me.”
Iain accepted it gratefully and sipped at the steaming liquid before grinning at her. “Oh, sorry, next new complaint.” Dominique laughed softly and filled cups for herself and Vanessa.
Vanessa sat down next to him. “When are we going to do the analysis of the simulation?”
He grimaced. “Even if the damned thing was rigged I guess we do need to do one, if only for the lessons learned.” He grimaced. “I’d really like to do this without destroying the genetic legacy of a whole bunch of people. Indigo and Texas both are going to need every warm body they can find and all the weapons they can muster when the ferals swarm out of the woodwork in a few years.” He shook his head and reached for the cheese. “Now if only the Indigos would be so reasonable about it.”
***
(11/28/08 1630 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
Rosemary leaned back with a sigh and wiped the crumbs from her face with a napkin. “Iain, I thought you were loco when you said today’s food would be even better than yesterday’s, but you were right.” Several of the women around the table muttered agreement with her statement.
Iain and April were putting the leftovers away and he flashed a grin at the Mistoffeles. “In my humble opinion sandwiches the day after are the real reason to cook a turkey. More than once I’ve fried a turkey just to turn it into sandwiches.”
“I can agree with that,” Daphne said.
April snickered. “After watching you demolish five sandwiches I think we understand that. Eating is not supposed to be competitive.”
“I can’t help it. It was so good. Besides, I’ll work it off.”
April grinned. “Yes you will.”
Concern flitted over the Whorizard’s face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I schedule the training sessions. I am positive that you’ll work off or turn into muscle every calorie you’ve eaten over the last two days.”
“Would it be easier if I just asked you to kill me now and get it over with?”
Everyone else laughed with April as the Duelist shook her head. “No, I don’t want it to be that quick, Daphne. After all, you did take the last piece of pecan pie and I wanted it.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
***
(12/01/08 0630 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
“I’ve been thinking,” Iain announced during the morning meeting with an anticipatory smile.
Canaan grinned. “Should we start hating now or should we wait until after you tell us what you’re going to do that’s going to piss us off?”
“That’s entirely your call,” he replied. “You’re right that a lot of people aren’t going to necessarily like it, but none of you liked the alternative, which was that I go into Fort Polk alone.”
Eve’s head came up. “You have a different plan?”
He nodded. “It’s a little more complex, but it’ll mean that I should be able to enter the base with Dominique and Zareen and without having to worry about losing them.”
Pandora scowled. “Why them? Why not me?”
Iain made a fist and extended his thumb. “First, I don’t have a force field to protect me right now and Zareen is more than willing to run like hell at the first sign of trouble if I want her to and she’ll do whatever she can to avoid it. And phase is a powerful way to keep me from getting splattered. She is the only one of you who does not think about fighting first. That makes her the best alternative for keeping me safe.”
The golden haired Nightmare shrugged. “I like to fight but I like my skin in one piece more.”
“And me?” Dominique was watching him curiously. “I am a powerful mage and a decent fighter but there are better fighters here. So why me?”
Ninhursag grinned suddenly. “I’ll bet that hurt to admit.”
The Archmage nodded. “It does but if I didn’t someone else would point it out and try to make me look stupid. I hate that.”
Iain extended his index finger. “That leads to my second reason for choosing you two. You are the only member of our family besides me who has had actual military training and for this mine doesn’t count. Eve and the Sisterhood have a formal combat training program, but you went through BLSF boot camp and then OCS and later worked with the Blackguards. You are the one person here who can evaluate military preparedness and fortifications with a strategic eye so we can plan the tactics necessary to overcome them. That means you out of everyone here needs to see Fort Polk.”
“My god, Iain, you did really think about this.” Dominique chuckled when he rolled his eyes. “And you’re right, by the bye. Being able to personally see the place is better than looking at it through someone else’s eyes. Yes, they could look around and see a lot, but I know what I’m looking for.”
Iain extended his middle finger to join the other two. “The final reason is that for this to work I’m going to need a fast transport, which Zareen can provide. The idea came from what Ninhursag and I did in St. Louis as well as the battle scenario with Indigo. I want to use Theodora’s computing power to create Major Austin Drummond in the Indigo League Army or some other government agency. With that as a cover identity, we establish a presence for him and then enter Fort Polk, hopefully where I can get a chance to not only surveil the place but to try to talk to the commanding general and convince him that if he sticks his head into Texas we’ll grind it into hamburger.”
April frowned. “What does establishing a presence for him mean?”
“I was planning to go to D.C. and have Theodora create records for Austin in the Pentagon’s existing computer database. Then me, Dominique and Zareen would travel towards Louisiana, stopping in cities as we did so as to leave a record of Austin’s passage. With Zareen we can make the trip in less than a day, but we’ll take a week or so to leave adequate data points for someone to assess. That’ll give us a bit of cover if someone traces Austin’s travel back to Washington. I’d like to do this as soon as possible, too, so we can hopefully get this done before Christmas.”
***
(12/03/08 1230 Shield, Texas League)
Ninhursag looked out the window for a moment. With Theodora’s help the construction of the Sisterhood town of Shield was moving more quickly than she’d ever considered possible. Lucifer and her inner circle had laid out a basic grid pattern for the town and then stepped back for the initial phases. Theodora had then sent down two clearing vehicles. Each was ten meters tall, ten meters long and fifty meters wide with a grinder equipped maw that ran its entire width and height. A container vehicle that was ten meters tall, fifty meters wide and fifty meters long connected to the back of each clearer, and each clearer came with ten container vehicles. Each clearer had started by digging two meters into the soil and then trundling forward, grinding up everything that entered the maw. As each container filled up, the clearer stopped and the container disengaged and moved towards a large basic weaver while an empty attached to the clearer so it could go back to leveling the town.
Once the foundation of the town had been removed, other parasites had brought down preformed sheets of high density concrete that were laid out to become the roads for Shield. While this was going on, the basic weaver had separated out everything in the rubble and dirt that had been brought to it and the containers had then filled up with clean dirt which was used to fill in the spaces defined by the roads. It had also turned the wood and other cellulose into lumber and the metal into blocks of pure material for reuse.
More preformed concrete was put into place for the foundations for buildings but since, although Theodora could manufacture the buildings in space and drop them in place, Lucifer and her engineers wanted to do the work themselves, that’s as far as Lucifer was going with the construction. Later she would put into place the water and sewage lines if they didn’t use in house recycling systems as she’d advised.
The Elfqueen turned to where Vanessa, Eve, Dominique, April, Pandora and Canaan were sitting. “Alright, Vanessa, you’ve asked us here and here we are. What did you want and why here?”
“I wanted to talk to you where Iain wouldn’t hear us and he’s back at the ranch right now. Theodora’s keeping an eye on him for me.”
April’s eyebrows rose. “You want to keep this from Iain?”
“I do until we’ve hashed this out among ourselves and I’m ready to present it to him. That way we keep his protests to a minimum. He can raise them and we’ll all be ready to gang up on him with solutions.”
“I like that idea,” Eve said with a smirk. “But what is this about?”
Vanessa took a deep breath. “I think I’ve found a way to deal with Fort Polk and possibly the Indigo League without killing a whole bunch of people and without having to let Iain spend time pretending to be one of them and hoping he doesn’t reveal himself by accidentally exploding the head of some psychic pokegirl while doing so. However it will involve some things that Iain may not want to do or reveal.”
Everyone stared at her for what seemed like a very long time before Ninhursag moved to the table and pulled out a chair. “Let me sit down and you can explain this in detail. If it can be worked out so he doesn’t have to do this, we will find out how to make it happen.”
***
(12/03/08 2145 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
The fire’s reddish light danced on the people clustered around it and their eyes gleamed brightly back at Iain. They’d been making s’mores and had finally sated even Daphne’s prodigious appetite for chocolate.
Ninhursag patted Allison on the knee to get her attention before speaking in a low voice. “I have some inner harem business with Iain so I need you to take the others and leave. I’ll brief you about it in the morning and we’ll decide then what you can tell them.”
“I’ll take care of it.” The Umbrea rose smoothly. “All right, I think it’s bedtime for my girls. We’ve got an early day tomorrow.”
Rosemary’s ears flicked. “We do?”
“Before we get to our chores April’s got something special for us. Pandora and Canaan will be umpiring.”
The outer harem pokegirls groaned as a group. “Crap,” Daphne muttered. “If it’s too strenuous I’m gonna puke.” She glanced at April as Rosemary and Silver grabbed her arms and heaved her to her feet. She swayed as she stood, the result of too many s’mores and too many margaritas. Mostly it was the margaritas. “Well?”
April smiled maliciously. “If you puke it’ll be outside where it won’t have to be cleaned up.”
“Gee, thanks,” the Whorizard grunted sourly. She staggered off with the others.
Allison bobbed her head at Iain. “Good night.” She turned and gracefully jogged into the darkness in the direction of the bedsits, her tail waving behind her.
Iain watched her go before turning back to the others. “All right, I heard Ninhursag telling Allison to shove off. What’s going on?”
Vanessa smiled redly in the light. “I have a plan that should allow us to deal with the Indigos without having to either kill them in job lots or making you have to pretend to be one of them and travel through dangerous lands.”
Tension suddenly filled the air as Iain scowled for a second. “You do?” His scowl slowly faded as he looked around. “I take it from the lack of surprise I see that all the rest of you know what she’s talking about and you decided to brace me as a united group.”
Sofia shook her head. “No, Iain. Not all of us know what Vanessa plans but she spoke to our leaders and if they think it will work we will support them in trying to persuade you to use this instead of your plan. We fear for your safety.”
Iain leaned back in his chair and regarded Vanessa evenly until she had to resist the urge to squirm under his stare. Finally he cocked his head. “What does this plan do?”
“It has an excellent chance of making Indigo leave us and Texas alone without putting you, Dominique and Zareen into danger as you travel down the coast from D.C. If Indigo decides to attack us anyway, one of the things we’ll be doing actually makes a direct assault much more difficult.”
I agree, Theodora said into his mind. I also think that you should listen to her.
Iain looked over the group and took note of the resolution in the eyes looking back at him. “What happens if you present this idea and I think it stinks?”
“If you can justify why it’s unacceptable then we will attempt to modify it until it is acceptable. If we can’t,” Eve shrugged smoothly, “then we’ll try to find some other way to keep you safe without you getting angry and doing something dangerous to spite us.”
In spite of himself, Iain chuckled. “Would I do that?”
“Absolutely,” Dominique said without hesitation. “Although since you’ve been working on your magic and getting some time alone you do seem more relaxed and less likely to do something impulsive along those lines.”
Iain regarded her for a long moment before turning his attention back to Vanessa. “Well, since you’ve gone to all of this trouble to set me up for this, somebody get me another glass of tea and you tell me all about this plan of yours.”
***
(12/12/08 0645 Fort Polk, Indigo League)
Nicole pulled up and watched Rob running towards her with a grin. “Sir,” she called to him, “you’d better hurry up or that young man coming up behind you will make you look bad.” Her tails flicked with amusement as Rob put on a burst of speed and sprinted to her. “Very good, sir,” she chuckled, her ears flicking with amusement. “I guess I’ll keep you for a while still.”
Rob bent forward with his hands on his knees and gasped for air. “I’m fifty five, Nicole, and I’ll never be thirty again.”
“Is there a problem, general?”
Rob turned his head. It was the young man Nicole had mentioned. He’d been behind them for the last mile of his run, him and the purple haired pokegirl with him. Both were in regulation shorts and t-shirts and the man’s shirt was almost as sweaty as his, but he wasn’t gasping for breath like Rob was and Rob envied the man’s vitality and youth. “I’m ok, soldier.”
“That’s good to hear, sir,” the man said with a grin. “Pandora.”
The purple haired pokegirl moved in a blur and Rob found himself bound in her arms with his neck twisted at a painful angle as the man spoke to Nicole. “You move more than your ears and Pandora will snap his neck.”
“If you kill him, I’ll kill you first and her next,” Nicole snarled in a low voice.
A blue and white haired pokegirl appeared between Nicole and the man. She held a leveled rifle of some kind pointed at Nicole. The man spoke from behind her. “Now before things get way out of hand and I have to go to plan B, hear me out. If things proceed well, Pandora won’t have to hold Robert for much longer and you won’t have guns pointed at you.” He turned to Robert. “General Golding, I want yours and Nicole’s paroles. If I get those, she’ll get to go with us on this little trip.”
Rob couldn’t move more than his eyes without blinding pain. “Who are you?”
“My name is Iain Grey and I am sorry we had to meet like this. However it was inevitable as I, more than anyone in Indigo today, understand what a Dark Kitsune is capable of and I couldn’t take the chance on you getting killed accidentally in a firefight. Thus I had to temporarily neutralize her desire to fight while I got your paroles. I want your parole that you will not take up arms or fight against me or mine for the next forty eight hours. You’ll also have to swear not to try to escape from me for that time period either. I’ll also need Nicole’s parole or she stays here.”
“Where are we going?”
“I want you to meet someone and she has something to show you. You’ll be treated well and even fed if this takes longer than I have been told it will. I can’t make an appointment with you since you’ll try to have me arrested and my family confiscated and I will not allow that to happen.”
“Who are you with?”
“I’m a Texan and my ranch is closest to what we both agree is Indigo territory.”
“And if I don’t want to go with you?”
“Then I’ll have to go to plan B.” Iain glanced past Robert. “Pandora, he can’t kill you and he can’t get to me before you get to him. Release him as a sign of goodwill.”
“Iain,” she began, only to break off. “Very well.” She slowly let Robert go but didn’t step away from him.
“Now, general, I want yours and Nicole’s paroles immediately. It’s the only way I can guarantee your safety.”
Robert didn’t quite sneer at him. “And if I don’t give it you’ll kill me? A parole given under duress is not binding.”
“If you refuse to give me your parole we will leave and I will be forced to switch to plan B. That will regrettably result in the destruction of Fort Polk and the deaths of everyone here. If you go with me that destruction will not happen now, you’ll meet someone, get a demonstration and be released to deliver a message to the Indigo League. In addition, a lot of people will still be alive in a few years when the real problems will begin.”
“What problems are those?”
“The ferals are reproducing and in a decade or so they will become so overpopulated that they’re going to begin swarming out of the wilderness in search of something to eat. Humans will fit the bill nicely and it’ll be a bloodbath if we’re busy fighting each other when they come. Hell, we need to be working together to hunt them now.”
Golding stared at Iain. He’d seen a classified advisory report written by a think tank that suggested something along those lines and the implications had sent a chill through him. “And your message is what?”
“The message isn’t entirely mine and you’ll need to see the demonstration to understand that there are teeth behind it. I’d try to be peaceful about it but Indigo wouldn’t listen if I did, so a show of force is in order. Now, about your parole?”
“I need to let my people know where I’m going.”
Iain shook his head. “No, you don’t. They’ll be glad to get you back unharmed, but it’s either parole or we leave. You and Nicole are good enough as witnesses for the time being.”
“I give you mine and Nicole’s paroles not to fight against or try to escape from you for the next forty eight hours.”
Iain shook his head. “I need Nicole to agree to this. You can order her to give her parole and she can then give it, but you cannot give it for her.”
The Dark Kitsune blinked at him. “Why?”
“You are a person and an adult and therefore only you can give your bond. I know that’s not Indigo’s philosophy towards pokegirls, but my wives, harem and most of my clan would get a little unhappy if I held any other one since they happen to be pokegirls.”
Robert frowned. “Pokegirls are not human and cannot marry humans.”
“That’s what you believe or what you’ve been told to believe. Personally I think that if two beings can breed and produce fertile offspring every time they happen to be the same species. The fact that pokegirls can reproduce without humans complicates matters but let’s not get into the discussion I once tried to start about how pokewomen are the age evolved forms of pokegirls. Things get murky pretty quickly when I start airing that idea.”
“So if I give my parole you’ll accept it but if he gives my parole you won’t?”
“That’s correct.”
“I give my parole to you, sir.”
“Very good.” Iain looked at Eve. “Eve, I don’t think we need to be pointing firearms at her anymore.”
The Megami-sama didn’t lower her weapon. “She’s too dangerous.”
“Are you saying her word isn’t good? You can’t. We have no evidence of that.”
Eve grimaced and dropped the GAR-15 to rest from its sling. “You’re right.”
Rob watched with interest as yet another pokegirl appeared. This one was a nude black woman with golden hair and eyes. Iain gestured towards her. “This is Zareen and she’s going to be your transportation on this little trip.” The pokegirl shifted to an equine form. “As you can see from the lion like tail and the cloven hooves, Zareen is a Nightmare.”
Nicole moved to stand next to her man. “You know a lot about pokegirls.”
“Indeed I do. Arguably I know more about them than even Jimmy does.”
“Jimmy?”
Iain smiled. “James Scott, or as you probably know him better, Sukebe.”
“Did,” Rob said. “He’s dead.”
Iain’s smile widened. “This is a tidbit of information free to a good home, Robert. James did not die when his base was destroyed. He’s still out there somewhere and I know of several people who would like to nail his pelt to the wall if they catch him.”
Zareen turned to present her side to Robert. “Both of you get on.”
Nicole’s tail stilled. “You trust us not to hurt you?”
“Iain does and I trust Iain. If you are stupid he will avenge me.”
“It’s not an issue,” Iain interrupted. “You two gave your paroles and I trust you not to break them.” His expression changed as if he were listening to something only he could hear. The women with him stiffened slightly. “Someone is jogging down the trail. If we are still here when he or she arrives I will kill them. Get on Zareen.”
Nicole boosted Rob onto the Nightmare’s back and slipped up behind him. “We are ready.”
Rob watched the blue haired pokegirl, whom he belatedly remembered was called Eve, take Iain’s arm. Suddenly they were standing somewhere else. He blinked. “What was that?”
“That was teleport,” Nicole said as she tried to look in every direction at once. “The sun didn’t move much so we didn’t go far.”
Along with him, Nicole and their ride, Rob could see Iain, Eve and Pandora. Also present was a female figure encased in form fitting armor that hid its identity. All they could tell was that it was female and had long red hair that fell down below her helm. She was carrying a spear twice her height. Behind her were the ruins of some community. “Where are we, Iain?”
“Please don’t dismount, you two. As for where we are, this is Many, Louisiana. It’s in Sabine Parish and thirty five miles northwest of Leesville. It’s been empty since troops from Fort Polk forced everyone here to relocate to Leesville two years ago.” Iain knew this from his contacts in Zwolle. He gestured towards the redhead. “This is the person you’re here to meet.”
“Is she a pokegirl?”
The figure nodded her head. “I am Evangelion and I am both a pokegirl and I am not. You see there is a special class of pokegirl that is called the legendary. They’re defined by being especially tough, wily or powerful. And all of them have longevity, are unique and are extraordinarily hard to kill. I am one of them and I am one of the very powerful ones.” Her voice became cold. “And I am delivering a message to you that I want you to give to anyone who needs to hear it. Your war against Texas will never succeed and will waste resources that you will desperately need in the coming years. A terrible time is coming and when it arrives you do not want to be fighting your fellow man.”
Rob shrugged. “I have my orders, girl, and your warning means nothing against those.”
The armored figure shook its head. “That was only a message, general. You have yet to receive my warning.” She looked at Iain. “I am ready.”
Iain looked at Zareen. “You know what to do.”
Rob could see Evangelion’s eyes through the visor as she regarded him and something in her gaze made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The voice, as cold as the grave, sent a shiver up his spine and he felt Nicole shiver behind him as well. “Now, Brigadier General Robert John Golding, I will deliver my warning. Pay heed to it.”
Nicole’s arms tightened around Rob’s waist as Zareen stepped daintily into the air and climbed at a gentle canter. Behind them, Pandora summoned her wings and launched herself into the air, taking up station where she could protect Zareen and her cargo. Eve took Iain around the waist and headed upwards. They all turned and headed away from where Evangelion stood.
Rob turned to watch the still standing Evangelion. She waited until they were far enough away and shot into the air until she was several hundred meters up. Zareen twisted around to look over her shoulder at the two of them. “Understand this. If you fall off I will not try to catch you.”
Evangelion pointed her spear down and a huge glowing blue sphere appeared below her. It filled the air between her and the ground. Vanessa descended until the ball was halfway in the ground. Rob gasped. “What is that?”
Eve drifted closer as Iain answered. “That is a naked singularity of approximately seventeen percent of the mass of the sun that sits behind an energy field which protects us from the gravitational effects. It’s essentially a weak black hole and it’s a kilometer in diameter.” Vanessa began flying in a circle, spiraling out and leaving a crater behind her as the singularity ate everything it touched. “There’s a secondary spell that fuses the material the energy field touches into rock a hundred meters thick wherever the sphere touches. That’s because the depth she’s cutting is five hundred meters. At that depth she could be slicing through oil deposits and she told me she’s not planning to fill that cut with oil.” Vanessa, Eve and Dominique had worked nonstop on that spell effect since the meeting in which they’d decided to sandbag Iain with the idea. Only the fact that the spell was powered by converting the gravitational field outside the blue sphere made the effect possible at all. He wasn’t exactly what it was being converted into, but in the end it all boiled down to legendary scaled magic that he couldn’t even begin to dream about doing.
Yet. Or maybe never.
Evangelion finished her spiral, leaving a huge circular pit carved in the earth that was over five kilometers in diameter. Then she landed on the northernmost edge of the pit, tilting up her spear as she descended so the singularity didn’t dig deeper into the earth. At the end, when her feet touched the ground, her spear was almost perfectly horizontal. From where they hovered, the sphere seemed to bob in the air as Vanessa shifted her aim until it matched the trajectory she and Theodora had worked out. Then she flexed her will.
The sphere shot away from her in a straight line, carving the earth as it went. It travelled at ten times the speed of sound and would take forty eight seconds to cover the two hundred and seventy kilometers it would travel before the singularity faded away.
Evangelion vaulted into the air and curved to hover between Eve and Zareen. “Brigadier General Robert John Golding, this is my warning. Below you see my handiwork. If you attack Texas I will destroy Fort Polk after I destroy the attacking force. If another Indigo force attacks Texas I will destroy them and wherever they are based from. If any Indigo force attacks Texas, after I have destroyed their home I will destroy the capital of the Indigo League.” She turned and pointed at the channel the sphere had cut. “Any land to the east of that is Indigo League. Any land to the west of it and south of the northern top of the bay that was once Indigo land is now Texas land. Do you understand my warning, Brigadier General Robert John Golding?”
Rob looked down at the channel and nodded gravely. “I understand it.”
“I do not believe you do, not yet. You will return tomorrow and you will see that this cut extends into the Gulf of Mexico and that the sea will have by then filled it. Then will you truly understand my warning.”
Rob blanched. “This goes all the way to the Gulf? There must have been people between here and the shore. What about them?”
“There undoubtedly were and they are now dead.” Vanessa had agonized over this part and then worked with Theodora to carefully plan the path of the channel for the absolute minimum number of human casualties, but in the end she had been unable to avoid everyone. “You will find that this cut is to the west of Lake Charles. I truly do regret the loss of life, but you would have killed many more in any assault on the Texas League and since I live in Texas we are, at Indigo’s declaration, at war with you. Iain Grey will now return you to Fort Polk. Heed my warning, Brigadier General Robert John Golding, and see to it that the Indigo League heeds it as well. I have no wish to wage war on the Indigo League, but if I have to I will without mercy.” She turned to look at Iain and Eve. “Follow my instructions.”
“Yes, Lady Evangelion.” He twisted in Eve’s grip. “Zareen, follow us.”
The terrain jumped for Rob once more, but this time they exited the teleport outside Fort Polk. Zareen ran down to the ground and stopped as Eve landed with Iain and Pandora stalled out just above the ground like a hawk flaring before dropping to the ground.
“You can get off of me now.” Zareen glanced over her shoulder at them. “In five seconds I’m going to change forms and you’re going to fall to the ground like sacks of grain.”
Iain watched with amusement as Nicole and Robert slid immediately off of Zareen’s back. The Nightmare waited until they were clear of her before shifting from centaur to humanoid. He carefully didn’t smile. “Ok, me, Eve and Pandora are going to escort you two to the fort.” He looked down at himself and his ILA workout clothes. “As long as you two don’t rat me out I should fit in until we come across the first search parties looking for you. One of them is headed in this general direction.”
Rob was curious. “How do you know that?”
“I have been conducting surveillance on the fort and you since I moved to my ranch. I was hoping you’d be a market for us.” He shrugged. “Maybe someday it’ll happen.”
“Did you put that pokegirl up to this?”
“That was Evangelion and, no, I didn’t. She approached me with this plan. I thought about arguing with her about it, but then nobody with a clue argues with a legendary.”
“There are others?”
Iain nodded. “You can look them up in the pokedexes you’re getting from Haven.” When Rob tried hard not to look surprised, he smiled. “I know you’re buying equipment from them. It’s not as much as you’d like, but every little bit helps. Later on you may be purchasing more of it from me. I’d like to think mine is of slightly better quality, but that might be personal bias.” He motioned. “Pandora, you’ve got point. Zareen, I’ll see you at home.” He turned back to Rob as the Nightmare vanished. “Let’s get moving.” He paused and then stuck out his hand.
Rob took it with a bemused feeling that he tried not to show. “What was that for?”
Iain grinned suddenly. “You’ve been a gentleman during this and I, someone who has come to expect only the worst from government employees, appreciate it. I hope that someday we can meet under circumstances where neither one of us is the other’s prisoner nor where paroles are necessary.”
Rob smiled back. “I do too. Of course, I hope at that time I’ll be welcoming you back into the fold of the Indigo League.”
Iain’s grinned widened. “You keep dreaming.” He looked at Pandora. “Take point, please. Stay on the ground so as to avoid an incident.”
“I’m on it.” The purple haired girl trotted ahead of them as they started towards Fort Polk and the approaching search party.
***
(12/13/08 0815 Louisiana Canal, Texas League)
Iain stood near the edge and watched the sea rising and falling. “Now that will be a bitch to bridge without modern technology.” The town of Many was nearly a hundred and fifty feet above sea level and so the surface of the sea in the canal was nearly fifty meters below the lip of the canal itself. “Even a pontoon bridge would be quite a challenge.”
Ninhursag was eying it too. “I really thought filling this would have been a lot more dramatic than it was.”
“The singularity only traveled fifteen kilometers out to sea. At that point you’re still on the continental shelf and the water is less than a hundred and eighty meters deep. The canal is five hundred meters deep. The initial flow of water into the canal had been so intense that it had drained the Gulf locally and exposed the bottom of the seafloor around it for nearly an hour. This had slowed the fill rate to the point that water had trickled rather than crashed into the bay at the north end. I’m sure it was much more impressive as a waterfall on the southern end.”
The Elfqueen frowned. “How will this change the rainfall patterns in the area?”
“There’s no way to tell for sure, but I doubt it’ll be significant. Not even a hurricane traveling up the canal will be significant since unless it’s got a fifty meter storm surge and if it does we won’t be around to be impressed by it. We’ll just have to find out what the long term effects of our new landmark will be.” He turned as April appeared with the President of the Texas League. “Good morning, Lorena. How’s your arm?”
Lorena Robinson smiled broadly. “Morning, Iain. My arm is doing just fine. I’ve got almost complete control of it now.” She blinked. “What the hell is that?”
“That’s the Louisiana Canal and the newest land barrier slowing down Indigo attacks on my land.” Iain chuckled at her expression. “It runs down to the coast, and to answer your next question, it was dug by Evangelion, one of the legendary pokegirls. You can get a quicker explanation about who she is with your pokedex.”
Lorena accessed her pokedex and glanced up at Iain before going back to her reading. “Why did this Evangelion person put this barrier into place?”
“She lives in Texas and wants to protect her new home,” April replied before Iain could.
Lorena shook her head as she closed up her dex. “She’s not planning to dig a moat around all of Texas, is she?”
“No,” Iain said. “She dug this and had me kidnap the Indigo commanding general at Fort Polk to watch her do it so he’d know she frowned on him attacking Texas. I claimed everything on this side of the canal and we’re moving the Indigos who were living on it across to the Indigo side or escorting them to Port Arthur if they want to become Texans.”
Lorena shook her head. “You keep surprising me, Iain. I’ll have to send General Hays out here. Please explain to him what you told me.”
“Who?”
“General Michael Hays is the commander of the Texas Defense Force. I think he’ll want to know his eastern border is suddenly a lot more secure than it was yesterday. Is this Evangelion a friend of yours?”
“I know her.”
“Tell her I said thanks. How deep is this thing?”
“Roughly five hundred meters.”
Lorena gave him a hard look. “Pretend I don’t speak metric.”
“It’s sixteen hundred feet deep in the middle.”
Her eyes widened. “Most of the Gulf of Mexico isn’t that deep.”
Iain nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of ecosystem develops in the canal. It runs up to Many Louisiana and ends. Indigo could go around it but they’ll still have to then go south to the dam at the reservoir. And as soon as they turn south they’re on my land and under attack.”
Lorena looked at the canal again and shook her head. “It’s hard to believe one pokegirl did this.”
Iain snorted and she looked at him curiously. “Be glad this is all she did. She threatened to do this to Washington if Indigo attacks Texas.”
Lorena blinked and then smiled coldly. “I’d like to see that.”
“I’ll bet you would.” Ninhursag smirked at her.
“I think I might miss the Library of Congress,” Iain said thoughtfully, “but not enough to keep from zapping D.C. if it came down to us versus them.” He looked into the canal again. “More importantly, this means that for the time being Indigo will have to rethink just how important Texas is to it. Hopefully they’ll come to the right conclusion, which is that Texas is much more valuable as a trading partner than as an enemy. And while they’re trading with us, we’ll be exporting our form of government to Indigo’s citizens.”
Lorena looked doubtful. “I don’t see a lot of trade crossing that.”
Iain chuckled. “Come February we’ll put a bridge across it. A nice tall bridge so the Sisterhood can get their cruiser up and down the canal without trouble. They’re planning to build a military post at the ruins of Merryville, which are on my side of the canal. They’ll be basing their naval fleet, such as it is, there. My bridge will be across the canal where I-10 intersects, which is at the ruins of Vinton. It’ll be something light and modern that will be strong enough to carry main battle tanks. That’ll give Indigo something to try to seize if they attack and will focus their attention while I do nasty things to them.”
And the bridge will be laced with explosives built into the superstructure where they can’t be found, Theodora said to him. So I can drop it any time we want to.
And the bridge will be laced with explosives, Iain agreed back.
Lorena glanced at him. “It also means your property will be pretty much off the beaten path for any assault.”
Iain grinned. “Yeah, my house will certainly be, but I have claimed everything to the coast and back to the Texas border as mine by right of war. That makes Vinton mine too, and I’ll probably lease land there to some enterprising person who wants to build services for travelers.”
“Or we’ll build it ourselves,” April said primly.
“Or that.” Iain shrugged. “In any case, the war with Indigo is over for at least the next year. Combined with what Kerrik did to Sunshine, I think you’ve got the breathing room you need.”
“I thought I was never supposed to ask for time.”
Iain turned to look at her. “You’ve read Napoleon?”
Her eyebrows went up. “Is that a comment on my being black?”
“It’s a comment on the fact that nobody reads Napoleon except War College students. I’ve never read Napoleon.”
“My husband is a retired Marine colonel. He quotes things like that to me when I’m feeling too presidential for my own good.” She smiled as he smothered a laugh. “Now I need to be getting back to my dairy. The girls get antsy if they’re not milked regularly. I’ll give Hays your com number so he can contact you.”
“He’s not going to try to draft me the way Carston did, is he?”
She laughed loudly. “I heard about that. Carston was pretty pleased with the way he mousetrapped you. No, Hays probably won’t do that to you.”
“That’s good. I’ve done my stint in someone else’s military. Now I just want to live my life my way.”
Lorena looked around at Iain’s pokegirls. “How’s that working for you?” Before he could answer she took April’s hand. “Please take me home.” They vanished.
Iain reached for Ninhursag’s arm. “I think she had the right idea. Let’s go home too.”
THE END
Iain Grey
Living Harem
Ninhursag - Elfqueen & maharani
Eve Grey - Megami Sama
April Grey - Duelist & beta
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
Pandora - Fiendish Archangel
Canaan - G Splice (Hunter Amachamp & Alaka-Wham)
Zareen - Nightmare
Raquel - Fiendish Rapitaur
Sofia - Ria
Vanessa - Evangelion
Dead Harem
Eirian - Silver Dragoness
Aurum - Gold Dragoness
Skye - Blue Dragoness
Emerald - Green Dragoness
Beryl - Red Dragoness
Julia - human
Ling - Cheetit
Matilda - White Tigress
Liadan - Twau
Sorrel - Armsmistress
Natalie - Blazicunt
Slutton
Outer Harem
Allison – Umbrea (Outer Harem Alpha)
Daphne - Whorizard
Lynn - Growlie
Chuck – Doggirl
Ryan – Unicorn
Winifred - Rack (German)
Rosemary - Mistoffeles (Uruguayan)
Silver - Ponytaur
Joyce – Milktit
Outer Clan
12 Elves
Heather - Elf
2 Elfqueens - Dionne & Adrianna
Lake Employees
Heltu - Wet Queen
6 Wet Elves