Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions

A Death’s Handmaiden Novel

By Niall Teasdale

Copyright 2020 Niall Teasdale

Amazon Kindle Edition

Contents

Part One: The Chūnibyō in Class 14D

Part Two: Dirty Fighting

Part Three: Quis Custodiet

Part Four: One-Woman Army

Epilogue

Part One: The Chūnibyō in Class 14D

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 236/1/10.

The sun was warm and that was a plus. January on Shinden could be a particularly icy month and this January day was pretty typical. It had dawned bright and clear with a sub-zero temperature thanks to the clear skies the night before, but the sun was giving it a boost and there was every possibility that the temperature would be bearable by the time Nava Greyling Sonkei had to brave it in uniform. Currently, she was wearing a thick sweater under a coat and opaque hose under a short skirt, and she was already looking forward to changing back into something similar following the graduation ceremony.

Not that Nava was graduating. Her second year at the Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery – SAS^2 to its friends – would be starting in two days. Graduation was five years in the future. However, she had acquaintances who were graduating this year, she was in school anyway, and not attending the ceremony might have seemed churlish.

Before the ceremony, however, there was the arrival at her new accommodation. This was why Nava was taking the unusual step of walking through the school to the area known as the Estate. Generally, the Estate was where the school’s staff lived. There was no reason students could not rent a house there, but student apartments were cheaper and there was a convention of sorts which kept the Estate and the nearby apartment buildings to postgrads, faculty, and ancillary staff. In particular, the Estate was really designed for couples and families, but that kind of rule had done nothing to stop Nava’s friend and lover, Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei, from arranging to rent one of the larger houses. With the combined power of Nava’s and Mitsuko’s allowances, and a little help from Melissa Connelly Avorn’s far less abundant funds, the three of them were moving into a four-bedroom house which Nava had yet to see. Mitsuko and Melissa had been working to move everything in for about a week, but Nava had had other duties to take care of before today.

The Estate was a maze. Technically, it was more like a forest, but the effect, if you were driving, was maze-like. Curving, dead-end streets branched off from a couple of main roads. Smaller streets branched from the branches. Nava assumed that someone had designed the layout; presumably it had been someone who had failed a course in civil planning. If you were on foot, things were a bit better. Various paths cut through between the streets allowing for a considerably more direct route to most places, but the house Mitsuko had selected turned out to be on the far side of the Estate, quite some distance from the main school buildings. From the helipad where an Alliance Security Force transport had dropped Nava off, she felt as though she had walked through the entire school to get to her destination.

That said, upon arrival it seemed as though the house was worth the walk. Situated on the end plot of one of the cul-de-sacs, the house was a low, broad building with big windows facing the street and a warm, pale-yellow render on the walls. There was a lawn at the front with a short, flagged path up to an entrance portico. Much to her pleasure, the door recognised her ketcom when Nava waved the device over the intercom and, dragging her lone suitcase, she stepped into an entrance hallway where she was faced with a stack of boxes, one large black case, and a collection of footwear lined up at one side.

She was also, almost immediately, faced with an oncoming Mitsuko who rushed out of a door on the right. There were no words, because Mitsuko did not allow time for them. A second after seeing the tall, beautiful student president, Nava was balancing on her toes as Mitsuko lifted her into a very enthusiastic kiss.

‘I missed you,’ Mitsuko said when she finally had to break for breath.

‘I would never have guessed,’ Nava replied. ‘With such a lacklustre greeting, I should suspect that you’d forgotten me in the eight days since you last saw me.’

‘Eight days is a long time when you’re horny,’ Melissa said from the doorway Mitsuko had entered through. ‘It’s good to see you again. How was your ASF training?’

‘Boring to the point of aneurism. A lot of lectures on procedure and how they operate in practice.’ Nava gave a slight shrug. ‘It’ll be useful, eventually. It’s nice to be back here where I may learn something useful to me now.’

‘Well, we’ve left your stuff for you to put where you think is good.’ Melissa indicated the boxes which contained all of Nava’s worldly belongings, except what was in her suitcase. ‘First, we should probably show you the house.’ Melissa grinned. ‘I told my parents about it and they asked who I’d had to sell my body to to get it. I think they were joking.’

‘You didn’t sell it to anyone,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Really, it’s more of a rental agreement… Let’s do the tour!’ She pointed to the back of the hall where there was another door. ‘That takes you straight to the back of the house. There’s a door off it into the sento.’

Nava held up a hand. ‘Wait. We have a sento?’

Mitsuko grinned. ‘When I saw that, I just had to have this house. Apparently, they put them into most of the larger houses. The more recent builds anyway. It’s more like a large bath than a proper sento, but you can get three or four people in it and it’s got separate washing facilities.’

‘It’s pretty nice,’ Melissa agreed. ‘We have two shower rooms with toilet and such as well, so we shouldn’t have conflicts over usage too often. The kitchen’s… You know, let’s just take a walk and you can see.’

The door Mitsuko and Melissa had come out of led into the lounge. It was large enough to double as a dining room if you wanted, but it seemed that the two women had decided on more of a Japanese feel. Sort of. If you squinted. There was a large sofa arranged to face the main entertainment screen which occupied the opposite wall, but between sofa and screen was a low table that seemed to be the only surface suitable for eating on. To Nava’s right as she entered was the big picture window which, she noted, could be entirely blocked out by heavy blinds. Decoration was light: the walls were painted in a soft, creamy colour and that was about it. It turned out that the same decoration had been applied to all the rooms except the sento; paintbrushes could be seen in their future.

In the middle of the back wall was a door which opened onto a corridor. To either side of this were the bedrooms. Mitsuko had claimed the one on the right closest to the lounge and Melissa had selected the one on that side at the back. This turned out to be because those rooms had windows. They also shared a shower room; connecting doors from the bedrooms let into the smaller room between them. Smaller, but with a fairly large shower cubicle, and Nava could already see how her evening was going to start tonight. The bedrooms on the other side were set up in the same way and Nava selected the room opposite Mitsuko’s to be hers, even if she was not going to be sleeping in it very often.

At the back, through another door off the corridor, was the kitchen. That had a window overlooking the rear garden, a door out onto the garden, and all the usual appliances. The garden was pretty bare, just grass which did not appear to have been maintained well up until now. Mitsuko had plans to get one of the gardeners from her parents’ estate to come down and do something with it.

Then there was the door to the sento. Nava revised her estimation of the way the evening might go on seeing a small pool raised a metre or so off the ground but also clearly sunk into it. A pair of hand-shower stations for washing let you get clean before plunging into the temperature-controlled bath which almost certainly was big enough for four. Yes, sex in the sento seemed like a high-probability event. Since the outer wall of the room was a window, floor to ceiling, you could do it in semi-public, if you wished.

That left a mudroom – as Melissa described it – in the corner of the building with another door out onto the garden there. Opposite that door was the inner door onto the corridor from the entrance hall. You could get from front to back without entering any of the private rooms.

‘There’s a void,’ Nava said, looking at the inner door. ‘The corridor doesn’t fill the space between the bedrooms and the outer wall.’

‘Services room,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Air conditioning and the house computer and stuff like that are in there. Room might not be the word to describe it, but it’s the best I’ve got. It’s full of pipes and electronics, but there is an access door and you can move about in there.’

‘I can’t,’ Melissa said. ‘Not easily.’ She tapped her expansive chest. ‘You need to be able to fit into fairly narrow spaces and I’m badly equipped for those.’

‘Speaking of fitting into things,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you should change for the ceremony, Nava. Oh! Are all your uniforms in the boxes?’

‘I think I got whiplash from that change of topic,’ Nava replied, starting for the corridor that would lead her to the entrance hall, ‘but I foresaw this very situation when I left after the New Year celebration. I have a uniform in my case. I’ll go and change into it now and we can all watch Kyle graduate.’

~~~

There was quite the array of outfits on show at the banquet after the ceremony. Obviously, there were SAS^2 uniforms; a substantial number of graduates were wearing their uniforms for the last time before they went off into the wider world. However, there were also ASF uniforms because a lot of students went into the ASF following their time in education, especially those on the combat side. The ASF did not wait for graduation to employ them either; most of those wearing the black uniforms were on a day’s leave from basic training. There were also people in the school’s faculty uniform – rust red instead of blue – and there were the visitors in a variety of clothing ranging from the very casual to the strictly formal.

Nava watched the people celebrating with her usual somewhat disinterested demeanour. The banquet was a buffet; some twelve hundred and seventy students were graduating, plus guests, plus faculty, and a sit-down meal was a logistical nightmare. In fact, there were multiple banquets spread across several refectories around the campus. Nava had eaten sufficient food that she could make do with something light in the evening, and now she was following Mitsuko around as the student president ‘pressed palms.’

Mitsuko had actually described what was going on in that way. Various higher-ranking citizens and students had an expectation of personal congratulations from the president, and Mitsuko was endeavouring to meet that expectation. However, the president was also the daughter of the leaders of one of the most prestigious clans in the Alliance. More people wanted to meet her than might be expected of other graduations. Added to that, she was being escorted by the newest member of the secretive but very influential Greyling family. Plenty of people wanted to get a close-up view of Nava too. Nava had concluded that her role was that of an escort: part girlfriend, part bodyguard.

Melissa was getting off lightly. ‘I think I’d want to murder someone by about now,’ she said to Nava as yet another pompous parent pushed their son at Mitsuko. No one was especially interested in some random girl from a small clan from the edge of Clan Worlds space, and Melissa was glad of that.

‘Suki’s actually had lessons in not murdering people at events like this,’ Nava replied.

‘She has?’

‘Sort of. She got some basic instruction in politics and public speaking. Her parents knew she wasn’t interested in getting into politics at all, but they also knew she was never going to be able to avoid it entirely.’

‘And then she stands for student president.’

‘That’s because she had an agenda she wanted to push in the school. She doesn’t have… Hm. Clan Worlds society as a whole suffers from this false warrior ethic. Maybe she should continue after she leaves.’

‘Don’t you dare suggest that where anyone else can hear,’ Mitsuko said. Apparently, she had escaped her latest admirer. ‘Changing things, at least a little, in SAS-squared might be possible. Changing that attitude in the Clan Worlds as a whole will take more than just one person talking a lot.’

‘It has to start with someone.’ Nava held up a hand to deflect any response. ‘I won’t press you into it, however. Spending your long life as the most unpopular person in the Alliance is something you’d need to choose to do. Now, who else wants to have their existence confirmed by feverishly gripping your hand?’

‘Kyle,’ Mitsuko replied.

Nava turned to see Kyle and Courtney weaving through the crowd in their direction. Courtney was in her usual SAS^2 uniform with the gold trim associated with some position of power. The black ASF uniform looked good on Kyle. He was a big man; the uniform tended to obscure his muscles, but he was still tall and broad-shouldered. His shock of dark-blonde hair was a strong counterpoint to his dark skin. His uniform was essentially the same as the SAS^2 uniform for boys, so it just appeared that his usual attire had been recoloured in black with gold highlights. Aside from the cape: a gold cape sat on Kyle’s right shoulder, hanging over his back and right arm. That made this the dress uniform. Without the cape, it was the operations uniform. Completely replaced by something else, it was the combat uniform; the ASF uniforms were not especially practical until they needed to be.

Courtney was looking smug, and the couple had been missing for an hour, so Nava could guess what they had been up to. Kyle was looking happy, but there was an underlying current of worry to his pleased expression which might require examination…

‘Congratulations,’ Mitsuko said as Kyle made his final approach. ‘What is it now, Cadet Kyle Maynard House?’

‘Cadet through basic training,’ Kyle replied. ‘Then they promote me to officer cadet for officer training.’

‘A non-commissioned officer rank,’ Nava supplied. ‘Then you start service as a second lieutenant.’

‘At which point, I’ll have the official rank you already hold unofficially.’ Kyle lowered his voice a little to make the statement; Nava’s rank in the ASF was, technically, a secret of sorts. ‘How was your training?’

‘Boring. A lot of lectures about procedures.’

‘That’s about what we’ve been getting. An afternoon of familiarisation with the new combat armour provided the most excitement so far.’

‘Ah. I did that before the new year,’ Nava said. ‘My family is moving to the new gear for those who don’t have some other form of protection they prefer.’

‘Is that what that big case is?’ Melissa asked. ‘It came yesterday, by courier. It’s locked.’

‘Yes, that’s my suit. I’m supposed to continue gaining familiarity with it. They’re being introduced for students this year anyway.’

‘A slightly lower-spec version is,’ Mitsuko corrected. ‘The chameleon surface can be configured to show the school colours and logo, but the specifications aren’t quite up to military standards.’

Nava nodded. ‘The protective value is the same, which is what counts for students. We’ll all have a little less chance of scraping our knees.’ She turned her attention to Kyle, fixing his eyes with hers. ‘Now, Kyle, you’ve just graduated from SAS-squared and had sex with your girlfriend, why are you looking worried?’

‘I’m not–’ Kyle began and then he stopped because Nava was still staring at him.

‘He’s worried about me,’ Courtney said. She frowned. ‘I didn’t want to bring this up here…’

‘But now we all want to know what the problem is,’ Mitsuko said, ‘so you’ll be telling us anyway.’

That got a sigh. ‘My family found out about Kyle and they’re not happy. I said they should look at his grades and consider the career he’s likely to have. Then I said I loved him and wouldn’t leave him. And then I said that if that was the way they felt, they could stuff their money.’

‘They’re disowning you?!’ Melissa squeaked.

‘Well, no. Not quite. I’m not welcome at the family picnics until I “come to my senses.”’

‘And they’re stopping her allowance,’ Kyle said.

‘Tuition’s free,’ Courtney countered, ‘and I have some money saved up.’

‘And I said I’d send her money as soon as I’m in officer training,’ Kyle said.

‘And I say again that you’ll need it yourself. I think I can just about make it to graduation. I think.’ Pause. ‘Why are you staring at me like that, Nava?’

‘I’m making an assessment,’ Nava replied. ‘I believe that if you were unable to complete your course due to the inflexibility of your family, that would be a quantifiable loss to the ASF as well as an issue for the school, given your position as captain of the Student Security Force.’

‘Well, I’m going to be stepping down as captain at some point during–’

‘But not immediately. You will be less able to handle your duties if you’re worrying over financial matters. I’ll see what I can do.’

‘What you can do?’

‘And we can alleviate some of the financial burden immediately,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I’ll talk to the administration.’

Looking a little shell-shocked, Courtney turned her gaze to Mitsuko. ‘Talk to… What about?’

‘Well, we have a spare bedroom. I’ll have them cancel your current agreement and you can move in with us.’

‘I’m not taking handouts, Suki,’ Courtney said. She looked quite determined about that. Rather fierce actually.

‘You’ll be on the same arrangement as Mel. We’ll reshuffle the proportions and with four of us paying, we’ll all have a little extra cash available. This isn’t a handout, it’s a reasonable method of reducing your costs while maintaining some of your lifestyle.’

‘It’s a really nice house,’ Melissa said. ‘We have a sento and Suki’s going to get the garden done up. Oh! And with you and Nava living there, we’ll be safe from zombie plagues and alien invasions. They’d never risk attacking.’

‘Uh, right,’ Courtney said.

Melissa, however, was turning her attention to Mitsuko. ‘We’ll need another maid outfit. Mine won’t fit her.’

Mitsuko nodded, slowly and with complete seriousness. ‘You make a good point. I don’t think the added expenditure will be a problem, however.’

‘M-maid outfit?’ Courtney asked.

‘Yes, well, you will be on the same arrangement as Mel.’

‘Just what kind of arrangement are we talking about?’

Melissa could not manage to keep a straight face at that point and had to turn away to giggle into her hand.

Nava regarded the SSF captain for a second. ‘I can’t believe you took the bait. Are you sure you’re the captain of the SSF?’

Courtney winced. ‘Maybe this is bothering me more than I thought…’

~~~

Naomi Himura Sonkei looked like an officer. In fact, he looked like the kind of officer you saw at the head of his troops, holding a flag in one hand and a battle rifle in the other, spurring his men on to victory. Or on recruitment posters. Well, maybe his hair was a little wrong. He had shoulder-length, black hair which did not quite fit the image, but everything else was right. His strong, powerful body filled out an ASF uniform to perfection.

‘He scares the crap out of the instructors,’ Kyle said, smirking at his fellow officer candidate.

‘I don’t believe that’s entirely correct,’ Naomi replied.

‘That’s effectively admitting that it’s at least partially true,’ Mitsuko pointed out.

‘I’ll concede that point.’ Naomi was not quite as taciturn as Nava, but he did tend to give the impression that he was a mountain: immovable, imperturbable, and invulnerable. ‘They should not be intimidated. My scores in the finals were good, but not excellent.’

‘You being intimidating has never been about sorcery, Naomi,’ Melissa said. ‘You look like you could break someone in half with your bare hands. I bet you could fold me up like a pretzel if you wanted. I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to stop you.’

Blink and you missed it, but there was a very slight pause before Naomi replied. ‘I assure you that I don’t make a habit of folding young women into pretzels without prior consent, Mel.’

‘Well, no, because you’re a gentleman. But your instructors don’t know that.’

Mitsuko bent down to put her head beside Nava’s and whispered. ‘Did Naomi just blush, or am I imagining it?’

‘He blushed.’

‘Fascinating.’

~~~

‘This is doing wonders for my feet,’ Mitsuko said. She was chest deep in the house’s bath and loving it.

‘We spent almost the whole day standing up,’ Melissa said.

‘The flat boots the ASF wear are that way for a reason,’ Nava said. ‘Another indication that the school’s uniform code was written by a man.’

‘The men should have to wear heels too,’ Melissa said. ‘I heard that they did, once upon a time, because some king was self-conscious about his height.’

‘Originally,’ Mitsuko said, ‘they were worn when riding. A heel stopped your foot slipping through the stirrup.’

‘Practical,’ Nava said. ‘Not that there’s much need of that these days. People still ride, I suppose.’

‘Sport and leisure riding is the only reason we still have horses. We’ll get Courtney moved in here tomorrow.’

‘Sudden change of topic, but okay. She did appear to be missing Kyle even before he left. I don’t suppose she’ll see him again for a month or so.’

‘Yes. I did consider inviting her to sleep here tonight, but it felt like I was forcing the matter.’

‘It’s your birthday tomorrow,’ Melissa said. ‘Are you sure you want to be working like that on your birthday?’

‘It’s only my sixteenth,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘We’ll go out for a meal in the evening. All four of us. Courtney won’t let herself be a killjoy at a birthday party. She might even enjoy herself.’

‘That may be asking too much,’ Nava said. She looked around at her two closest friends. ‘So, which bed are we christening tonight?’

Mitsuko’s lips twitched. ‘I thought we’d start here, once my feet feel like they’re attached again.’

‘That sounds like a good plan.’

‘Then we can work our way around the beds one at a time. And we should probably do the sofa in the lounge tonight if Courtney will be here from tomorrow.’

‘Hm. So, we’ll be moving Courtney over tomorrow afternoon then.’

‘Probably. Yes.’

236/1/11.

‘Happy birthday, Suki,’ Courtney said, lifting her glass of wine. She was the only one old enough to drink alcohol and, despite the fact that the others were restricted to grape juice, she had decided that tonight was one night she needed a little inebriation. No one had said anything.

‘Thank you,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘And welcome to the household, Courtney.’

Courtney smiled. ‘Thank you. To be honest… Well, I’m happy to have the company. I didn’t sleep that well last night.’

‘I can understand that.’

‘Suki failed to manage a night without me after I stopped guarding her last year,’ Nava said. ‘She knows your pain well.’

‘I don’t think there was any need to bring that up,’ Mitsuko said, blushing.

Melissa giggled. ‘I remember that night too.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ Nava said. She turned to address Courtney in a manner which might have been conspiratorial if it were not for Nava’s flat expression. ‘The walls in those capsule apartments are thin and Mel was entertained for several hours by Suki’s… singing voice.’ Melissa went scarlet and Mitsuko made strangling noises. Nava appeared not to notice.

‘Well, I hope the soundproofing in the house is good then,’ Courtney said.

‘You’re far enough away from our room that it should be good,’ Nava said. ‘If it becomes an issue, I’ll consult Chess about a soundproofing spell.’

‘You’re going to talk to Chess, the man voted most likely to faint at the sight of boobs, about a spell to mask sex noises.’

‘Only if required. It should be hilarious.’

‘You’re evil, Nava Greyling.’

‘I have my moments.’

Grinning, Courtney turned to Mitsuko. ‘So, first day of a new year tomorrow. Do you have your speech written?’

‘Written and memorised,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘Mel can attest. Nava managed to escape me rehearsing it, but Mel has had to sit through a couple of performances.’

‘I think it’s pretty good,’ Melissa said. ‘It’s encouraging, inspiring, and it sets down the president’s opinion on how the students should behave toward each other.’

‘You’re giving them your speech on equality then?’ Courtney asked.

‘Not exactly,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘I’m simply pointing out a few facts about last year which may challenge some preconceptions.’

236/1/12.

‘Hello, class two-one-three, my name is Taryn Borchardt Firmin.’

There was a new girl in Mitsuko’s class. A transfer student. A fairly unusual transfer student. The Firmin clan had their own sorcery school and more or less every magician in the clan attended it. To transfer to SAS^2 in the second year, Taryn Borchardt had to be some kind of special.

Physically, she was impressive. She was probably slightly taller than Mitsuko, but the difference was marginal and masked by Taryn’s more voluminous hair. Taryn was significantly more muscular than Mitsuko, however; this was clearly a powerful woman, but also a very shapely one. Taryn was attractive, a real beauty, with lightly tanned skin, a mass of auburn curls falling past her shoulders, and blue-grey eyes. Quite full lips came with a beauty spot above the left corner. She had strong features, almost masculine but not enough to detract from distinctly feminine good looks. Her bust was a match for Melissa’s, so she filled out her uniform very well. Beyond all that, she carried herself with the easy confidence one might expect from a clan that specialised in professional mercenaries and a family at the top of the clan.

‘I transferred here from Bosquet,’ Taryn went on, ‘and I’d imagine some of you are wondering why. Basically, I needed a bigger challenge than the school there can provide, so a transfer to the best school in the Alliance was arranged. I promise I won’t bring the class’s average grades down.’ That got a laugh from some of the other students. ‘My main hobby is MagiTag. From what I’ve heard, SAS-squared has a pretty good team, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve got.’

As Taryn sat down at her desk, Mitsuko caught the teacher’s eye, got a nod, and got to her feet. ‘Welcome, Taryn Borchardt. I am Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei, the student president. I’m sure you’ll get to know the others here very quickly, but if there’s anything you need help with, please ask. It’s rare for us to see a Firmin here, so I think we’re all looking forward to seeing what you can do.’

‘Thanks,’ Taryn replied. ‘I promise I won’t let you down.’

~~~

Nava shifted in her seat and scanned around the theatre. Nothing seemed out of place, but something was making her feel a little uncomfortable for the second time in the last hour. Maybe she was nervous for Mitsuko, who was at the podium right now, giving her speech. It did not seem likely, but maybe that was it.

‘Last year was an interesting one for this school and its students,’ Mitsuko said. She was getting to the political bit. Up to now, it had all been boilerplate, welcoming the new year’s students and welcoming back the returning ones, and commenting on the excellent results of the last graduating year – standard stuff that came out in one form or another every year at the matriculation ceremony. Now she was moving on to the less standard bit. ‘We were faced with various threats, both internal and external. We faced two serial killers, a ghost, and an extortionist threatening us with a hurricane. A group of us, myself included, were involved in the terrorist attack in Alliance City last summer. On the other hand, we kicked butt in both the MagiTag and flight competitions last summer, not to mention several other events throughout the year. We put on two very entertaining dances and one of the best-received plays of this decade. There was bad last year, but there were also good things which we can hope to repeat this year.’

She paused, looking around at the gathered multitude. There were about eight thousand students in the theatre. Many of them knew their president’s views, but at least fourteen hundred did not. They were about to find out. ‘I’m sure you’re wondering what my point is, so here it comes. We got through all of this, the good and the bad, because we worked together. All of us. When we’re faced with a challenge, the students of the Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery do not back down. No matter which stream of study we’ve elected to take, we get the job done. I have personally witnessed support students with no interest in seeing battle stand up and acquit themselves with great honour in the most difficult of circumstances.’ Mitsuko gave a small smile. ‘And I’ve seen combat students knuckle down and do the boring stuff that’s needed to make a school event run well. This year, I hope to see all of that and more. Our school is considered one of the best in the Alliance. Together, we can make it even better.’

~~~

‘Good speech,’ Taryn said. ‘Very good for school spirit and all that.’

‘Thank you,’ Mitsuko said. She had invited her new classmate to lunch out of a sense of duty more than anything else, but it did give her the chance to see where Taryn sat on the ‘combat stream is superior’ scale, among other things.

‘Do you really think people who don’t want to get into fights are capable of handling them that well, though?’ That probably indicated Taryn’s viewpoint quite well.

‘Well, the three sitting with you certainly can.’

‘Huh?’

‘Two,’ Nava said. ‘I’m support stream, but the only issue I have with combat is when I’m not supposed to kill my opponents.’

‘Huh?’ Taryn said again. She had selected a curry from one of the refectory counters, but it was currently being ignored as she looked between the people dining with her.

‘I’ve been in two combat situations with Nava, Mel, and Chess,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Nava is something of a special case, I suppose.’

‘She’s a one-woman army,’ Melissa said, grinning.

‘Mel handles combat very effectively,’ Mitsuko went on. ‘She operates in a supporting role, that’s true, but she doesn’t flinch when it comes to it. Chess’s magic is exceptionally useful for scouting. He’s an academic but that doesn’t stop him doing his job in a fight when he’s needed.’

‘N-Nava drilled situational awareness and combat tactics into us last year,’ Rochester said. He was doing his absolute best not to look directly at Taryn, but he was still stuttering a little. With Melissa as his previous girlfriend and Hoshi Horne as his current one, one might have expected him to have learned to cope with large breasts. No dice. He possibly had not seen Hoshi naked yet, given that anything too intimate between them would have been illegal, but Hoshi’s teaching uniform did little to hide her assets. Maybe Rochester was destined to go through life staring at women’s hairlines.

‘I still have some issues with combat,’ Melissa admitted. ‘I’m fine, so long as I can’t see the blood. Blood makes my legs go wobbly.’

‘So,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I do think that people who don’t wish to fight can handle combat, yes. In some cases, they can handle it very well.’

‘People who want to fight are idiots,’ Nava stated flatly. Both Mitsuko and Taryn flinched, but for different reasons.

‘That may be a little too direct, Nava,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Perhaps a little inaccurate,’ Nava replied. ‘People who want to be in fair fights are idiots. If they like picking fights they know they have no chance of losing, they’re just bullies. No one should want to be in a fight they have a chance of losing, especially when death or serious injury is a probability.’ She looked across the table at Taryn, who was staring daggers at her. The virtual daggers had absolutely no effect. ‘Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes, such a fight is necessary, and entering into one is an act of bravery, but seeking them out suggests that you were born with a severely damaged sense of self-preservation. Or you’re stupidly overconfident. Sadly, that kind of attitude is endemic in Clan Worlds culture.’

Taryn frowned and then turned back to her food. ‘That’s actually… probably accurate. My family has a lot of mercenaries in it. I guess you could say we seek out fights. But it’s to make a living. We don’t start fights. We just make sure we finish them if one happens.’

Nava gave a small shrug. ‘Mercenaries have existed for thousands of years. I’m sure society would be better off if they weren’t needed, but it seems there is such a need. You’ll have to excuse me, Taryn Borchardt. My background is somewhat unusual. I grew up outside the Alliance and my attitudes to a number of things don’t quite fit. Further, most people have a lot of trouble determining what my feelings are since I don’t outwardly display them.’

Flashing a half-smile, Taryn said, ‘I got that. Even after just a few minutes of knowing you, I can tell you don’t give much away.’

‘Oh,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you’ve no idea. Just remember that if she’s threatening you with some form of anatomically improbable punishment, she’s almost certainly joking.’

‘Almost certainly?’

‘Well, she hasn’t done any of them yet…’

236/1/13.

Mitsuko walked in from the bathroom, rubbing a towel at her hair. Drying her hair could be a real pain at times. Nava’s hair seemed to slough water as though it was made of plastic – which it certainly was not – but Mitsuko had to work at it. Nava’s hair was fresh from the shower now, but it looked dry and untangled as she lay on the bed, naked, reading something on her ketcom.

‘What’s got you so enthralled?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘I’m not sure enthralled is the right word,’ Nava replied in her usual semi-monotone. ‘I’m learning Japanese.’

‘Oh. You are?’

‘It seemed like a useful skill to have, given the clan I’ve found myself in. Plenty of people in the Sonkeis speak Japanese. You speak Japanese.’

‘Well, true. It’s not mandatory or anything.’

‘I’m aware of that. However, it demonstrates my willingness to fit in with my new family, has utility in interactions with a wider scope of people, and makes me feel like I belong a little more. I see no downside.’

Finally satisfied, Mitsuko tossed her towel over a chair. ‘I do.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes. Your education is currently a barrier preventing me from doing one of the things I’ve had far too little of in the last three weeks.’ Mitsuko was presenting her best ‘hungry’ expression. Her face said, ‘I want it, and I want it now!’

Nava decided that prolonging the anticipation would heighten the experience. And she was feeling a little mean. ‘It was only one week. We did it, a lot, at new year. I do not know how your ancient ancestors came up with such a convoluted writing system. I know you don’t use the kanji characters for general writing these days but–’

‘Nava…’ Mitsuko drew the name’s final vowel out into a long whine.

Nava’s eyes flicked up from her book. Then she snapped her ketcom closed and turned to place it on the bedside table. ‘Alright. I suppose I’ve been missing it too. There’s nothing wrong with ending the evening with a bang.’

‘That’s more like it.’ Mitsuko stalked forward, regaining her predatory posture as she went. ‘But I want several bangs.’

‘Of course.’

‘Big ones.’ Crawling up the bed, Mitsuko closed the distance like a hunting cat stalking prey.

‘Mm.’

‘Really big ones.’

Nava shook her head as Mitsuko’s lips closed on hers. ‘They’ll be positively atomic.’

236/1/14.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, classes at SAS^2 kept the same homeroom teacher for the first four years. Hence, Luca Newton Kinnari registered class 22C, just as she had done with class 12C. This maintained a sense of continuity for the students until they moved on to the advanced courses in the fifth year. The same could not be said for the combat instructor assigned to the class.

‘Good morning, class two-two-C,’ the new instructor said as she paced in front of her seated students. They were sitting on the floor in one of the combat instruction rooms and the new face had been a little surprising to many. ‘I am Captain Sienna Acker Fosse. I will be teaching you for the next three years, so get used to calling me Captain Sienna Acker. For those of you who happen to be interested in my credentials, I served ten years in the ASF’s marines.’

Nava considered that statement. Ten years and she had made captain. Nava’s second lieutenant rank was informal, but it was only two ranks below captain. Sienna Acker had either been uninterested in advancement – unlikely, given that she stressed her rank so much – or she had annoyed the hell out of her superiors. Or she had done something sufficiently bad that it had stunted her advancement. Nava hoped the latter was not the case.

The woman was built like a tank. A supermodel tank, but still a tank. There had been little appreciative whimpers from most of the male students when she had walked into the room and Nava could understand the point. Sienna Acker was a very attractive woman. However, it was her musculature which Nava picked up on. Her arm muscles were well defined, but her thighs… She looked like she did five hundred squat thrusts every morning without fail. She could probably crush a man’s skull between those thighs. He might even die happy. She was shorter than Mitsuko by maybe three centimetres: tall, but not aggressively so. If she was ex-military, then she had taken to civilian life since her hair was long and straight. Chestnut waves fell from a centre parting to the upper slopes of moderate-to-large breasts. Her nose was a little flat, but her lips were very full, and she had a sharp, firm jawline and high cheekbones. Nava suspected that her leadership style had been ‘ballbuster.’

‘You will be learning combat tactics,’ Sienna went on, ‘because even support specialists may be called on to lead other soldiers. You will be taught the best use of support magic in combat situations. You will continue to improve your marksmanship. This will assist you in correctly targeting support spells. It is not simply because we instructors like making you do the drills.’ That sounded like a sore point from previous years. ‘Now there is just one thing I want to know at this point, and that is: what are you wearing, Nava Greyling?’

‘The new combat training uniform, Captain Sienna Acker,’ Nava replied.

‘Why?’

‘Familiarisation. Familiarising oneself with one’s equipment is important. I confirmed with the administration that, if I had one of the new suits, I could wear it. I’d like to get fully up to speed on all its functions as soon as possible and I’ve only had time to achieve a basic familiarity.’

‘And how is it that you have one when the first batch through have only been made available to combat students?’

‘I’m a Greyling.’

‘Huh.’ Sienna favoured Nava with a frown. ‘Since we have an example and you’ll all be getting the new suits next term, let’s take a moment to go over what you’re getting. Nava Greyling, would you come to the front and regale us with the specifications of the Mercury MagiSystems Personal Defence System suits?’

It was probably meant to be an exercise in humiliation. Nava would step up to the front and give a poor presentation on the new equipment. Sienna would call her out. Hilarity would ensue. Nava’s class knew better, and they all settled down to listen as Nava got to her feet and walked out to stand beside the teacher.

The PDS-101 was quite a change from the suits the rest of the class were wearing. The design had been created exclusively for the use of magicians and, compared to the standard armour worn by ASF personnel, it was quite impressive. The suit itself was a form-fitting garment with panels of denser materials mounted on a highly flexible base material. The SAS^2 version had blue panels mounted over a grey base and the SAS^2 logo printed over the left breast. Normally anyway. In addition to the suit, the helmet could be sealed to the suit to provide resistance to biochemical weapons. There was no faceplate, so with the helmet on you were presented with something which looked like a highly realistic, humanoid robot. A pair of light bands marked the location of the optical sensor system and gave the ‘robot’ something of a menacing appearance.

‘Okay,’ Nava said, ‘this is the PDS one-oh-one. It comes in two basic variants, M for military and C for civilian. We will actually be getting the S variant, but the only difference between the C and S versions is that the S has the option of displaying this school colour scheme. Mercury MagiSystems got the contract to supply the ASF by agreeing to make the S version available to the school at a significant discount.’

‘It was, however, all finalised at rather short notice,’ Sienna said, ‘which is why we’re getting our first supply in two batches.’

‘The existing suits are quite satisfactory for our purposes,’ Nava said. ‘The ASF made the arrangement so that students from the school would be basically familiar with them should they continue on to join the ASF. The suit itself is magically active. It utilises a magician’s natural ability to accumulate quintessence, filtering some of that energy off to repair itself. This will only happen while you’re wearing it, but it’s very useful. The material is resistant to heat and electricity. It will provide protection against energy weapons, Laser Strike, and Fire Blast. It also has a reactive capability making it effective against most firearms. It’s flexible, so it’s not as effective against large impacts and falls, but it is still better than the older suits. Just not much better. Both the military and civilian models have a chameleon surface, providing camouflage when viewed under visible and infrared spectrums. The military version is effective against a broader range of frequencies and has a radar-stealth coating. The camouflage is less effective when moving. You have been warned. Both variants have spell matrices for Might and Armour, enhancing your strength and providing far greater protection, but at the cost of periodically recasting the spells.’

‘The ranks of those spells?’ Sienna asked.

‘For the civilian version, Might is rank three, Armour is rank ten. The military version has ranks five and twenty.’ Nava lifted the helmet. ‘I won’t put this on because you sound like you’re talking into a bucket. The helmet seals to the suit and has air filtration. It’s equipped with a radio and a protected-hearing system. You see via a screen mounted over your eyes and the field of view is not restricted. The civilian version provides infrared optics. The military version gives you ultraviolet too. The internal power cell can operate for a day and, in addition, there are slots for C-size Q-cells. Two slots in the civilian version, four in the military. You can use the stored quintessence for whatever you wish, including running the spell matrices in the suit, obviously. I think that covers everything. Oh, all versions have integrated MagiTag detection for training purposes. Now that’s everything.’

‘Yes,’ Sienna said. If she was annoyed that Nava had covered everything, she was not showing it. ‘Your opinion of the new suit?’

‘With limited time to use it, I find it comfortable and effective. I’ve yet to be shot while wearing it, however. I reserve judgement on its protective capabilities.’

‘I don’t think anyone has been shot while wearing one, to date. Okay, you might as well stay on your feet as we’ll be doing some breaching exercises. I want to see for myself what you’re all capable of. Nava Greyling, since you have that suit, your team can defend.’ Sienna frowned as a groan went up from the majority of the class.

‘They were probably hoping you wouldn’t say that,’ Nava said. ‘Our previous instructor usually had my team take the defensive role.’

‘Oh, really? This I can’t wait to see.’

Melissa and Rochester moved over to stand beside Nava as she checked her MagiTag pistols. ‘Your suit is military spec, isn’t it?’ Melissa asked in a low voice.

‘It certainly is,’ Nava replied. ‘My family had the school colour scheme added as a special feature. I don’t think we’ll mention that to Captain Sienna Acker. Somehow, I don’t think she’d take it too well.’

~~~

‘Theory this afternoon,’ Melissa said. ‘You’re not taking it, Hoshi? That’s right, isn’t it?’

Hoshi had joined the others for lunch. She was wearing casual clothes and looking rather happy about it. ‘They got a proper replacement. One of the postgrads finished his studies and decided he wanted to teach. I’m not absolutely positive that you’ll be getting him, but it’s likely.’

Part of her pleasure with no longer having to teach was likely due to not having to teach Rochester. Their relationship was not physical, but there was still a dubious element to it given that Hoshi was his metaphysics teacher. Her regression back to being just a postgrad gave them more legitimacy.

Rochester appeared to feel the same. There was no hint of disappointment at not having his girlfriend teaching him anyway. ‘Do you know the man?’ he asked.

‘By sight,’ Hoshi replied. ‘I mean, half the faculty, by which I mean the female half, knows him by sight. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him. He’s been doing pure research for three years. He’s an excellent theoretician, from what I hear. Not so good with practical magic, hence he went into academic research.’

Something in the pit of Nava’s stomach twisted. Butterflies fluttered. Nava was not used to fits of nerves; she had not suffered from the problem since she was seven. A new metaphysics teacher, even one described as very attractive, should not be causing her to feel uneasy, but…

‘You haven’t mentioned his name?’ Mitsuko pointed out.

‘Oh! Sorry, it’s Miles Paris Sonkei,’ Hoshi supplied.

Nava recalled the schema for the See Spirits spell and activated it. The nervous feeling was already gone, but she looked around anyway. Maybe the feeling had been the result of a Harbinger being nearby. Maybe that sensation was not directly the result of a nearby Harbinger, but the one Nava had killed had triggered it for some other reason. Maybe… Too many maybes and not enough visual evidence of a big blue alien which happened to be invisible to everyone else in the refectory.

‘Are you okay, Nava?’ Hoshi asked. ‘You look… No idea what you look like, but not normal.’

‘It’s nothing,’ Nava said. If there was a Harbinger nearby, it had escaped her sight. She was not confident enough in that particular weird sense to say anything. It would only scare people. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Oh. Okay.’

‘Melissa,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you know Miles Paris’s cousins.’

‘I do?’

‘Yes. You remember Alain and Phillipe? Their father is Miles’s uncle on their mother’s side.’

Melissa blushed. ‘Oh. Yes. I remember them. S-small world, isn’t it?’

‘Where did you meet them?’ Rochester asked. His eyes were a little narrowed.

‘We met at a party. It was the one welcoming Nava into the clan. That was the one, right, Suki?’

‘That was it. Nice boys. Well, they’re adults now, of course. Still doing everything together. I believe they’re both going into acting.’

‘Well,’ Melissa said, ‘they’re both handsome men. If their cousin is the same, the girls will be whimpering this afternoon just like the boys were when Captain Sienna Acker walked in this morning.’

‘I did not whimper,’ Rochester said, looking a little huffy.

‘Of course not, Chess,’ Mitsuko said. ‘You’re not into muscles.’

Melissa and Hoshi nodded in unison. ‘Boobs,’ they chorused.

236/1/15.

‘So, we meet at last!’

The usual lunchtime group turned at the sound of the voice, and what they saw was a girl in SAS^2 uniform who none of them had ever met before. At least that made her statement accurate. Sort of. She was standing there in a dramatic sort of pose, one arm raised with her index finger pointed at Nava. She was not really much to look at; she was not ugly, but she was not especially pretty either. She was thin, maybe a little bony, and she had moderately small, high breasts. Her neck was fairly long and it was shown off by a somewhat unusual hairstyle, for the time anyway. Long black hair had been drawn up into a pair of plaits which ran over the top of her head to the back, ending in short tails held in place by tortoiseshell rings. A pair of slim bangs fell to either side of her face, dyed purple at the ends. The twin tails were also purple and there were a couple of bands of the same colour wound through her plaits. She liked her makeup thick and Gothic: quite full lips were painted a paler shade of purple and iridescent blue eyeshadow decorated the upper lids of eyes which had purple irises. Her nose really let her down, being a bit big for her face, quite pointed, and yet managing to be just a bit bulbous at the tip. Overall, her face followed her rather gaunt figure, but she did somehow manage to look something like a stereotypical sorceress or witch.

‘Excuse me?’ Nava asked.

Apparently, the mystery girl was not entirely happy with what she had said, or maybe how she had said it. ‘No, that sounds like a villain meeting a hero…’ she muttered. Without really answering Nava, she turned away, paused, and then turned back, once again dramatically posing with a finger aimed at Nava. Her dress swirled around her legs as she did so, adding to the impression that she was acting in a schlocky action drama. ‘Through time and space I have searched for you. Truly, our meeting is fated by destiny!’

Nava turned to Mitsuko. ‘The Drama Club only does one production a year, right? This isn’t another one trying to get me into a play?’

‘Yes and no,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘Might we ask you to introduce yourself, young lady?’

There was a bit of a falter in the girl’s rather pleased, kind of triumphant expression; this was not quite going to plan. ‘My name is Carina Schwartz Malkin! Daughter of Ottmar and Ariana. I have searched these long years for a guardian to–’

‘Maybe this is some sort of hazing ritual for new Drama Club members,’ Nava suggested.

Carina’s confident expression crumpled and her shoulders sagged. ‘No. I’m not with the–’

‘Where did you hear about hazing of all things?’ Mitsuko asked. ‘That kind of thing is strictly forbidden under school regulations.’

‘One of those animated series Mel likes,’ Nava replied. Her attention was still fixed on Carina. ‘Do you think you could tell us what you want without all the theatrics?’

‘I was rather enjoying the theatrics,’ Melissa said.

‘It livened up lunch,’ Hoshi agreed.

Looking sulky and disappointed, Carina walked over to sit down on the seat beside Nava. She glanced around quickly before taking her seat. It looked a lot like she did not want to be seen doing so, but then why make the ridiculous entrance? ‘I really am looking for someone to help me and… a friend told me that I should find the girl with the white hair and grey eyes because she’s really powerful.’

‘You don’t know my name?’ Nava asked.

‘Well, uh, no. I know that’s Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei, the student president, because she gave a speech on the first day. I don’t know who the rest of you are.’

‘You were just told to come find me by this friend of yours?’

‘Trudy. Yes. The white-haired girl with the grey eyes and the amazing aura.’

‘It gets better,’ Mitsuko commented. ‘Now you have an aura.’

Nava ignored that part for now. ‘My name is Nava Greyling Sonkei.’ Nava paused to let the name sink in and perhaps be recognised.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Carina replied. ‘Destiny compels us–’

‘I think we’ve heard enough about destiny,’ Mitsuko said. ‘You said you were a Malkin?’

‘I am,’ Carina said, lifting her chin proudly.

‘I didn’t think the Malkin clan ever sent anyone to be a student here. Really, it’s a year for oddities.’

‘I’m not familiar with the Malkins,’ Nava said.

‘I’m not especially surprised. Grimalkin is one of the furthest worlds in the Alliance from Shinden.’

‘Just over two hundred light years,’ Carina supplied.

‘Thank you. The Malkins have one of the highest percentages of magicians among their ranks. They’re often quite powerful, but they generally educate their people on their world. Why did they send you here, Carina?’

Carina looked away. ‘They suggested that a change of scenery would be good for me.’

‘You mentioned a guardian,’ Nava said. ‘Why do you need a guardian?’

There was more looking around. Nava followed Carina’s gaze, but there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary in the refectory. Unless you counted Carina. ‘I can’t talk about it here. They might hear. I’ve said too much already.’

‘I see. Well, I’m a little too busy to play bodyguard right now. Especially to someone who won’t tell me why.’

‘But–’

‘Perhaps you could come back when you’ve decided to trust the guardian you’re destined to meet.’

‘I…’ It looked briefly as though the girl was going to cry. She got to her feet. ‘I’ll talk to Trudy and see what she thinks. Maybe she was wrong.’ Then she was stalking away before anyone could reply.

‘Strange girl,’ Rochester said.

Courtney watched Carina’s back for a second. ‘I’ll check her records and see whether there’s likely to be a problem there. After that business with Marie’s stalker…’

‘I don’t think Carina is that kind of person,’ Nava said, ‘but I would be interested to hear anything you can tell us about her.’

‘There’s confidentiality… But I’ll see what I can find.’

~~~

‘Well, half of what I can tell you, you could find out from the news feeds if you searched for her name.’ It was now dinnertime. Courtney had checked the school’s records and was reporting back on what she had found.

‘Yes, but it’s easier to just ask you now,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Yeah. When she was ten or so, Carina was viewed as a prodigy. Quite significant sorcerous capacity which seemed to be coupled with remarkable talent. It was to be expected, to some extent. Her mother, Ariana, was a noted sorceress. Powerful even among the Malkins. Her father wasn’t as strong, but he was no slouch. Carina was expected to surpass her mother.’

‘I’m assuming from the way you’re saying this,’ Nava said, ‘that something went wrong.’

‘You could definitely say that. She was kidnapped just after her tenth birthday. Her mother was killed trying to protect her and she was missing for fourteen days. No ransom demand. No communication. Nothing for two weeks. Then she was returned, basically unharmed. She was only ten, so when she claimed that “rituals” had been performed on her, the Malkin security people put it down as some form of molestation, though there was no evidence of sexual assault or anything similar. The thing was, when she came back, she could barely work a spell. Even now, she just barely scraped in on the capacity requirement for SAS-squared.’

‘Strange.’

‘That’s downright weird,’ Melissa said.

‘It gets weirder,’ Courtney went on. ‘Over the next few years, she seems to have constructed an elaborate fantasy as a coping strategy. She believes that some shadowy organisation was behind the kidnapping. She says they’re still watching her. However, she has the help of an invisible friend she refers to as Trudy and she now claims that she does have a lot of power, but it’s been sealed away so that this shadow group can’t get it. If she really needs it, she claims, she can temporarily unlock the seal. All that “destined guardian” stuff is probably part of her fantasy.’

‘She’s delusional?’ Nava asked.

‘She’s a chūnibyō,’ Melissa replied, grinning a lot as she did so.

‘A what?’

‘Chūnibyō,’ Mitsuko said. ‘It’s a Japanese word. Literally, “middle two disease.” It used to refer to a supposed psychological condition common in second years at middle school. Essentially, it was the age when they had aspirations to be different in some way, to stand out in a relatively uniform culture. Some became delinquents, some chose to follow non-mainstream subcultures, and some believed they had special powers.’

‘That’s the version I know,’ Melissa said. ‘It used to be common in the animated series my brothers watched. Sometimes, the powers were real. Sometimes they were just fantasies the characters had, but people just thought they were deluded.’

‘And then,’ Mitsuko continued, ‘we discovered metaphysics and sorcery. Suddenly, there really were special powers that some people had. Chūnibyō became most associated with young people who believed they had power but did not, or that they had far more power than they did. It’s become less common than it was when metaphysics was first codified, but it’s a recognised condition which still occurs from time to time. If Michiko had ended up with no talent for sorcery, for example, she might have developed chūnibyō, thinking that she should be able to cast spells like her big sister.’

‘Okay,’ Nava said. ‘So we’re saying she’s probably delusional.’

‘You have a bad habit of reducing things to their simplest terms,’ Melissa said.

‘A bad habit?’

‘Well, it’s sometimes bad…’

‘But, yeah,’ Courtney said, ‘Carina Schwartz is probably delusional.’

Nava nodded. ‘Okay. Of course, she did get kidnapped…’

236/1/16.

Mitsuko pushed away from the wall she was leaning against, right outside her classroom, as she spotted Nava and Melissa walking toward her. These days, Mitsuko waited for her housemates to arrive from the floor above because they had decided they may as well walk back to the house together. Unless they did not, obviously.

‘We need to go through the agenda for the next council meeting,’ Mitsuko said as Melissa arrived. ‘I figure we can do that at home.’

‘One of the joys of information technology,’ Melissa replied. ‘We probably need to discuss the fair soon.’

‘The Extracurricular Activities Fair? It’s more Francis’s baby… I suppose we should make sure he’s getting things ready for it.’ Mitsuko turned and led the way toward the exit.

‘And that Courtney has the security aspects sorted out,’ Nava said. ‘She lost a few key people due to graduation. Has she replaced them?’

‘A couple,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘She can’t replace her biggest loss. Finding a new Don Ilbert to handle forensics is not an easy thing.’

‘No. Really, they could do with some sort of training system.’

‘Easier said than done.’

‘I’m aware.’ Exiting the building, Nava scanned the area out of habit. Chances were that there was nothing to see beyond the ordinary, but situational awareness had been drilled into her from a very young age. Today, there was something interesting. In a way. ‘Is that Carina?’

Mitsuko and Melissa followed her gaze. The question was clearly rhetorical. Of course it was Carina. The strange girl was not exactly hiding, but she had moved off down an alley between the first year’s teaching building and a small utility building. She looked kind of agitated.

‘What’s she doing?’ Melissa asked. ‘Is she… arguing with someone?’ As Melissa asked the question, Carina threw up her arms as if in exasperation, turned on the spot, and then resumed whatever argument she seemed to be having.

Nava looked at the scene through eyes enhanced with See Invisible. Then she switched to the version which worked on spirits. ‘She looks like she is, but I can’t see anyone or anything there.’

‘She has problems,’ Mitsuko said. ‘It’s not really a student council problem…’

‘But you want to help,’ Nava said.

‘Well…’

‘I admit she has me at least a little intrigued. Tomorrow. After classes tomorrow, I’ll spend some time with her. I can at least hear what she has to say.’

‘I don’t think she’ll open up to anyone else,’ Mitsuko said, nodding.

‘That’s probably true,’ Melissa said. ‘There is one other reason to listen to her. I mean, why did she pick Nava? None of us had seen her before she came to our table. Did she just walk into the refectory and pick Nava because she has white hair?’

‘Or did her invisible friend really send her my way?’ Nava asked.

‘Well, wouldn’t you like to know? Maybe she has some unconscious ability to cast Sorcerer’s Eye or something.’

‘That seems unlikely. I guess I’ll try to find out.’

236/1/17.

‘How are you adjusting to life at the school, Carina?’ Mitsuko asked. Classes were over and lunch was being had, and Nava had suggested that the refectory would be a good place to meet. Carina had jumped at the chance, but now she seemed a little more subdued surrounded by people she did not know.

‘Uh, well, okay, I guess,’ Carina replied. ‘The school’s fine. It’s not much different from school on Grimalkin. Bigger. There are more people here. It’s the planet that I’m having more trouble with.’

‘Oh?’

‘Gravity on Grimalkin is lower than here. Like, nearly twenty percent lower.’

‘You’re effectively carrying around an extra seven or eight kilos, just from your own body weight,’ Nava said. ‘If I’m guessing your weight about right. You’ll suffer from various coordination issues until you’ve adjusted to the new environment.’

‘Uh-huh. And it’s so cold here. The average temperature back home is three hundred and sixteen kelvin. Here, even in the summer, it only gets up to three hundred and eight. Now–’

‘We do have rather cool winters,’ Mitsuko agreed. ‘And the uniform doesn’t help.’

For some reason, Carina looked at Melissa. ‘No, the uniform doesn’t help at all. But, you know, I’ve been through worse. I’ll tough it out. And I have Resist Cold to help. I bet you’ve been through worse too, Nava. Right?’

‘We can safely say that I’ve been through worse than a Shinden winter,’ Nava agreed. ‘The gravity here is a little weaker than where I grew up, however. Tell me, Carina, do you have any particular sorcery you specialise in?’

‘Well… Not really. I know a bunch of random spells. Uh, Analyse Magic, Armour, Complex Illusion, Magelock…’

‘Those are good support spells,’ Melissa said.

‘Fire Blast, Heal Injury and Cure Disease, Dispel Magic…’

‘You really seem to–’

‘…Light, Slice, Shield, Telekinesis, Gather Quintessence, Apportation, uh, Resist Cold like I said…’

Melissa’s eyes were fairly wide. Then again, most of the others were looking a little surprised too. ‘You sure do–’ Melissa began.

‘Oh! And Flight. I almost forgot Flight. I have a permit, but do I need to get it renewed or anything here?’

‘You should join the Flight Club,’ Melissa said, sounding a little as though she had just been through ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer. ‘We can check you out and recertify if necessary.’

‘Great! I like flying.’

‘So does Mel,’ Nava said. ‘You know a lot of spells, Carina.’

Carina’s eyes, and mood, dropped. It was like she thought she had given too much away. ‘I do? I guess I probably… Well, Malkins tend to learn every spell they can, you see. Malkins are big on sorcery. The whole clan, even the ones with no talent, are interested in it. That goes double for those who can cast spells. Uh, when does the Flight Club meet?’

‘Sunday afternoons,’ Melissa replied.

‘Which reminds me, Mel,’ Nava said, ‘you are going to learn rank one Gather Quintessence this year. Even if you can’t use it in parallel with Flight, it’ll cut your rest time by a factor of ten and give you far more time in the air.’

‘I know,’ Melissa whined. ‘I’ve been working on it.’

‘Work faster.’

‘Slave driver.’

‘Hm. If you think it would help, I can get my hands on a whip…’

~~~

‘The Key to Darkness,’ Carina said. She had an entirely straight face, all seriousness.

‘The Key to Darkness?’ Nava asked in reply.

Carina gave a firm nod. ‘I’m almost surprised you’ve never heard of them.’

Nava was not entirely sure how to reply to that. She was now alone with Carina, in the girl’s apartment. Carina had one of the mid-range apartments, better than the capsules Nava and Melissa had been in the year before, but not up to the standard of Mitsuko’s old apartment. There was a bedroom, a lounge, a space you could call a kitchen if you were charitable, and a shower room. There was not a lot of decoration; Carina seemed to have brought little with her from Grimalkin. The lounge had a bookshelf in it, but it was basically empty. The only thing on it was a framed photograph which showed a young Carina with two adults, presumably her parents, before her mother was killed.

‘When I was ten,’ Carina went on, ‘they kidnapped me and held me for two weeks while they performed tests on me. Magical tests. Rituals. They were trying to find out whether I was their chosen one, or something like that.’

‘I see.’

Carina frowned. ‘People say that when they don’t believe a word I’m saying.’

‘I haven’t formed an opinion. “I see” is just a phrase used to convey that you should continue. I’m not disagreeing that others may have used it in the way you describe.’

‘Uh, oh. Well, I used to be this magical prodigy, you see. I was very advanced for my age. That’s why they were testing me. I think they decided I wasn’t ready and that they needed to wait for me to get more powerful.’

‘I don’t suppose you know what they planned to use you for?’

‘Plan. Present tense. They still plan to use me to open some sort of dimensional portal. They’re a cult, if you like. They revere an ancient, dark… god, for want of a better word, which was imprisoned outside this world. They are the Key to Darkness because they intend to open the locks holding this thing back and set it free to plunge the universe into darkness. I suppose I’m the key, really. They want to use my power to open the gate and let it out. So… So, I sealed my own power away. I used ancient magic, not modern sorcery. Something I found in their lair. When I was freed, I could barely work a spell unless it was a real emergency. If my life is threatened or something, I can undo the seal and access my full power.’

Nodding slowly, Nava gave the impression of really considering Carina’s words. She did give it some consideration, just not for the amount of time she appeared to. Ancient magic and elder gods trapped outside of reality, and a secret organisation bent on bringing ruin to the universe. It read like a bad Gothic horror and Nava would have entirely dismissed it if she had not known about the Harbingers. That ancient race had imprisoned a serial killer in a magical trap. They had transcended physical reality. Maybe they had somehow walled one of their worst criminals up within the Q-field, outside the world. She could not say it was impossible…

‘But they still want you,’ Nava said. ‘Why? And how do you know?’ Something touched on the edge of her consciousness as she asked. Something that made her stomach flutter for no reason.

‘Well, the seal isn’t perfect, apparently. It… leaks. I’ve got more powerful, even though all my power is supposed to be locked away. With the seal, I’m nothing like what I am without it, but I still have enough capacity to get into SAS-squared. I think they’re watching me because they believe they can break the seal, or that it’s going to break on its own. No, I know they’re watching me because I’ve seen them. Trudy has too, so it’s not just me.’

‘And what do they look like? Any distinguishing features?’ The stomach flutter subsided as though it had not been there, but Nava had felt it, and it was making her think along some unpleasant lines.

‘They’re almost always men, but… Well, they’re just people. They use sorcery to stay hidden. Invisibility. Illusion. They must use Escape Detection and Scryguard too, because whenever I’ve caught one in the open, there’s never been any evidence that they were there. I don’t see them often, but I see them. I’ve been seeing them more since I came here. It’s either that they’re worried that I’ll join up with you, or they think being here will break open my seal.’

‘I see.’ So, Carina’s watchers were human. But there was that feeling and… ‘Who exactly is Trudy? She’s not a student here, I assume?’

‘No, she’s…’ Carina’s cheeks coloured. ‘She’s my invisible friend. She turned up after the kidnapping. No one else can see her or hear her, but I know she’s not just in my imagination. She’s taught me sorcery! How can she teach me spells I’ve never seen before if she’s just my subconscious? No one believes me.’

Nava stared at the girl for a second. ‘Let’s say I do. Or that I accept the possibility that she might be real. What does she look like? What does she talk to you about? Aside from sorcery.’

Carina regarded Nava as though she did not entirely trust what she was saying, but she answered. ‘She’s a girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen from the look of her. One hundred and sixty-three centimetres tall. Slim. Long legs. She’s got a lot of blonde hair that she always wears in twin pigtails. Blue eyes. She’s cute. Really cute. A-and she always wears this sort of rainbow-coloured outfit with a two-tiered skirt and a hoodie. The, uh, hoodie has ears on it. And she wears blue pumps with high heels.’

That was about as far from a description of a Harbinger as Nava could think of. Then again, it also did not seem like a description of the majority of young women these days. ‘That’s certainly a little unusual,’ Nava said. ‘Then again, I could possibly imagine Mel in an outfit like that.’

‘Oh, no. Trudy has a really unthreatening chest and Melissa… Uh, anyway, she talks about all sorts of stuff. I mean, what I’ve been doing during the day. She likes to talk about people. I mean, like, um, what people do. The way they behave and why. I think she spends a lot of her time watching people. She looks fourteen, but she talks like someone a lot older. She used to help me with my history homework. The clan history stuff, you know?’

‘I didn’t grow up in a clan. I never had to study clan history.’

‘Oh. Well, I did. Trudy would help me with some of it and she’d talk like she was there sometimes. She’d say things about the people in the history texts that just aren’t in the texts. She’d make them sound like people instead of some old guy that died before I was born. She’s really good when it comes to the animals and plants on Grimalkin. It’s like she knows them right down to their genes. She knows just how they’ll behave in any situation.’

Nava tilted her head a little, affecting a quizzical posture. ‘Grimalkin has indigenous life forms? It was a Harbinger colony?’

‘You know about the Harbingers?’ There was an extra spark of interest in Carina’s question. ‘Trudy knows loads about the Harbingers.’

‘This school is tasked with examining a lot of Harbinger artefacts,’ Nava replied. ‘My old metaphysics teacher was an expert in them and those who created them.’

‘I guess you could say the same about Trudy.’

That was very interesting. ‘Hoshi took over from him when he had to leave the school last year. Perhaps she’d be willing to show you some of the artefacts they’re working on, if you’re interested.’

‘Wow! Yeah. Of course. I think Trudy would like to see them too.’

‘Mm. What does Trudy have to say about the Key to Darkness?’

Carina’s brow creased and she pouted. ‘She doesn’t think they’re real. Or, she says she’s seen some of the watchers, but she doesn’t think they’re what I think they are. She’s tried to talk me out of it a couple of times. Well, she did, early on, but she’s kind of given up, I think. She says there’s insufficient evidence for her to agree with my belief but cannot find sufficient evidence to disprove it either.’

‘She certainly seems to be wise for someone of her apparent age. I think I’d like to meet her.’

‘She’s pretty shy. As far as I know, I’m the only person to ever see her.’

‘That’s quite possibly true. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve unavailable to the majority of people, however.’

~~~

236/1/18.

Nava stood in what was approximately the centre of the school, between the teaching buildings. More precisely, in the space between the teaching buildings used by the first four years; the buildings for the fifth and sixth years were generally smaller, but they had a pair of slightly larger structures for the more specialised and intensive studies which were a little away from the other ones to the south.

‘What are you going to do when you find her?’ Mitsuko asked. Mitsuko and Melissa had come out to see the start of Nava’s Harbinger hunt, even if Nava had suggested it was going to be boring and they should just leave her to it.

‘Talk to her,’ Nava replied. ‘Well, I believe Trudy to be benevolent, or at least not malevolent, so I’d like to talk to her. If that turns out to be wishful thinking, Carina is going to be short an invisible friend and I’ll deal with that if it happens.’

‘If Trudy is responsible for Carina’s delusions–’

‘I don’t believe she is. I may be wrong.’

‘From what you said,’ Melissa said, ‘I think you’re right. Trudy appears to be discouraging Carina from this Key to Darkness belief.’

‘A skilled manipulator could appear to do just that while really encouraging it,’ Mitsuko countered. ‘If Trudy is a Harbinger, she’s probably had a couple of hundred thousand years to learn to manipulate people.’

Nava shook her head. ‘A couple of hundred. Not that that isn’t plenty of time, but the colony on Grimalkin is about two hundred years old. I doubt Trudy would have encountered humans prior to that. It seems unlikely that the psychology of the two species would be closely related. Applying techniques from Harbingers to humans would likely result in less than perfect results.’

‘That’s just being pedantic. If you’re going to talk to her, be careful.’

‘Have you ever known me to be careless?’

‘Be more careful then.’

‘I’ll try.’ Nava focused her mind on the schema for the Sense Spirits spell Rochester and Hoshi had originally created to hunt for a ghost. Quintessence flowed, expanded, returned… ‘Nothing,’ Nava said. ‘To be expected. She could be anywhere and it’s a big campus.’

‘So, what now?’ Melissa asked.

‘Now I go to the area where Carina’s living and try again.’

‘This could take hours. Days!’

‘I did say it would be boring to follow me around.’

~~~

It was boring and also lacking in results. By lunchtime, Nava had nothing to report. She had lost Mitsuko and Melissa after about thirty minutes, but she had continued walking around the campus and setting off pings every so often to no effect. There was Flight Club in the afternoon, and the sky was clear, and Nava was seriously contemplating dropping the matter to try again tomorrow.

Still, Flight Club was not now, so Nava walked back to the teaching buildings and tried again. She set her mind to the spell, sent out energy to act as a sensor pulse, and… To the east, a single target. Nava turned on her heel and began marching in that direction.

After five hundred metres, she fired off another pulse. Same direction. She continued walking. By now, she was walking through the residential areas. She was, if she was remembering right, heading straight for Carina’s apartment building. Maybe Trudy had been elsewhere this morning but was checking in on Carina this afternoon.

She checked again after another three hundred metres and got the same result. She was fairly sure she was getting closer, but the spell did not provide that kind of information well. You got a direction and an indication of numbers. She tried a deeper analysis of the returning signal and got an impression of form. That form seemed to be similar to the Harbinger she had encountered before, but then she had never used this spell on that Harbinger, so it was hard to tell for sure.

After another hundred metres, Nava changed course slightly to follow the direct line to her target. She was close, she was sure of it. And she was heading straight for Carina’s building, maybe even straight for her apartment if Nava was remembering the position right.

She stopped walking and looked around. The Ascend spell she was about to use had one significant drawback: you could not take anything with you when you jumped into the Q-field. That included clothes, which were left behind when the spell was cast. Nava had personal experience of this, having left her clothes in the middle of a nightclub the first time she had used it. Mitsuko and Courtney had been with her that time, so they had collected her outfit for her. Now she was alone, which was, in retrospect, something of a mistake.

Selecting an area behind some bushes at the side of the walkway that happened to be reasonably close to the wall of one of the buildings, Nava crouched down under some cover. If someone found her uniform while she was in another reality, things were likely to get interesting, but she would hopefully find them where she left them. And then she would have to get dressed while hiding behind bushes that barely reached her hips, but she would solve that problem when she got to it.

One last time, she cast Sense Spirits and got the answer she expected. Then she spent a second pushing her mind into the right shape for Ascend, forced quintessence into the spell, and found herself looking at a muted, weird landscape. She also found herself looking at her clothes as they dropped to the ground through her insubstantial body, but it was the shifted reality which told her that the spell had worked.

Everything was monochrome. Or, more or less monochrome. There were colours, but they were so muted that they were all shades of grey tinted with a hint of variant wavelengths. The leaves on the evergreen bushes were a dark grey tinted with green. The rendering on the apartment building was a light grey tinted with very light brown. It had been night the last time she had done this and it was daylight today. The sunlight came to her as though through a particle filter; there was a graininess to it, a granularity. It was almost as if she was perceiving individual photons. She was sure she was not really seeing reality with her eyes this time. She was not sure how she was perceiving things, but sight was not it.

There was another weird feature of this reality she had yet to explain: the dimensions seemed all wrong. It was not that the physical objects were distorted. Everything looked the same as it had, barring the flattened colours. Instead, if she turned her head, it seemed as though she was looking at a lot of two-dimensional objects which turned to keep themselves looking right, but with a slight lag. It was disconcerting. Perhaps more so since, when she looked at her own body, that appeared entirely three-dimensional and solid.

Enough sightseeing, pulling Flight forward in her mind, Nava lifted into the air and made straight for the side of Carina’s apartment building. Unhindered, she flew through a wall, through the apartment of an oblivious male student who was hard at work browsing some form of comic strip artwork, through a corridor, and into Carina’s apartment.

‘… stuff is easy,’ Carina was saying. Her voice sounded muted, as though Nava was hearing it through a wall or earplugs. ‘I could do this when I was twelve.’

‘Just be careful that you don’t get complacent,’ said the Harbinger standing behind her. ‘Teachers have a terrible habit of– Ah! How did you find me? What are you doing here?!’ The last part was addressed to Nava, who the alien had just noticed, and it appeared that Carina had not heard it.

‘Trudy?’ Carina looked around, twisting in her chair. She did not, however, look at the Harbinger. Instead, her gaze fixed on a spot to her left where she, apparently, perceived ‘Trudy’ to be.

‘Some sort of mental illusion?’ Nava asked, speculating. ‘She sees this girl in a rainbow outfit you’re projecting into her head rather than the real you.’

‘Yes,’ the Harbinger said, ‘but that’s beside the point. Why are you–’

‘We’re going to have a chat. I want to know what you’re up to. I want to know what you want with Carina.’

‘Trudy,’ Carina said, ‘is something wrong? You just cut off mid-sentence.’

The Harbinger stared at Nava for a second and then looked down at Carina. Looking down was easy for something that was well over two metres tall. ‘It’s nothing, Cari. I need to take care of something, so I’ll be vanishing for a bit.’

‘Okay…’

‘You know what you’re doing with this homework. It’s just metaphysics. Be careful you don’t overlook anything in the problem.’

‘Okay, but come back soon.’

‘I will.’ The Harbinger turned its cold, blue eyes back on Nava and pointed upward. Then it began to glide up through the ceiling and Nava followed. They stopped on the flat roof, though having something under their feet seemed to be largely a matter of convention. ‘I wasn’t aware that humans had worked out how to enter the Q-field like this,’ the Harbinger said.

Nava decided to answer the implied question, mostly because it suited her needs. ‘Last year, someone brought a Harbinger device here for study. Everyone was very excited because it appeared to be functional. It turned out that it was some sort of prison and the inmate got out.’

The Harbinger actually flinched. ‘A discorporated Harbinger sealed within a shell of force? That punishment was reserved for really bad people.’

‘It was a particularly sadistic serial killer. It liked to possess people and then use them to torture their loved ones to death. The Ascend spell was developed to allow me to meet it on its own ground and destroy it. Which I did. I used a burst of quintessence to reduce it to… well, nothing.’

Harbingers were basically tall, thin, blue aliens with elongated limbs. They had a large cranium, but little in the way of facial features. Their noses were a couple of slits; their mouths were small and had thin lips. Their angular eyes had black sclera – assuming what they had could be described in human terms – and icy-blue irises. If they had expressions, nothing was obvious. Somehow, this one gave off the impression that it was grinning in a knowing fashion. ‘That was a moderately subtle effort to indicate that you could kill me if you wanted.’

‘Correct,’ Nava stated flatly. ‘It also indicates, I believe, that I don’t have a good history with your species. I prefer to take people on an individual, case-by-case basis, but I am obviously somewhat sceptical of the motives of a transcendent alien being who appears to be pretending to be a human in order to talk to a delusional human girl.’

The alien opened its mouth, paused, and then closed it again, holding up one very long finger to ask for a pause. It was a rather human gesture. This being had clearly spent quite a while learning to act in a human manner. Nava could empathise in some ways. It had also learned English quite well. There was a weird accent to its words, probably the result of slightly incompatible vocal equipment. P and B sounds came out a bit wrong, as though its lips could not quite form the sounds. Also, the voice did not really register as female to Nava’s ears. Then again, it did not quite sound male either. It did have a lighter tone than the other Harbinger Nava had met.

‘We,’ the Harbinger said, ‘that is, the species you refer to as Harbingers, aren’t entirely different to humans. To be specific, we are made up of individuals, all with different motives and interests. Some of us are good. Some are bad. Many are, at least regarding other species, entirely indifferent.’ It paused again. ‘That may have changed. I haven’t seen any others of my kind in two hundred years. Longer, really. I happen to be very interested in other species. I’m a biologist by profession. Humans interest me, but Cari… I’m not entirely sure whether it was her power or her situation which made me decide to look out for her. You interest me too. There’s something about you…’

‘Carina doesn’t appear to have much power,’ Nava said. ‘Unless she really has sealed it away somehow. I was given to understand that you don’t encourage this Key to Darkness idea she has.’

‘I don’t.’ The Harbinger turned, clasped its hands behind its back, and began to pace back and forth across the rooftop. ‘I don’t think there is a Key to Darkness, but she does have a lot more power than those crude tests you people use would suggest. I know a spell to determine the precise power of a magician, which is why I know that you are a powerful sorceress. Cari isn’t quite at your level, but she should be close. It’s my belief that her kidnapping experience and the loss of her mother caused her to place a psychological block on her sorcery. If you want some proof, get her to improvise something. Something as large as she’s able to. You’ll find that she does so too easily. The closer you are to your capacity, the harder it is to force your mind into the right shape, correct?’ Nava nodded a reply. ‘You’ll find that, even at her supposed limit, Carina is barely troubled by a spell’s complexity. Almost as though her real capacity is much greater.’

‘I may try that sometime, but for now I’m going to take your word for it.’

‘Thank you. Can I ask a question?’

‘I’m sure you’re capable.’

Trudy stared at Nava for a second. ‘I can’t tell whether you’re being malicious, or sarcastic, or anything else.’

‘I’m aware. What was the question?’

‘Why are you naked?’

‘Because the spell I used doesn’t let me bring anything with me when I come here. I berated the inventor of the spell for this, but when it comes right down to it, it’s not like anyone is going to see me. You’re naked. Are you actually female? Or is the image Carina sees purely for her benefit?’

‘I created the Trudy image because I thought Cari would react better to someone around her age. And a human, obviously. I wanted to help her. She was lonely, and so was I… I am, however, not female. Nor am I male. Harbingers have one biological sex. Had. We were all capable of bearing children, though bearing isn’t quite the right– Do you really want a lecture on our reproduction system?’

Nava shook her head. ‘I believe I can get by without. I’m not sure I like thinking of you as an “it,” however, so if you don’t mind, I’ll think of you as Trudy, a female. What’s your real name?’

‘You would never be able to pronounce it. There’s a sound a bit like ‘trudy’ in the middle, so I decided to use that as a name after examining a large database of human names. Since I selected it, I’m very happy for you to use it to designate me. I also have no issue with you thinking of me as female. When I was material, I did prefer to act in a manner which you might consider feminine in nature. For example, I never had children, but if I had, I would have wished to be the birthing parent.’ There was a slight pause and another impression of a grin. ‘Frankly, discovering a species with a binary reproductive scheme was fascinating. I spent years observing your mating rituals.’

Nava shook her head. ‘You sound just like the pervy aliens in old science-fiction vids.’

‘Humans have huge databases of mating observations from the various animals on your home world! I’m a biologist. Observing other species is what we do!’

‘Just don’t observe me. You said that one of the reasons you became attached to Carina was that you were lonely. Grimalkin was a Harbinger colony long ago. I find it hard to believe there were no others of your kind there.’

‘And you would be rightly sceptical a few tens of thousands of years ago. When the Migration happened, pretty much everyone ascended. A few people chose to remain physical, but they died eventually and that left the rest of us to continue on. Except… Immortality can be hard. I had an entire ecosystem to document. Things changed. Evolution did not stop, even if we were gone. Maybe it was even more pronounced because we left all the animals to get on with things. But even I got bored after a while.’

‘I can imagine,’ Nava said. ‘I could, maybe, imagine a few thousand years…’

‘Exactly. So, some left the planet, flying off into space to find new places to explore. Some self-terminated, unwilling to continue with a life they’d grown bored with. I decided to suspend my consciousness. I put myself in suspended animation, if you will. That way, I could let the planet get on with things for ten thousand years or so, and then wake up to find out what happened.’

Nava nodded. ‘And one day you woke up alone.’

There was a definite sadness to Trudy’s gaze. ‘Yes. None of the others were left. Either they died or they left, but they weren’t there. I did my usual research, but there was no one to share it with. I was seriously contemplating ending it all when the colonists turned up.’

Loneliness, it seemed, was not just a human condition. Nava could empathise with that too. After her sisters had all died or vanished, even though she was surrounded by researchers and trainers, she had been alone. She had got used to it, but that did not mean she had liked it.

‘Anyway,’ Trudy went on, ‘the humans turned up and suddenly I had a whole new research project. Humans are fascinating. Fascinating! When Cari’s family sent her here, I decided to tag along on the ship so I could see more humans.’ She paused, eyes fixed on Nava. ‘I’ve never met one quite like you, however. There’s something about you. I don’t know what it is… I got the strong impression you can sense when I’m nearby.’

‘I can. Though I admit it was supposition that I was sensing Harbingers until I confirmed that you were here. It’s a vague sensation of nervousness. There’s no direction or anything else, just a feeling that something a little disturbing is nearby.’

‘I don’t think I’m disturbing.’

Nava fought the urge to laugh. ‘Harbingers look like something out of a horror vid. Sorry.’ She paused, considering briefly. ‘Carina said you had seen some of these people she thinks are watching her. You don’t believe they’re from this secret organisation, but you’ve seen them.’

‘I’ve seen people who seemed to be keeping an eye on her. I’ve seen one here.’

‘I see. I think I’m going to trust you for now, Trudy. You can stop trying to hide from me. I’m sure that’ll make things easier for everyone.’

‘I haven’t been– Well, okay, when I worked out you could sense me, I did try to stay away. That didn’t work.’

Nava nodded. ‘It’s not that big a campus. And you decided that Carina should get to know me. I was bound to wonder who her invisible friend really was. And as for these watchers, whether they’re from Carina’s Key to Darkness or not, they would seem to represent a security risk.’

‘Okay. I suppose I can see your point. What are you going to do?’

Nava gave a small shrug. ‘Campus security is a matter for the Student Security Force.’

~~~

‘You believe her?’ Courtney asked. There was obvious incredulity in her voice. That was not exactly surprising.

‘I believe,’ Nava replied evenly, ‘that there are people on the campus who should not be here. It’s highly unlikely they belong to some cult intent upon releasing an ancient god of darkness. That does not change the fact that an independent witness has seen them. They are here.’

‘An independent witness who happens to be a Harbinger.’

‘That is a point,’ Mitsuko said. They were in the house. Nava had decided that this would all be better discussed somewhere unofficial and private. The lounge seemed as good a place as any. ‘Are you sure you can trust the thing?’

‘Of course not,’ Nava replied. ‘I can’t be sure I can trust anyone. I’m not used to judging the reactions of Harbingers, so Trudy is more difficult to assess. That said, I believe she can be trusted. I believe that someone is watching Carina and that at least one of those people has been sighted here. At the very least, I think the SSF should be on the lookout for intruders who may be invisible.’

‘Huh,’ Courtney grunted. ‘That’s not a tall order at all.’

‘I intend to lend a hand,’ Nava said. ‘I’ll stick with Carina for a few days and see what I can see.’

‘Well, I suppose we can issue an advisory and keep a lookout for at least a couple of days.’

Nava nodded. ‘I think that’s a reasonable response to a report of unusual activity on campus.’

‘Just out of interest,’ Melissa said, ‘what are you going to do if you find them and they are members of a cult intent on releasing an ancient god of darkness?’

‘I have no idea. If that is the case, however, I think we’ll have more to worry over than a few people snooping around the school.’

236/1/19.

Nava did not get a lot of calls on her ketcom. When it began chirping out its call indicator, she usually stared at it for a brief instant as though it were malfunctioning. She did exactly the same this morning – at breakfast, as it happened – even though the small screen on the unit was indicating that the call was from Fawn Tyrell, her ASF contact.

After that moment of surprise, she tapped the accept button and lifted the device to her ear. ‘First Lieutenant? This is an early call. I’m at breakfast, so if I need privacy…’

‘As long as I’m not on speaker, this should be fine,’ Fawn replied. She was sounding serious. That was generally not a good thing.

‘Please continue.’

‘Someone tried hacking into the ASF’s servers last night. They didn’t get too far, but it was a professional job. They backed out as soon as they were detected, and we couldn’t trace the route.’

‘I see.’ It was something to say. In fact, Nava did not see. If they had not been able to trace the attempt, they could not be thinking it came from the school, so why involve Nava? Technically, that would have been Courtney’s problem anyway. ‘Is there some reason you’re telling me this?’

‘Because what we did get was an idea of what they were looking for. They were after your confidential records. In fact, if they hadn’t been hunting for those, we might not have caught them. They got the general records out of the forward-facing personnel database, but they hit the harder security on the IRD’s servers and bounced. Have you pissed anyone off recently?’

‘No one I can think of. Unless…’

‘Unless?’

‘I’ve been helping a student here who believes she’s being watched. It’s complicated. I’ll send you some details and you can look into it if you wish. Perhaps her watchers have decided to get background on me since I’ve been hanging around her.’

There was silence as Fawn considered. ‘Send me the details and I’ll look into it. And be careful. Like I said, this was a professional hack. You may be dealing with some serious operators.’

‘I’m always careful, First Lieutenant.’

‘Be more careful.’

Nava glanced at Mitsuko, who was, of course, looking on with interest. ‘I’m getting told that a lot recently.’

~~~

‘You’re serious?’ Carina asked, blinking at Nava over the dinner table. ‘You’re going to follow me around looking for the Key to Darkness’s watchers?’

‘I’m going to tag along with you whenever I can,’ Nava replied, ‘and if I happen to see one of these people, I intend to ask them what they’re up to. If they do happen to belong to a dark cult of some kind… We’ll deal with that issue when it’s confirmed.’

Carina’s shoulders sagged. ‘So, you don’t really believe me.’

‘I believe you’re being followed. Let’s leave it at that until there’s more evidence one way or another.’

‘Well, you’re the first person to believe that much…’

‘I’ve issued orders to my patrol officers,’ Courtney said. ‘They’re going to be looking out for possible intruders too. Not all of them can keep See Invisible going for long periods, but they may see something.’

‘It adds pressure,’ Nava said. ‘The more people looking, the more chance of success and the more careful the intruders need to be. Did you talk to the administration about that hacking matter?’

‘Yeah. They’re doing some forensic checks. They haven’t told me about any unauthorised accesses so far, but that kind of task can take a lot of time.’

‘You really think they might have tried hacking the school’s servers too?’ Melissa asked.

Rochester answered. ‘If they were willing to try the ASF, I doubt they would think twice about doing the same here.’

‘Precisely,’ Nava said. ‘Not that they’ll find anything interesting anyway.’

‘You’re going to a lot of trouble to help me,’ Carina said. ‘Thank you. Though, I suppose if you’re destined to be–’

Nava held up a hand. ‘I don’t believe in destiny. I do, however, believe in keeping myself and my friends safe. Intruders on campus could be bad, but then they went and made this personal. Whoever these people are, they’re going to regret that.’

236/1/20.

Carina slotted her ketcom into her desk, waited for the display to change, and then reached for the virtual keyboard to type in her password. She had been told on several occasions that passwords were paranoid; biometric identification was quite enough to keep people out of your account. In the past day, she had discovered that Nava also used a password. She had tried not to feel smug.

She paused before hitting any of the keys as a shadow fell across her. Looking up, she found herself under the gaze of three young women her age who still managed to look like they were her seniors by several years. That was attitude, plain and simple: Yaeko Himura and her partners in crime were the unofficial student council for class 14D. The school had no system of class representation, but you crossed Yaeko at your peril. Yaeko’s arms were crossed under her ample breasts. Not a good sign.

‘Getting above ourselves, are we?’ Yaeko asked. It helped her self-appointed status that she was a very attractive girl in the classic, Japanese-beauty mould. Pale skin and long jet-black hair. Not at all tall. Her bust did not, perhaps, follow the stereotype, but it did help to endear her to the class’s male population. ‘Endear’ might not have been precisely the right word.

Carina stared at the other girl for a second, trying to work out what she was talking about. Eventually, staying silent started to seem rude, so Carina went with the only thing she could think of. ‘Huh?’

‘Sommer saw you arrive at class, Carina Schwartz. Nava Greyling Sonkei walked you here.’

‘Yes. She’s–’

‘She’s so far above you socially that you shouldn’t be allowed to say her name,’ Sommer said. She was an attractive girl with a somewhat nasal voice which tended to make her sound snide or whiny. She was also a Chevalier Garavain, which tended to make her exceptionally sensitive when it came to social position.

‘Our destinies are intertwined,’ Carina said, defaulting to her preferred view of the world even if, deep down, she knew that was a mistake.

‘Not that again,’ Dove snapped. Dove Harris Daison was, in fact, a rung down the social ladder compared to the other two, but she made up for it by being – counter to her pacific name – the biggest bully of the three. She was good-looking but not especially memorable. Dark-brown hair, dark-brown eyes, lighter-brown skin. Her face had very good structure with high cheekbones, a straight nose, and hollowed cheeks, but she was ordinary when placed beside Yaeko. ‘There’s no secret organisation watching you, so–’

‘Nava is escorting me to class because she and Courtney Martell Garavain are concerned about sightings of intruders on the campus. Intruders watching me. The SSF are looking into it, and the principal has people looking into hacking attempts on the school’s computers.’

Sommer waved an absent hand in dismissal. ‘Courtney Martell has been all but kicked out of the clan. I wouldn’t trust–’

‘A Greyling believes you?’ Yaeko said. Sommer looked surprised at being interrupted. Or maybe at how she had been interrupted.

‘Yes,’ Carina said. Then a small part of her mind decided that discretion might be the better part of valour here. ‘She believes there are people watching me.’

‘What does that matter?’ Sommer asked. ‘She’s managed to persuade someone else that her idiocy might be real. So what?’

Yaeko gave Sommer a rather stiff smile. ‘I’m a little surprised you’ve never heard of the Greylings, Sommer. They do not entertain fantasies. If one of them believes a story such as the one Carina spins, then they have evidence to back it up. Nava Greyling was only adopted by them last year, but they don’t take people in unless those people have a lot of talent. My aunt, Misaki Himura, Secretary General of the Clan Council, personally signed her adoption papers.’

‘We’re supposed to start believing her crazy ideas?’ Dove asked, incredulous.

‘I think…’ Yaeko paused, considering. ‘I think we’ll have to give her the benefit of the doubt. For now.’

236/1/21.

‘Is there some reason one of your classmates is staring at me as though she wants to attack me?’ Nava asked as Carina walked out of class to meet her. Classes were over for the day and it was time to leave.

Carina did not need to look back to check who Nava meant. ‘That’s Sommer Chevalier Garavain. She’s a little uptight about status and thinks you shouldn’t be associating with me.’

‘I’m aware of the Garavain clan’s attitudes.’

‘Oh, yeah, she said something about Courtney Martell yesterday. The captain lives with you, right?’

‘She’s living with us because her family decided to take away her allowance for “associating” with her boyfriend. He’s a Maynard House and too low on the social ladder for them to accept. Sommer Chevalier will have to get used to you associating with me. I’m not concerned with clan status unless it assists me in some way.’

Carina frowned. ‘That sounds a little hypocritical.’

‘If it stops me having to duel idiots, I’m perfectly happy with being a hypocrite. Come on, the others are waiting outside.’ Nava turned and then paused. ‘What do you think Sommer Chevalier would think if she knew you were about to meet up with the student president, a woman who happens to come from one of the most influential families in the Alliance?’

‘She’d probably have a fit of apoplexy.’ Carina giggled. ‘Maybe we should wait around outside until Sommer leaves.’

‘I think we won’t. Let’s get moving.’

~~~

It was a nice day outside. The sky was mostly blue and there was almost no wind. The temperature was cooler than Carina liked, but then Shinden tended to be cooler than Grimalkin year-round. She would be happy when she could get back to her apartment and change into warmer clothes.

Nava was less concerned about the temperature. She was not exactly concerned about anything, though her customary scan of the surrounding area as she left the building had more purpose than usual. She did not generally employ a cantrip to see invisible objects almost constantly, but she was now and, this time, it paid dividends.

The man she spotted in a dark bodysuit – possibly armour – was not especially tall. He was slim and fairly nondescript. Brown hair and dark eyes, and not particularly handsome. Someone you would fail to remember if you saw him in passing. Just the kind of man you might send to spy on people, in fact, though he was reinforcing his lack of visibility with the Invisibility spell, just to be sure no one noticed him. He did not appear to be armed, but he was a sorcerer with unknown combat capabilities. He was definitely looking their way; it was not a certainty that he was watching Carina, but it was fairly likely, given the circumstances.

Confirmation was required and, luckily enough, the plans her friends had would provide that clarification. ‘You two have a council meeting, right?’ Nava asked of Mitsuko and Melissa.

‘Yes,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘And I don’t need our secretary’ – she nodded at Melissa – ‘to tell me what the topic is.’

‘The fair,’ Melissa said anyway. ‘I never knew there was so much to coordinate to get it to happen. From the outside it looks like organised chaos, but–’

‘But once you are on the inside,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you realise that it’s barely organised chaos.’

‘Francis Goretti is pulling his hair out?’ Nava asked.

‘Have you seen his hair?’ Mitsuko countered. ‘There’s so much of it he could lose half of it and you’d never know.’

‘A fair point.’

‘But he does look a little stressed,’ Melissa said.

‘We should get going,’ Mitsuko said. ‘We’ll see you later for dinner.’

‘Yes,’ Nava said. Turning, she started in the general direction of Carina’s apartment. ‘Come on, Carina. I know you want to get changed.’

‘When the true darkness comes,’ Carina said, ‘the cold will be so deep that no one will be able to bear it. But right now, it’s just me.’

Briefly, Nava thought the man she had seen was actually after Mitsuko or Melissa. He had moved and she failed to spot him for a couple of minutes. Then she picked him up again, partially hidden behind some bushes ahead of them. They walked within a couple of metres of him and Nava decided that his expression was… bored. Carina’s watcher did not really want to be doing this. Presumably, cultists tasked with watching a young adult walk around school would be just as bored as anyone else, so that did not say much. Still, Nava was not getting a ‘mad zealot’ vibe. If anything, the man felt more like a civil servant.

Nava waited until they had entered the building’s lobby and called the elevator before saying anything. ‘I’ve spotted one of your watchers.’

Carina turned to her with wide eyes. ‘You have?’

‘If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have said I had. You go up and get changed. I’ll take care of him.’

The elevator doors opened and, since Carina did not seem to be about to move, Nava pushed her in. ‘T-take care of him?’ Carina asked.

Nava held the door as Carina stepped into the car. ‘Yes. Hopefully, I don’t mean permanently.’ Then she vanished and, a second later, the elevator doors closed.

‘Nava?’ Carina asked. No answer came.

~~~

The man in the black combat suit suppressed the urge to sigh as he watched the front door of Carina’s building. His orders were to keep an eye on her, not to be a pervert. Every day after classes, she went to her room and changed. He did not need to see that.

The addition of the Greyling girl was a matter of concern. What did the Greylings want with Carina? Or did the Greylings even have anything to do with this? It seemed that Carina had sought out Nava Greyling, rather than the other way around, so maybe the question was what Carina wanted with a Greyling. He had bugged Carina’s apartment, so anything they spoke of there would be recorded. He could review that later rather than observing directly.

Besides, Nava Greyling was probably a danger to his mission. He had not been able to dig up much on her, but what he had found was that she was powerful and resourceful. She seemed to be what everyone had hoped Carina was going to turn into. There was every possibility that, with Nava Greyling keeping Carina company, anyone spying on Carina would get spotted sooner rather than–

‘I’m going to give you three choices.’ The voice came from behind him and he turned to look. Nava was not actually looking directly at him, but she gave the strong impression of knowing exactly where he was. Her gaze was lowered, as though she were disappointed in him for letting her get this close. ‘First, you can run, in which case I’ll disable you. Second, you can attack, in which case I’ll kill you. Third, and the option I’d prefer, you can surrender. I’d like to know who you are and what you want with Carina, but I’m perfectly happy to trace your identity from your corpse if required.’

There was a brief pause while the man in black considered his options. Then he cancelled his Invisibility spell. ‘My name,’ he said, ‘is Lars Schwartz Malkin…’

~~~

‘Her family was secretly keeping an eye on her?’ Mitsuko asked. It was more or less a rhetorical question; Nava had just said as much. ‘Why go to all that trouble? Why even send her here if they were going to send a specific agent to watch her?’

‘My family,’ Carina began, looking embarrassed. ‘Well, my entire clan, really, doesn’t entirely trust outsiders. They had this idea that a change of scenery would make me change and unlock my seals, but they don’t like the idea that I might suddenly become more powerful and give away family secrets.’

‘And if she did suddenly gain power,’ Nava continued, ‘they wanted to be sure that she came right back home. When I started spending time with Carina, they had a small fit. They were still trying to work out whether they needed to intervene, and now they don’t get the chance.’

‘Not with that one,’ Courtney said. ‘We agreed not to prosecute for trespass if he left the planet, but they could send someone else.’

‘I suggested that I wouldn’t be as nice to the next one,’ Nava said. ‘I pointed out that she was quite safe and that she had made friends here. I suggested that further activities of a similar nature would have both the ASF and the Greylings looking very closely at the Malkin clan. It might not keep them away, but if they do come back, we can hope they do it openly and officially.’

‘Well,’ Carina said, ‘I suppose that’s that explained. Maybe the Key to Darkness isn’t watching me at the moment.’

‘You’re still convinced they exist though?’ Melissa asked.

‘I wouldn’t have sealed my power away if they hadn’t revealed themselves when they kidnapped me.’

‘Oh.’

‘At this point,’ Courtney said, ‘it’s doubtful there’ll ever be enough evidence to say for sure who kidnapped Carina. Unless they do come back for her anyway. Sorry, Carina, but I don’t believe in the Key to Darkness. I also can’t say they don’t exist with any certainty. Someone kidnapped you. That’s a recorded fact.’

‘It’s unfalsifiable,’ Rochester said in a manner which suggested he thought such a situation had equal standing to genocide.

Courtney shrugged. ‘All the best conspiracy theories are.’

236/1/24.

‘Well, that’s everything,’ Hoshi said. She had just finished laying out the pieces of the shattered prison device that had caused so much trouble the year before on the lounge table.

Nava nodded. She was watching as Trudy – the real Trudy revealed with See Spirits – began examining the various parts set out on the table. Turning from the Harbinger, Nava looked at Carina who was sitting beside her on the sofa and looking like she was covering nerves with bravado. ‘Are you quite sure you want to be here for this? The real Trudy doesn’t look anything like the one you’re used to seeing.’

‘Of course I’m sure,’ Carina replied. ‘She’ll still be Trudy. And it’ll prove that my invisible friend is real. Most people can’t say that.’

‘Makes you wonder though,’ Melissa said. ‘How many kids have invisible friends? How many of those are actually Harbingers? Or something else?’

‘Hopefully,’ Nava replied, ‘not many. Okay then. Before Trudy reveals herself, most of you have heard me talk about what Harbingers look like, but this is the first time any of you are going to meet an alien. She’s big. She’s over two metres in height. And, frankly, she’s kind of scary. I realise this may sound strange coming from me but try to avoid firing off spells by reflex.’

‘I think it has more weight coming from you,’ Courtney said. ‘If you aren’t going to try to kill her, then this must be okay.’

‘Hm. Trudy, show yourself.’

Trudy appeared, standing beside the table and looking nervous. It was hard to tell how you could tell she was nervous; she just was not human and gave away few of the usual indicators. Maybe it was the way she glanced quickly around the assembled humans and then fixed her blue eyes on Carina. ‘Uh, hello,’ she said in her oddly accented voice.

‘Oh… wow,’ Melissa said, her voice hushed, breathy.

‘You fought one of those?’ Courtney asked.

‘Amazing,’ Rochester said.

‘Hello, Real Trudy,’ Carina said. Something about the alien relaxed imperceptibly. ‘I think I prefer the illusion,’ Carina went on, ‘but your real shape isn’t too bad.’

‘I’m glad you prefer the illusion,’ Trudy replied, ‘because it’s a lot easier to do than this is. With one person. It gets harder with this many, and I wouldn’t be able to touch these… Hm. These largely broken components.’

Hoshi and Rochester perked up as Trudy got down onto her knees and picked up one of the bits from the table. ‘Largely broken?’ Hoshi asked.

‘This,’ Trudy said, waving the component she was holding, ‘was the power core. The casing’s cracked. Trying to repair it with your technology would be very difficult and a mistake could result in any of several very nasty accidents. That one there is the shield generator. Or part of it. That bit there, and that one, and that one. Those are the other parts. Do I need to say how hard that would be to fix?’

Hoshi sagged visibly. ‘Not really.’

‘On the other hand, it’s broken beyond repair, so you can dismantle it with impunity. I think you could learn a lot by examining the parts. I’d be willing to help where I can, but I should point out that this kind of engineering isn’t my speciality. I’m a biologist, not an engineer. I’m actually not too bad at basic repairs, but not so great at how these things work in the first place.’

‘And it’s hard for her to think down to our level for what she does know,’ Carina put in.

‘Also true, sort of. We, the Harbingers, advanced beyond your understanding of sorcery and its relationship to the universe a long time ago. I studied the practical applications of physics to help with casting unlearned spells. I didn’t learn so much about the underlying theories. You are all still at the stage where the practical aspects and the theories behind it all are still a mixed, developing discipline. I can usually figure out Cari’s metaphysics homework, but it’s not as easy as you might think.’

Hoshi nodded. ‘I can understand that. It would be like… someone who had only ever known gravity through general relativity trying to help someone only used to working with Newtonian gravity.’

‘I’m going to have to take your word for that.’

‘Well, so much for a new age of advancement in sorcery,’ Mitsuko said.

‘We’ll get something out of this,’ Hoshi said. ‘We have to. This is the greatest opportunity we’ve ever had as far as understanding Harbinger artefacts is concerned.’

‘At the very least,’ Rochester said, ‘Trudy can tell us what the writing says.’

‘Yes!’ Melissa burst out. ‘Just knowing how to read the language would be amazing!’

Trudy picked up a relatively unbroken section of the device’s casing and peered at the glyphs carved into it. ‘Oh,’ she said.

‘W-what does it say?’ Hoshi asked, her expression almost rapturous.

‘“Do not open. Contents dangerous.’”

Part Two: Dirty Fighting

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, Shinden, 236/1/33.

‘Taryn Borchardt, you wished to make an announcement?’ The teacher looked down the classroom at the tall girl, and Taryn got to her feet with a smile. As Mitsuko turned to look in Taryn’s direction, she noticed the look on the teacher’s face and began to wonder what Taryn was going to announce.

‘I just wanted to make this to my class before anyone else,’ Taryn said. ‘I’ve decided to stand for student council president. I realise that puts me in competition with Mitsuko Trenton. I hope there are no hard feelings.’

Mitsuko glanced at the teacher and then got to her feet. It seemed like Taryn was expecting a response and Mitsuko was happy to give one. ‘That’s excellent news, Taryn,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I was beginning to think I’d be running unopposed this year. Now I have a competitor. The democratic process doesn’t really work if there’s only one candidate. I look forward to hearing how you’d like to improve SAS-squared.’

Briefly, Taryn seemed surprised at the response. Very briefly – it was barely noticeable, in fact. Mitsuko almost felt like she had imagined it. ‘I’m glad you’re taking it so well,’ Taryn said. ‘May the best woman win.’

~~~

Nava shrugged. ‘She seems the type.’

‘Type?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘The competitive type. It doesn’t surprise me that she’d want to try her hand at student politics, especially if she’s running against a Trenton Sonkei.’

‘You may have a point. She’s been rather competitive in combat classes. I just put that down to her being a Firmin.’

Nava considered her lunch briefly and then shrugged again. ‘Maybe it is. I’ve met very few Firmins and the others were not really open to communication.’

‘The mercenaries in the forest?’ Melissa asked.

‘Yes. They really didn’t even try to talk to me. Then again, I wasn’t very interested in listening. It should be interesting to see what Taryn has to say.’

‘Yes,’ Mitsuko agreed. ‘I’m rather looking forward to this year’s campaign. Hopefully, there’ll be no need for bodyguards this time.’

‘And I thought you liked me guarding your body.’

‘There are other things I’d rather you did with my body, Nava.’

Nava nodded slowly. ‘I’d get you to itemise them, but Chess is already turning a very unusual colour for a human.’

‘You could list a couple to see if his head explodes,’ Melissa suggested.

‘Still a little vindictive over Hoshi?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘No, of course not. Not at all. Well… Maybe just a little.’

236/2/1.

‘Only two candidates this year,’ Luca Newton said. ‘Not exactly a great showing but it happens some years. Officially, campaigning starts today, but I don’t think we’ll see anything from them until Monday.’ She looked down the classroom toward Nava.

‘The current president has no plans to hold any meetings before next week,’ Nava said, assuming that her teacher wanted a response. ‘The EA fair will be keeping her busy over the weekend. I have no insight into Taryn Borchardt’s campaign strategy.’

Luca nodded. ‘As with last year, lessons will end tomorrow at lunchtime to allow for the fair. Most of you won’t be changing clubs, I’d imagine, but some of you may be involved with recruiting. Don’t give the SSF too much to worry about this year. As for the presidential election… Well, we have the current president seeking re-election. We also have a Firmin seeking to displace her. It sounds like an interesting contest, even if it might have been better to have a few other candidates.’

‘Mitsuko was hoping there would be,’ Melissa said.

‘As I recall, she was unhappy when the majority of candidates dropped out last year.’

‘Yes, she was. I don’t think anyone aside from Taryn Borchardt thought they had a chance against her this year.’

‘Maybe they’re right.’

‘And then the question would be why Taryn Borchardt thinks she does,’ Nava said.

‘That,’ Luca said, ‘is what everyone has to work out for themselves.’

Nava nodded agreement. ‘Yes, Miss Luca Newton, it certainly is.’

236/2/3.

The extracurricular activities fair was, in fact, of little interest to Nava. She was a member of the Flight Club and a sort-of-member of the MagiTag Club. She had an interest in dropping in on the latter to see what the new batch of first years were like, but neither club had asked her to assist with recruitment. Maybe they had decided she would be too intimidating. The Flight Club had asked Melissa to help, though at a reduced level from last year. Melissa had duties as the student council’s secretary to take care of this year.

Despite her general lack of interest, Nava felt she should at least take a few turns around the club stands to see whether anything new had appeared. That was why she spotted something which was new but was also not a club. The stand was actually a little too professional for a club’s stand; someone very professional had constructed this, even if what it was displaying was not exactly exciting.

‘Are you interested in the Professional Society of Sorcery, young lady?’ one of the people on the stand asked as Nava took a few seconds to scan the displays.

‘I’ve never heard of it before,’ Nava replied.

‘Oh.’ The man deflated a little. He was typically handsome. His brown hair had a hint of red to it and his eyes were a pleasing shade of green. He looked to be not too far into his twenties, which probably meant he had not been a professional sorcerer for very long. Assuming he was a sorcerer, of course, and not just a man hired to be on the stand. Nava guessed that he was not handsome enough for that. ‘It’s the principal professional society for magicians. Established in one eighty-three and representing the rights of workers in sorcery for almost fifty-three years now.’

‘But you weren’t here last year,’ Nava countered.

‘We’re trying to get more recognition among students, that’s true. This is the first year we’ve had a stand here. It’s part of our mission to promote professional standards. We also want people in the profession to know there is a body devoted to enhancing magicians’ rights, enhancing working conditions, and generally making life better for those able to do sorcery.’

‘Interesting sales pitch,’ Nava said. ‘If you can provide me with appropriate information links, I’d like to learn more.’

‘I can do that,’ the young man said, smiling. ‘I’m here until Monday if you’d like to discuss it further.’

Nava nodded. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’ Somehow, she suspected his interest was not entirely professional. He was going to be disappointed, but she did not have to tell him that now and burst his happy little bubble.

~~~

‘They’re a legitimate organisation,’ Melissa said. ‘The request to have a stand at the fair came through the school and the council agreed to let them have one.’

‘They’ve been around for a while,’ Mitsuko went on. ‘Historically, they’ve been advocates for the rights of communications workers, but they’ve been expanding into areas like ethical standards and the rights of other magicians for a while. This year, they seem to have decided to push into schools.’ She paused. ‘You didn’t get a bad vibe off them, did you?’

Nava paused in the chewing of her lunch, resumed, and swallowed. ‘No. I find the general concept of such a professional society interesting. I’m not sure how membership would work with my other commitments.’

‘That is something you’ve shown an interest in before,’ Melissa said. She meant that Nava had slaughtered an entire contingent of mercenaries and scientists in order to stop technology she considered unethical coming to light. It could certainly be considered an ‘interest’ in professional ethics. ‘What are you doing this afternoon?’

‘MagiTag,’ Nava replied. ‘I want to see what this year’s batch of first years are like.’

‘Try to leave them the use of their legs,’ Mitsuko said.

‘No promises.’

~~~

‘Good afternoon, Francis Goretti. How are the new students?’ Nava’s gaze wandered over the displays in the control room as she asked, taking in the scene below, in the simulation room, where ten young adults were attempting to track each other down and ‘kill’ their targets. Some were a lot better than others.

‘There are a couple who may be worth nurturing,’ Francis replied. He was not in charge of the MagiTag Club these days, having inherited the chairmanship of all extracurricular activities the previous autumn, but he still took an active interest. That was partially because of his history with the club and partially because the MagiTag Club was a major contributor to the school’s prestige. ‘No one who could really be said to be a threat to you…’ Francis flashed Nava a grin which switched suddenly to a frown. ‘Well, except for her, of course.’

Nava followed his pointing finger and spotted the her in question: Taryn Borchardt Firmin. The statuesque woman was also watching the people engaging in battle. Her expression was some mix of thoughtful and amused, as though she was enjoying the show while making assessments. She was dressed in the new school combat gear – as was Nava – so it seemed likely that she was planning to join a game or had already done so. Possibly both.

‘You’ve seen her fight?’ Nava asked.

‘She’s played in two games,’ Francis replied. ‘Won both. She’s good. Maybe as good as you.’

‘Maybe better?’

‘I couldn’t call it.’

Nava’s gaze lingered on the other woman for a second. ‘I don’t think you’ll have to.’

‘Want to join me for a game?’ Taryn asked Nava about three minutes later as the last players trooped out of the room.

Nava flashed a glance at Francis – who grinned – and then nodded. ‘Of course, Taryn Borchardt. It should be interesting.’

‘Oh yeah! I can’t wait to see if you’re as good as I’ve heard.’

‘I suppose we’ll find out.’

Three of the ten combatants were out of play inside of the first minute. One of them fell to Taryn, but that was just because he had been in the way. Taryn was hunting Nava and Nava knew that was what was happening. It was, probably anyway, a good tactic if you had reasonable situational awareness and skill with a spell pistol. Taryn was aiming for the one person most likely to take her out of the game. Unfortunately for Taryn, Nava was also pretty good at tactics.

The setting was ‘ruined city,’ which meant walls of various sizes and of random shapes. Unlike a real environment, the ground was level. Otherwise, it was more or less like hiding in the ruins of a battle-torn city. Cover was plentiful and Nava made the most of it. Magic providing concealment was not allowed in battle royal games, otherwise Nava would have used it. As it was, she moved between areas of concealment like a wraith. If necessary, she would have fired to eliminate anyone who became a danger to her, but she never needed to. Taryn and the others were doing a perfectly good job of taking each other down without Nava’s help.

In the end, despite all the careful manoeuvring, it came down to sheer speed. Nava slid out from behind the cover of a wall and spotted Taryn. Taryn spotted Nava at the same time. They both moved to fire their weapons, but Nava fired first and she never missed what she aimed at. With the new suits, the panels over the shoulders which were normally blue went yellow or red depending upon the magnitude of the hit. Nava, as usual over short range, went for a headshot, pulled it off, and turned Taryn’s shoulders red in one hit. Taryn’s finger tightened on her trigger, but her pistol had registered the kill already and nothing happened. She looked almost surprised. Then the horn was sounding for the end of the match and there was a flash of something like anger across Taryn’s face before she got herself under control.

‘You’re fast,’ Taryn said as they walked across the room to the exit.

‘Don’t sell yourself short,’ Nava replied. ‘You’re quick, skilled, and good at using your environment. A worthy opponent.’

‘You still beat me.’

‘Yes. I look forward to facing you when you’ve improved.’

Taryn flashed Nava a grin. ‘I think I’m going to like you, Nava Greyling. I’ve found a worthy opponent too.’

‘Pleased to be of service.’

236/2/4.

Nava watched as Taryn twisted her way through one of the obstacle courses set up by the Flight Club. Taryn was fairly good. She was a little faster than Melissa and had better control. She was nowhere near Nava’s level, however, and Nava had no desire to demonstrate that to her.

Taryn was showing off. That kind of thing was not especially uncommon among combat stream students who frequently had a streak of overconfidence in them. Taryn was almost as good as she thought she was. That possibly made it worse. If she saw someone competing at her level, she seemed to consider it her duty to try to beat them.

There was something else that Taryn’s performance was telling Nava: she could clearly run two active spells at once. She had been in the air for over thirty minutes and that either indicated a huge quintessence reserve or the ability to have Gather Quintessence active in parallel with Flight. Nava was pretty sure it was the latter. It took discipline to operate two complex thought streams at the same time. Mitsuko could do it, but then, Mitsuko was a disciplined sort of woman. Nava could do four spells at once, but she was not entirely human. Taryn did not seem to exhibit much discipline in other aspects of her life, so Nava was a little surprised that she could manage it when doing sorcery.

Nava set off for the tent the Flight Club were using to house their recruiters. Melissa was in there, doing a stint on the desks, and Nava had said she would drop in. Taryn had distracted her. Having seen Taryn in action twice now, Nava had come to one definite conclusion…

~~~

‘She’s competitive,’ Nava said. She was up to her neck in the house’s sento with Mitsuko and Melissa opposite her. Courtney was out handling some SSF business. ‘Very competitive. She doesn’t like losing, but she does cover it well.’

‘Are you suggesting she might play dirty?’ Mitsuko asked. ‘Did she seem like she was cheating in the MagiTag game?’

‘She would probably have been caught, so she did not cheat there. Besides, I suspect she considers combat, even in MagiTag, an honourable competition. Cheating would have negated her win. Politics may be another matter. In fact, I might suggest that dirty tactics in politics are expected to some extent.’

‘I’d have thought you’d think dirty fighting perfectly okay,’ Melissa said.

‘I do, but I don’t expect Taryn Borchardt to think the same way.’ Nava paused, looking up as though considering; both of her companions had, by this point, figured out that it was for show. ‘I’m not positive about that. The Firmins have produced a lot of mercenaries, and mercs are noted for getting it done rather than doing it honourably. Still, they are Clan Worlds mercs…’

‘You’re just saying I should watch out for dirty tricks then?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘Yes,’ Nava replied. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the hot water. ‘None of my sisters may be gunning for you this year, but Taryn may be almost as dangerous.’

236/2/5.

‘As expected,’ Rochester said as he put his tray down on the refectory table, ‘your speech was a good one, Suki.’

‘Thank you, Chess,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘You didn’t see Taryn’s opening speech, did you?’

‘I was busy with the Metaphysics Club. I plan to watch it on the News Club’s feed tonight.’

‘And I wasn’t really paying attention to either of you,’ Courtney said. ‘I was more concerned with watching the audience.’ She shrugged and gave an opinion anyway. ‘It seemed to me that Taryn Borchardt was focused on what could have been done better last year. She seemed kind of negative.’

‘As I suggested yesterday,’ Nava said, ‘she’s competitive. Concentrating on what she would have done differently seems to fit with her personality. I agree that it came over as rather negative.’

‘As a strategy, it could work,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Only if the majority of students believe you are to blame,’ Nava replied, ‘and think that the office of student president might have changed the outcome.’

Courtney nodded. ‘I think it would work better as a strategy if she were running for SSF captain. I’m going to be stepping down at some point this year. She could be setting herself up to take my job when I go.’

‘Expecting to lose to me but pushing her case for leading the SSF?’ Mitsuko asked. ‘I’m not sure that fits…’ She looked at Nava, who shook her head.

‘She’s running to win,’ Nava said. ‘Her personality suggests she won’t enter a race she doesn’t think she has a chance of winning. That doesn’t mean she won’t go for SSF captain if her presidential bid fails. However, I do expect her to do her best to beat Suki.’

‘I’m starting to feel bad about missing both speeches,’ Carina said. ‘I guess I can watch them on the News Club’s feed…’

‘You should,’ Melissa said. ‘It’s important. This is going to be the only chance you get to participate in a diplomatic process.’ She frowned a little. ‘I wonder what Trudy’s view of the election would be.’

‘I’ll ask her. We can watch the speech vids together. Uh, though I was just going to vote for Mitsuko. I mean, what if I listen to what Taryn Borchardt has to say and think she makes more sense?’

‘Then democracy will have worked,’ Mitsuko said, ‘and I will not think less of you for voting for Taryn. Despite being a member of one of the most powerful families in the Alliance and so quite invested in the status quo, I believe in democracy, especially in limited forms.’

‘But the chances are you’ll vote for Suki anyway,’ Melissa said. ‘Nava is going to vote for Suki. At least, I think she is.’

‘So far,’ Nava said, ‘I am.’

Melissa nodded. ‘If Nava thinks Suki is the better candidate, then it’s likely to be true.’

‘But Nava’s Mitsuko’s girlfriend,’ Carina said. ‘Doesn’t that mean she’s biased toward–’

‘No.’ There was a chorus of negative statements from pretty much everyone on the table aside from Nava.

Even Mitsuko shook her head and added to the negatives. ‘Nava would never let something like a personal relationship get in the way of an accurate assessment,’ Mitsuko went on. ‘My only consolation is that she would probably explain why she was voting against me and give me the chance to correct my attitude.’

‘That’s… kind of cold,’ Carina said. ‘And awesome. It’s kind of awesome too.’

Nava nodded. ‘I’m awesome. I’m glad people have begun to notice.’

‘No, you’re not,’ Mitsuko said. ‘You’re never happy when people notice how good you are.’

‘Ah. She knows me so well…’

236/2/6.

The News Club had a number of poll results up on their site and some of the figures were a little worrying. Nava scanned them as Luca Newton went through the morning announcements. There was nothing too worrying at this stage in the process, but they would need to be addressed.

The primary worry was that some of the student body were believing Taryn’s negative take on the previous year. The current student council’s approval rating had dropped from seventy-two percent to sixty-three. That could partially be accounted for by the influx of new students who had not actually experienced the year before and had only heard Taryn’s view. Partially, but not entirely: clearly, some of the older students were easily influenced.

The assessment was backed up by the general polling figures. Taryn was polling highly among first years and combat students. Mitsuko was getting better results in the older students and had a near monopoly in the support stream. It seemed that the combat stream still had some misgivings about Mitsuko’s egalitarian view of school life. It seemed likely that the race would be a relatively close one, but the campaigns had only just begun and Nava had confidence in Mitsuko’s political skills. It remained to be seen whether Taryn could present some useful policies and solidify her voting base. And there was still the possibility that some dirty tricks could be played before the end. It was definitely something to watch for.

236/2/8.

A susurration of sighs ran through the class as Miles Paris Sonkei walked into the classroom to begin the afternoon’s metaphysics lesson. Nava found it intensely amusing. The man had been teaching class 22C for a while now; a fairly large proportion of the female students were still reacting like lovesick teens.

Miles was an attractive man. Very attractive, in fact. He came in around a hundred and eighty centimetres, fairly tall and with a strong physique. His black hair had a carefully tousled quality: clearly cut by a skilled barber, but still with a hint of the wild about it. He had a strong jawline, high cheekbones, and thin but sensuous lips. Blue eyes sat under finely drawn black eyebrows. The whole was very easy on the eye and, objectively, Nava could see why the other girls liked him. Even Melissa was charmed, though her interest in academics had been blunted by Rochester.

To his credit, Miles did not react to the dreamy looks he received from around the room. Nava was yet to work out why he was oblivious to the attention. Rochester had suggested that their teacher was, in fact, not interested in female attention, but Hoshi had countered with the information that Miles had been in a couple of relationships with female students prior to graduation. None with men. Unless Miles had had a change of heart, he was not gay. That left a professional attitude or a disinterest in younger women. Nava’s classmates were almost all under seventeen and so off-limits; maybe he would become interested in a year or so.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Miles said. The words had an almost immediate effect: the room went silent. ‘Let’s get started. We’ll be discussing the nature of the Q-field in considerable detail today and for the next several lessons. It’s a subject I personally find interesting, so I hope you’ll enjoy it, but it won’t be easy. Those of you who don’t plan to go on to purely academic studies are likely to hate me by the end.’

There was a rumble of laughter from around the room. Nava could imagine Rochester sitting up straighter; that was one student who would not be hating the teacher when this was over, unless there was not enough detail.

‘We do have someone in this class with more knowledge than most regarding the nature of the quintessential universe,’ Miles went on. ‘Rochester Hunt, I have read the paper you co-authored with Hoshi Horne. Fascinating. I’m currently working to meld some of the information from that into these lectures. Frankly, I would love to interview the unnamed person who went across into the Q-field.’ The teacher’s gaze shifted, moving over Nava; he knew who he was talking about, but it seemed he was not going to say anything unless Nava came forward. ‘However, since that person was not named, we can assume that their privacy is a matter of concern. I won’t press.’

‘Thank you, Mister Miles Paris,’ Rochester said. ‘The, um, subject of the experiment would prefer that their name remained concealed. If they chose to contact you, that would be another matter, but I cannot reveal who it was.’

Miles nodded, a smile on his lips. ‘I admire your loyalty. Now, let’s go over what we already know of Q-field theory and see where we can expand your knowledge.’

236/2/11.

‘She’s pretty good,’ Melissa commented. Taryn was threading herself through one of the obstacle courses at Flight Club; Nava and Melissa were watching her aerobatics.

‘She’s faster than you by a narrow margin,’ Nava replied. ‘She does have you on manoeuvrability, but it’s due to her sorcery talent rather than skill.’ There was a slight shrug. ‘She may be a little more nimble than you too.’

Melissa giggled. ‘So, she’s just as trained as me, but she’s superior in every other way. If you’re trying to console me, you’re failing badly.’

‘I possibly could have done better. Do you really need consoling?’

‘Not really. There are plenty of people in the club who are better than me. One more doesn’t really matter. I mostly fly for the pleasure of flying anyway.’

‘Hm, yes. Which makes it all the more important that you learn Gather Quintessence.’

Melissa grimaced. ‘I almost have it. Maybe next Sunday I won’t need to wait so long between flights.’

‘That would be good. For now, however, I’m going to leave you for a while.’ Nava lifted into the air, coming to a hover just above three metres. ‘I’ll be somewhere up there.’

‘I know. I’ll come up and get you when I can.’

Nava gave a nod, looked upward, and accelerated into the sky. She had no fixed rule about how high she would go and no means of measuring her height most days; she simply accelerated upward for a few seconds, decelerated for a similar time, and fell into a hover at whatever altitude she had reached. She figured she was a little under two kilometres up most Sundays. The campus stretched out below her and she settled in to contemplate the view.

‘Nice view.’ It was not Melissa’s voice. Melissa was probably still on the ground, regaining her energy. This was someone else.

Nava shifted her position in the air so that she could see Taryn hovering behind her. Taryn did not seem to be looking down. ‘I enjoy the view from up here, yes,’ Nava said.

‘Huh. You’re quite something, Nava Greyling. I saw some of your runs down there. You’re good. Really good. Your friend’s not bad, but you’re something else. I heard you refused to take part in the games last summer.’

‘You heard right. I’m not interested in that kind of competition.’

‘And you wouldn’t be in the MagiTag tournament, even though you helped train the ones who went.’

‘I’m not really interested in competition in general.’

‘Then why play MagiTag?’

Nava regarded the other girl for a second or two before answering. Was Taryn competitive about everything? Even being competitive? ‘It allows me to engage in combat exercises without killing anyone. I don’t play when I’m in a MagiTag session.’

‘And you’ve only been in one duel since you started here,’ Taryn said. Her tone suggested this was something she could not understand at all.

‘I’m really not into games, Taryn Borchardt. Duelling is a game I have no interest in.’

‘You can just call me Taryn, you know. You fascinate me, Nava Greyling. You really fascinate me. I want to get to know you better. Like, a lot better. We could–’

‘One of the main reasons I come up here on days like this is that I enjoy my solitude.’ Nava was watching the shifts in posture Taryn was making. There were also the micro-expressions evident on her face. Mixed signals. Mixed, but the overt aspects suggested flirtation. Taryn was coming on to Nava, but probably not with pure motives. Also, Taryn was about as subtle as a battle tank. ‘I realise you’re just trying to be friendly, but I’d really prefer a little time to myself.’

Taryn drifted closer. ‘I promise I’m worth your time.’ Sighing, Nava shifted her posture and began to accelerate in the general direction of north. Taryn grinned and followed. ‘If it’s a race you want…’ Taryn called out.

Nava looked back. She was already pulling ahead. Two metres, then four. ‘No,’ she called back. ‘I’m not interested in racing you.’ Six metres. Eight.

The grin vanished from Taryn’s face as she capped out her own speed and watched as Nava, still accelerating, ploughed on to the north, quickly vanishing into the distance. ‘Damn,’ Taryn said as she turned back and down. ‘Bitch is fast.’

~~~

‘Where’d you go?’ Melissa asked as Nava came in to land beside her near one of the aerobatics courses.

‘I needed to put some distance between me and Taryn Borchardt,’ Nava replied.

‘Oh. Is that why she’s been looking like she wants to beat everyone here since she came back down?’

‘Possibly, but I think she’s just that competitive.’ Nava paused, considering. ‘I did leave her in the dust, figuratively, when she tried to chase me. That may have exacerbated things.’

‘Huh. Maybe. I don’t think anyone in the Flight Club is going to be voting for her in the election.’

Nava watched as Taryn stalked toward one of the buildings being used as changing rooms. She looked annoyed. Really, really annoyed. ‘That temper of hers is going to be a problem if she does replace Suki.’

‘If that happens, I’ll be resigning.’

‘Then let us hope our housemate’s political skills are up to the task of defeating her opponent.’

Melissa grinned and started for the obstacle course. ‘I think Suki’s perfectly capable. Also, I think I’m ready to run the course again. Coming?’

‘Now that Taryn Borchardt is leaving, yes.’

236/2/17.

For once, Nava was not the fox. There were a group of first years out in the school’s forest, trying their best to hunt down one of the third years. Nava was watching on the remote monitors, mostly to determine whether there were any standout competitors. So far, there were not, but there were some who might be worth additional effort.

‘Is it my imagination,’ Francis asked, ‘or is Taryn Borchardt avoiding you?’

‘I’m not entirely sure that avoiding is the right word,’ Nava replied, her eyes never leaving the screens. ‘I may have annoyed her at last week’s Flight Club, and I did beat her in the battle royal at the fair. I am possibly not her favourite person at the moment.’

Francis shrugged. ‘Neither am I. She came asking for my endorsement as the EA chair. I told her that I preferred not to endorse either candidate until I had a better idea of their position on the school’s clubs. It seemed like that wasn’t good enough, but she said she’d be back when she’d formulated a comprehensive plan.’

‘A comprehensive plan? What does that mean?’

‘I have no idea.’ Francis pointed up at one of the screens. ‘Now he looks like he could be useful with a bit of training.’

The student in question had just been taken out by the fox. However, he had almost got his own shot in first and he had uncovered the older student’s position when the others had not. It was possible they had a potential competitor there. ‘You may be correct, Francis. I’d suggest further evaluation.’

‘It’d be useful to get you to do some of that…’

‘I may be available.’

Francis grinned and heaved a mock sigh. ‘Oh how I wish that you were.’

‘Francis Goretti Orlando, you’re too old for me and you know it.’

‘Only until November.’

‘And in November, I’ll still be with Suki.’

There was another sigh. ‘And that’s a much bigger fly in the ointment. I’ll just have to wait until her birthday and try for both of you.’

‘Hm. Well, that’s something to look forward to. The look on your face when she turns you down will be priceless.’

236/2/19.

‘There’s no real source for any of it,’ Melissa said. ‘There’s no consistency either. Lots of contradictory information. If you believe all the rumours, Nava’s sleeping with every eligible male in the school.’

‘Not just the males,’ Nava commented, her tone disinterested. ‘Several females have been named.’

‘I don’t think that’s where we should be focusing,’ Mitsuko said. She had called the house meeting, which was taking place in the sento, due to the appearance of a number of posts on the school’s gossip channels regarding Nava’s supposed promiscuity. ‘Why has someone decided to start posting this crap now?’

‘I’d have thought that was obvious,’ Courtney replied.

‘I tend to agree,’ Nava said. ‘It’s a fairly obvious attempt to throw you off your game. I know you don’t believe any of it, but I feel I should state that none of these rumours has any basis in fact.’ It was barely noticeable, but Mitsuko relaxed just a tiny bit at Nava’s words. Mitsuko did not believe the rumours, but hearing Nava deny them had settled any latent worry.

‘Well, one of the rumours said you were sleeping with me,’ Melissa said. ‘That’s true, but Suki’s with us when it happens, so I don’t think that counts. Who do you think started this? Taryn Borchardt is the obvious source, but–’

‘It’s her,’ Nava said.

‘You seem very sure.’

Nava considered briefly. ‘Ninety, maybe ninety-five percent. She tried to seduce me at Flight Club last week. Seduce may not be the best term. She suggested she wanted to get to know me a lot better. Since she couldn’t get me, I believe these rumours are her plan B.’

‘You’re saying that she tried to take you away from me,’ Mitsuko said, ‘just to gain an advantage in the election?’

‘No. That was her primary reason, but she’s fundamentally competitive. She wanted me because it would mean she beat you.’

‘Makes sense,’ Courtney said. ‘Taryn would be at the top of my list of suspects for starting this. What do you want to do about it?’

‘There’s not much we can do,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Denials will just feed the rumour mill. I don’t see this as a problem, aside from it potentially damaging Nava’s reputation.’

‘I’m not sure what reputation I have,’ Nava said, ‘so maybe this is just establishing one.’

‘I think we should establish a better one.’

‘Then I suppose I should attempt to quash these rumours. I have no idea how to do that, however. The main thing as far as I’m concerned is that they don’t disturb you.’

Mitsuko smiled. ‘I am undisturbed.’

Nava gave a nod. ‘Then I am too.’

236/2/20.

‘I’d just like to make it totally clear that I am not sleeping with Nava,’ Francis said.

‘I never thought you were, Francis,’ Mitsuko replied. It was lunchbreak and the student council was having a meeting. The rumours had not been the intended topic, but it was the topic which had come up almost immediately. ‘Even if you want to, you wouldn’t.’

‘I don’t–’ Francis cut himself off with a grimace. ‘Okay, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want her. I should probably stop the denials while I’m still believably innocent.’

‘A good policy, Francis,’ Darius said. Melissa and Marie were giggling. Courtney was doing her best not to. ‘The question is,’ Darius went on, ‘what do we do about this? It’s obvious that Taryn Borchardt Firmin is behind this. She’s attempting to undermine you, Mitsuko.’

‘I have no doubt,’ Mitsuko replied, ‘but she’s failing. I’m perfectly confident in my girlfriend. I’m a little surprised at your concern, Darius. We haven’t always been friends. I half expected you to run against me this year.’

‘Times, and opinions, change, President. My assessment of Taryn Borchardt is… I’d prefer to retain the current council. As is. You’ve been a good leader. I’ve no doubt we would lose Melissa too and she has been a most efficient secretary. I intend to assist you in rebuffing these accusations.’

‘There’s no way either of us can directly–’

‘Nothing you or Nava Greyling could say would make a difference if issued as a statement or anything similar. I agree. Leave it with me. I think I can come up with a way of turning the tables on whoever is spreading these rumours. Trust me.’

Mitsuko gave a small grimace. ‘Don’t say things like that before unleashing diabolical plans, Darius.’

Darius just shrugged. ‘I rather thought it was expected…’

~~~

The members of the News Club were not exactly ninjas. Nava spotted their ambush from a safe enough distance that she could have avoided it. Doing so seemed like a waste of time, however. She was heading home – Mitsuko, Melissa, and Courtney had another council meeting – and she would have had to deviate quite a lot from her route to dodge the interview. So, Nava continued on until someone was stuffing a camera and microphone in her face.

‘Nava Greyling Sonkei, we’re with the News Club. Can we have a word?’ The News Club had sent their ace gossip reporter, Vivienne Janvier Plank. She was not a tall woman, but she was very attractive and very assertive. Her hair was a fiery red and her green eyes flashed whenever she felt she had something to sink her teeth into. Rumour had it that her teeth were barbed and once she latched on there was no getting rid of her.

‘I’ve no doubt you’ll have some words whether I agree or not, Vivienne Janvier,’ Nava replied.

‘You wound me.’ Vivienne did not look wounded. ‘A number of rumours have been spreading regarding your behaviour since you joined the Greylings. You’ve made no effort to deny any of them.’

‘I didn’t think it was necessary. Several of those rumours are mutually contradictory. If I were seeing all the people I’m linked with, I’d have had no time for classes. Frankly, spreading that kind of gossip just indicates that you can’t be bothered to do your own research. Rebuking you would only serve to encourage others. The originator of those rumours is clearly an honourless coward. Were I to discover who they were, rebuking them would be pointless.’

Ignoring the insult against her own work, Vivienne jumped on the more inflammatory comment. ‘An honourless coward? That’s the kind of talk that gets you into a duel, Nava Greyling. You’re known to hate duelling, but you’re picking a fight.’

‘No one has come to me to lay these allegations before me. The originator of this baseless gossip is undoubtedly so far beneath my contempt as to be not worth the effort of striking. They won’t reveal themselves anyway. If they did, they’d have to face me and they’re clearly too cowardly to do that. If you’ll excuse me, I have homework to get done.’

‘Thanks for your time,’ Vivienne said. ‘That was great.’

Nava was not convinced she had done the right thing as she walked away. Vivienne had seemed rather pleased. When a gossip reporter was pleased, the object of her attention should probably not be happy.

236/2/21.

Apparently, Nava had things to learn about politics. Sometime around mid-morning, there was a subtle change in attitude from various people in class 22C. They had been giving her some nasty looks, and now they were back to something more like normal. Nava did not connect the dots until lunchtime when Melissa revealed what had been happening on the gossip channels.

‘Vivienne Janvier put out a vid post about eleven,’ Melissa said as they walked to the refectory. ‘There was some of that interview she got from you and another of her ambushing Darius. The whole thing basically says that it’s all lies and no right-thinking human would believe any of it.’

‘She was hyping the rumours herself yesterday,’ Nava countered.

‘Today she says they’re false accusations spread by a coward. Taryn Borchardt will be spitting mad.’

‘Try not to smirk so much when you say that.’

‘I’ll try, but I’ll fail.’

‘Hm. So, Vivienne managed to ambush Darius as well as me?’

‘It seems so,’ Melissa said.

‘Darius set it up,’ Mitsuko said when they joined her at the refectory for lunch.

‘He did?’ Melissa asked.

‘Probably Nava’s interview too. He set it up to take the wind out of Taryn’s sails. Vivienne is one of Darius’s classmates and Darius has strong political leanings.’

‘He did say he didn’t want Taryn taking Suki’s place,’ Melissa said, nodding.

‘He didn’t pull his punches either,’ Mitsuko went on. ‘Nava and I are showing great dignity in not reacting to the rumours. We couldn’t possibly reply, he said, but he can. Nava would never go behind my back. Anyone saying otherwise hasn’t met her or is lying. He mentioned a few things from last year which demonstrated your strength and he doubled down on the cowardice angle. Taryn can’t possibly respond at this point. If anyone comes up with evidence or even reasonable speculation suggesting she’s responsible, she’ll be crucified.’

‘I doubt she’s going to like that,’ Nava said. ‘I wonder what she’ll come up with next?’

236/2/25.

‘The Sunday before the election and no sign of any more dirty tricks,’ Courtney said. ‘I was expecting something else, I have to admit.’

‘I’m not sure dirty tricks are really her thing,’ Nava replied from across the lounge. ‘I think she likes winning fair and square. It’s just that politics is a dirty business, so she tried the one thing she could come up with and that’s the end of it.’

‘Maybe…’ Courtney did not sound convinced.

‘One could suggest that she’s continuing,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Her campaign has largely been based on decrying the performance of the student council since I took control. She’s trying to make everything my fault. She’s even linked in the incident last summer when Free Beherbergen attacked the conference.’

‘And all of that was a mistake,’ Melissa said.

‘I’ve done my best to counter it.’

‘You almost don’t need to. Especially that business in Alliance City. The gossip channels have been full of chatter about the various events last year and how they were resolved by students, including you.’ Melissa looked across at Nava with a smirk. ‘Actually, the only criticism I’ve seen about it all is that the council has never managed to push Nava into some official position.’

‘That would be a battle I couldn’t win,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Mm. Terrorists is one thing, but persuading Nava to take a position on the council… I don’t think anyone can expect you to take on that kind of risk.’

Nava looked between her two friends. ‘I don’t believe I’m that bad, but I’m glad we’re all on the same page.’

236/2/31.

The day of the election dawned fairly miserably. There was a steady drizzle which worsened to rain periodically falling from first light. It showed no sign of stopping as the day went on. It was probably a good thing that no one had to go out to vote, though everyone who could vote had lessons in the morning.

The previous year, Nava had been more concerned about Mitsuko surviving than about her political career. No matter how the voting came out, it seemed unlikely that Taryn would try to assassinate her rival. Nava voted as soon as the website went live in the morning and then sat back to watch how things worked out. Nava was not, outwardly, nervous. Nava only showed emotions when she wanted to, which was practically never. She observed, watching the reactions of others as they waited for the evening and the results. It was fascinating.

Mitsuko was, of course, outwardly just as calm as Nava. Unlike Nava, Mitsuko showed emotions, but not the ones she was feeling. The polling was giving her a good lead, but polls were not to be taken as reality. The student president was nervous and trying not to show it. She was all smiles. Only those practised in detecting emotions would be able to see that she was running on two hours of sleep, coffee, and adrenaline.

That Melissa was nervous was more obvious. ‘There are some rumours floating about that voting is low this year,’ she said at lunch. ‘I do hope people haven’t become complacent.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Nava suggested.

‘I’m not worried.’ Pause. ‘Would you read over my resignation letter later? I don’t want any mistakes in it if I have to use it.’

‘But you’re not worried.’

‘N-no, not at all.’

Taryn was about as good an actress as Mitsuko. When she appeared in the refectory, you could barely tell she was worked up over the election. She certainly appeared to be happy with how things were going, but Nava could see the pressure lurking behind the mask. It was a different kind of pressure from Mitsuko, however. Taryn was all about the competition. Taryn wanted to win. What Taryn was nervous about was losing – of course, Mitsuko was the same – but for Taryn it was the losing that would sting, not what she would be losing.

The polling suggested that the race would not be a close one. However, if Melissa was right and fewer students had voted this year than usual, there could still be an upset. Taryn could end up winning because Mitsuko’s supporters thought it was a done deal. That, Nava thought, would be a particularly bad way to lose an election.

~~~

Last year, the outgoing student president had presided over the results ceremony. He was in the audience this evening, but he was perfectly happy being a normal student working toward his finals and Courtney was standing at the podium in the theatre to read the results. Apparently, that was fairly normal when there was no resigning president to take the job. Courtney did not appear especially pleased that the SSF captain was the default presenter.

Nava was in the audience this time around, rather than standing watch at the back of the stage. Well, Nava was always on some level of alert and she was keeping her eyes open for any signs of trouble. She was not expecting any this time, however, which made the entire thing seem a far more relaxed affair. Last year, Nava had been waiting for one of her estranged sisters to teleport in and attempt to execute Mitsuko. If that did happen this year, it would be a different estranged sister.

‘Let’s get this started,’ Courtney said. Not, perhaps, the most eloquent of opening lines, but it did fit the captain’s personality. The room took it as a signal to quit talking and listen, which was the point. ‘We’re all here to see who we’ve elected as student president for the next year. I’d like to comment up front that this has been one of the worst-engaged elections we’ve ever had at SAS-squared. I won’t reveal the percentage who voted at this time, but it was quite low.’

There were mumbles and noises in various parts of the hall. Maybe a few people had not voted and now thought they should have. Courtney ignored them and tapped at the screen on the podium to call up the final results. ‘Very well. I’ll be reading the results in alphabetical order by clan name, not that it makes a lot of difference today. The results for the student president election of two-three-six are as follows. Taryn Borchardt Firmin, two thousand, five hundred and twenty-four votes. Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei, three thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four votes. Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei will continue as president of the student council for another year.’

At the back of the stage, Taryn and Mitsuko were getting to their feet. Taryn’s face had hardened when the voting figures were read out, but she had relaxed almost immediately. She hated losing, but she accepted defeat well too. She offered Mitsuko a hand to shake and then remained at the back of the stage while Mitsuko walked forward to make her acceptance speech.

Mitsuko shook hands with Courtney and then stepped up to the podium. She paused, looking up and around. ‘No one’s going to shoot at me this year? Well, that’s better than last time.’ Even the people near Nava who had, apparently, voted for Taryn laughed. ‘I thank you all for this chance to continue improving life here at SAS-squared. I am hopeful that things will be quieter here this year and that we can all get on with enjoying our time at our school. The only thing I have to worry about, it seems, is our little democracy. I’d like to nurture some additional competition for next year’s election. I think I’ve had a good opponent in Taryn Borchardt, but there must be others in the student body with their own ideas. Let’s hear them. Thank you.’

236/2/32.

‘I’m stepping down at the end of next term.’ There was silence in the sento following the statement. Courtney had made it without any warning, though it was sort of to be expected given that she was in her final year at school.

‘I see,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Have you informed the administration?’ Unlike the student president, the captain of the SSF was assigned by the school’s administration. The previous captain had a say and no captain had ever been assigned without the agreement of the other student council members, but the captain position was somewhat akin to a job.

‘Yes. They’ve started looking around for a replacement. They want my recommendation. I haven’t given them one yet.’

‘Perhaps it’s not my place to say this,’ Nava said, ‘but I don’t see any standout leaders among the SSF. Aside from you, obviously. Giving a recommendation won’t be easy.’

‘Actually, it’s easy… And not.’

‘That,’ Melissa said, ‘is not at all clear.’

‘I think,’ Mitsuko said, her eyes narrowing at Courtney, ‘that Courtney has a clear candidate in mind. However, she does not expect that candidate to agree.’

‘That’s an accurate summation,’ Courtney said.

‘I think it’s good that Courtney is stepping down,’ Nava said, ‘since she has clearly taken leave of her senses and requires several sessions of psychiatric evaluation.’

‘What?’ Melissa asked, looking between her friends in confusion. ‘Wait… You can’t mean–’

‘I want to put Nava’s name forward,’ Courtney said, removing any further doubt.

‘Nava’s right, you’re nuts,’ Melissa said flatly.

‘This isn’t the same as when I asked her to join the SSF. This time, I want her to run it.’

‘I agree,’ Nava said. ‘It’s totally different. It’s worse.’

‘No.’

‘No?’

‘Perhaps we could allow Courtney to explain?’ Mitsuko suggested.

‘I should like an explanation, certainly,’ Nava said. You could not tell she was angry. Not unless you knew her very well. Tonight, even Courtney, who knew Nava the least, could tell there was a level of annoyance under the calm.

‘You’d be the leader of the SSF,’ Courtney said. ‘The captain gets to decide how the SSF is going to function under their command. If you don’t want to be out on patrol, you don’t go on patrol. You get to make the SSF what you think it should be. I was always pretty hands-on because I was using it to beef up my credentials for when I went into policing. If you want to provide direction and only come out in emergencies, that’s your prerogative.’

Nava looked across the bath at Courtney. ‘I’m not entirely convinced.’

‘No. That’s why I haven’t told the principal about this yet.’ Courtney paused briefly. ‘I think that, now she’s lost the presidential election, Taryn Borchardt will put her name forward for captain when she finds out about it.’

‘That is fighting dirty, Courtney,’ Nava said. ‘I’ll consider the matter and let you know as soon as I’ve come to a decision.’

‘Okay. Just don’t leave it too long. The administration like to have the replacement lined up well in advance of the deadline.’

Nava sank a little lower in the water. It was almost like she was sulking. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

Part Three: Quis Custodiet

Trenton Mansion, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 236/3/2.

The second day of March in the northern hemisphere of Shinden was not meant for sunbathing. It was not bikini weather. It was, in fact, more like thick sweater and scarf weather. Luckily, the Trenton mansion came with copious grounds in which to walk and SAS^2 students were expected to be fit; walking in the forested areas nearby was a reasonably pleasant option for the early spring break.

Mitsuko had relatively little to do this week. Normally, this holiday was a busy one for the incoming student president. There was work to be done deciding on the other council members, policy to be set down and agreed upon. This year, Darius and Marie had been uncertain, but both had been persuaded to stay on. It had been a little work with Marie since the treasurer’s confidence had taken something of a hit the previous year. Mitsuko had, however, been able to persuade Marie to stick around. Darius had decided he could manage another year as the vice president. The captain of the SSF was going to need a replacement, but that was the only position on the council that Mitsuko had no real say in. She could veto someone she thought was entirely inappropriate, but that was about it.

And Nava was still taking her time about accepting Courtney’s nomination. Various people had tried drawing her out on the subject, with varying degrees of failure.

‘Personally,’ Mitsuko said as they walked through the shaded forest in no particular direction, ‘I think you’d probably be an excellent leader of the SSF.’

‘I’m interested,’ Nava replied. ‘On what basis have you made this assessment?’

‘Personal observation. Nothing more. Nothing less.’

‘You haven’t actually seen me in action very often,’ Nava pointed out. ‘I generally go off on my own when I’m intending to slaughter everyone in sight.’

‘Who, might I ask, have you slaughtered who didn’t deserve it?’

‘That rather depends upon your viewpoint, doesn’t it? Isn’t there some famous saying about no one ever thinking of themselves as evil?’

‘I think those terrorists at the conference were evil,’ Melissa said.

‘Subjectively, they were,’ Nava replied. ‘Their methods were certainly unacceptable. However, they all felt justified in their actions because those actions were in pursuit of a “noble” goal. One man’s terrorist is someone else’s freedom fighter. I didn’t care about their goal. I cared about the fact that they were enemies. I terminated them based on my personal threat assessment.’

‘Crap,’ Courtney said flatly.

‘Excuse me?’

‘That’s crap and I think you might even know it. You’ve convinced yourself that you’re an emotionless killing machine. Faced with a threat, you kill it.’

‘It’s not a matter of belief. Faced with a threat, I will kill it.’

‘But your view of threats is coloured by more than your assessment of how a threat affects you, Nava. Those terrorists, Maya excepted, were no kind of threat to you. You eliminated them because they were a threat to us and the other delegates. You protected a society you purport to hold in a degree of contempt from those who would seek its destruction. That could be considered more high-minded than pretty much anyone in the Clan Worlds.’

‘Very convincing. Yet I am unconvinced.’

‘You’re impossible.’

‘In many ways,’ Nava said before falling silent.

~~~

Melissa was finding the situation just a little uncomfortable. She was up to her neck in the family sento and there was a slight flush to her cheeks which was not due to the heat of the water. Everyone, even Michiko, was staying silent on this because commenting would just make it worse. The situation she was finding uncomfortable: a whole family sento session, which obviously included Zackery. To his credit, he was clearly used to handling this kind of thing with decorum since he had managed to enter the bath without revealing anything too personal. Still, Melissa was naked in a big tub of water with Mitsuko’s father and, if one were being truly honest, she was handling it rather well.

Nava was unconcerned about it: bodies were bodies. Everyone had one and Zackery had kept his rather well, even if he was only forty-seven. Or forty-eight; his birthday was fairly close. A definite plus was that, if Mitsuko followed the path her parents had taken, she was not going to lose her figure any time soon. Yuzuki was nearing forty-six and was showing no signs of aging at all. No, Nava was feeling a little uncomfortable, but her discomfort stemmed from the topic of conversation, not the family nudity.

‘I’m not entirely clear on why you don’t wish to take over from Courtney,’ Zackery said, his steady gaze on Nava. The topic had come up over dinner, in a roundabout manner which Nava suspected was the result of Mitsuko asking her parents to intervene.

‘You know my history,’ Nava replied. She was aware that both Zackery and Yuzuki did know much of the details of Nava’s past, but Michiko did not and, by preference, should not. ‘You’re aware of my training. It’s not suitable for police work.’

‘I think you may be overselling the negatives, Nava. I think you’re better able to categorise your enemies than you think you are.’

‘The girl you captured last winter,’ Yuzuki said. ‘The one who was attempting to sabotage that play. You took her alive despite her attempts to resist, did you not?’ As usual, Yuzuki spoke in a soft tone, very precisely, as though she were speaking a second language, which she was not.

‘She was not a serious threat.’

‘Is anyone a serious threat to you, Nava?’

‘Yes. Obviously.’

‘Anyone who is also a student at SAS-squared?’ Zackery countered.

That was harder to answer. Or maybe it was not. ‘Yes, though I admit the numbers are more limited. Taryn Borchardt Firmin is likely to be such a threat in the future, for example. Some of the fifth and sixth years probably have the skill to cause me difficulties and the fourth years are getting close. The number is not zero.’

‘It would seem to me,’ Yuzuki said, ‘that this is more a question of whether you believe you will hurt another student rather than whether you will. If you choose to define other students as only minor threats, you may deal with them in a suitable manner.’

‘And your original argument is likely invalid now anyway,’ Zackery added. ‘As I recollect, you believed that other students would test you with increasing threat levels until you eventually reacted. I believe you were justified in that theory at the time, don’t get me wrong. However, you’re now a Greyling and most of the school knows that you can and will take on anything they can throw at you with little trouble. Your reputation precedes you, Nava.’

‘Hm.’ Nava’s response was short and meant to indicate she would consider their words. She was going to consider their words because they had made valid points worth considering. It was also meant to suggest they should end the conversation.

Michiko had other plans. ‘I don’t think you’d hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it, Nava.’

Nava always took Michiko seriously because she did not know of another way to behave around children, even ones as mature as the eleven-year-old before her. ‘And what do you base that conclusion on, Michiko?’

‘You’ve saved Onee-chan’s life more than once. That makes you a good person.’

‘I’m not sure–’

‘And Onee-chan would never take a special friend who was bad.’

‘Hm. You may have a point, Michiko. However, the situation is complicated and requires more thought.’ Pause. ‘So, I’m your sister’s “special friend,” am I?’

Michiko nodded, all seriousness. Then her expression shifted to something a bit more furtive. ‘I do know some other words for it, but I get told off when I use them because I’m too young to know them. I think that’s strange, because I know them, so I can’t be too young to know them.’ Yuzuki let out a distinctly resigned sigh.

‘Ah,’ Nava said, ‘but you can know a word and think you know its meaning. You may even be correct in your understanding. However, words can have additional or alternate meanings which you may not be aware of, and those meanings might cause offence. In addition, some adults, thinking that children should not use some words, can be offended or embarrassed when they do. It’s better to be cautious of such things in polite society.’

Michiko considered this for a second or two. Then she turned to her mother. ‘Why did you never explain it like that, Okaasan?’

‘I’m sure I have,’ Yuzuki replied. ‘Perhaps not all at once… Nava does have a talent for directness.’

‘Thank you, Yuzuki,’ Nava said. ‘No one has ever put that quite so politely before.’

‘Yes, well,’ Zackery said. ‘My wife has a great talent for concealing insults in compliments.’

Yuzuki’s gaze fell upon her husband. ‘Oh, really? I think we should discuss that later, Zackery.’

Zackery grimaced, but Michiko leaned closer to Nava and whispered, if rather loudly, ‘That means they’re going to have sex.’ Melissa went scarlet. Zackery’s cheeks coloured a little. Yuzuki, always the consummate lady, just gave her youngest daughter a resigned look.

Nava whispered back. ‘You know that conversation we just had about words adults don’t like children using?’

‘That was one of them?’

‘Yes, Michiko. That was one of them.’

236/3/3.

Nava had learned two things today. First, the mansion had a dojo. It was out in a wing along with a weight-training room. It was also quite a traditional Japanese build and came equipped with a number of martial arts weapons, most of them appearing to be purely decorative, though the various forms of practice sword did look as though they saw some use.

Second, Yuzuki was remarkably good at aikijutsu. She referred to what she did as aikido, but when she offered to spar with Nava in the morning, it became rapidly apparent that her art was far from an aesthetic one. Her skill went beyond what was generally taught in self-defence classes as well. Mitsuko’s mother was a badass. About the only thing keeping Nava from a really humiliating defeat was her speed; while not superhumanly fast, Nava had the advantage over the majority of humans.

While Nava and Yuzuki were busy wearing each other out in a battle of skill, wits, and speed, Mitsuko was having the snot beaten out of her by her father. Yuzuki, it appeared, had learned aikido because it was proper for a well-bred young woman to learn to defend herself. Then she had taken it further. Zackery had learned unarmed combat in the ASF and used the somewhat brutal, goal-driven style known only as ‘military unarmed combat.’ He was not bad at it at all. Mitsuko had had karate lessons, sort of. She had never been formally schooled in any style of karate, but she had been taught to hit things with her fists and feet. She was, objectively, not too bad at it, but compared to her father…

On the sidelines, Melissa and Michiko watched the interplay of the two couples with interest. And some wincing from Melissa when Zackery landed a slightly harder punch than intended. Mitsuko was likely to have a few bruises, though it was unlikely that Nava would allow that condition to remain the case for long.

‘Your mom is really amazing,’ Melissa said. ‘I mean, I knew your dad was a soldier once, but your mom is standing up to Nava!’

‘Okaasan is teaching me a little of that,’ Michiko replied. ‘She’s a good teacher, but she’s only teaching me forms at the moment. She says I can learn to break people’s arms when I get older.’

‘I think that’s something you should be a little older for.’

‘I bet Nava was very young when she learned to fight.’

Which, as Melissa was aware, was true. ‘Yes,’ Melissa agreed, ‘she was, but do you remember what she told you about growing up too fast?’

‘She said I should stop and enjoy being a child for as long as I could.’

‘Right. If Nava could go back and not have the childhood she did, she’d do it in a heartbeat. She told me I should never– Ouch! That had to hurt! That I should never be envious of what she could do because the reason she can do those things isn’t nice.’

‘Oh,’ Michiko said, watching her precious Onee-san pick herself up off the mat. ‘I think she’s wrong.’

‘You do?’

‘If Nava wasn’t Nava, Onee-san would probably be dead. A lot of bad things might have happened which this Nava stopped. I wouldn’t want Nava to change at all.’

‘Hm. It’s a bit selfish, but I suppose I’d probably be dead too, so I can’t disagree.’

‘Enough.’ Nava’s voice drew their attention and they looked her way to see her backing away from Yuzuki with her hands raised in a fending-off gesture. ‘I am getting far too into this. We should stop before one of us gets hurt.’

Yuzuki, resplendent in a full, formal martial arts outfit, executed a perfect bow. ‘As you wish, Nava. I admit that I was beginning to enjoy the novelty of a different partner a little too much myself.’

Nava returned the bow, though hers was a little more sloppy. ‘Thank you, Yuzuki. That was informative as well as a good workout.’

‘I am most glad to be of service. As I expected, you were a formidable opponent.’

Nava nodded rather than thanking the woman again. Then she turned to look at Zackery and Mitsuko just as Zackery backed away from his daughter.

‘I think we should call it quits too,’ Zackery said, grinning.

‘It’s only a split lip,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘I think you’re getting old and making excuses.’ Her lower lip was bleeding and there were early signs of a bruise forming to the side of her mouth. Then again, Zackery looked like he would be wearing a bruise on the right side of his jaw by lunchtime.

Nava raised her hand toward Mitsuko. ‘I like your lips as they normally are, Suki.’ A second later, as Nava turned her hand on Zackery, the split was gone and the swollen flesh around it was returning to normal. ‘And I’m sure your wife would prefer you undamaged, Zackery.’

‘Nava’s magic is quite amazing too,’ Michiko said to Melissa.

Melissa nodded. ‘Active Recovery to fix a few bruises is really overkill, but it certainly is effective.’

‘Nava doesn’t just hurt people. She can heal them as well.’

‘Mm, yes. I think she forgets that sometimes, but then, that’s one of the things that makes her Nava, and we wouldn’t want her to change, would we?’

‘No,’ Michiko said firmly. ‘We would not.’

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, 236/3/5.

Melissa was looking embarrassed again, but this time it was due to Courtney’s rather enthusiastic greeting of Kyle. If Courtney did not let her boyfriend up to breathe soon, they were going to need paramedics.

Melissa was not the only one looking a little uncomfortable as the couple came close to acts of public indecency in the lounge. Naomi was behind them, looking a little out of place, even if he also looked like the perfect soldier in his ASF uniform. It was, as yet, unclear what the ex-chairman of extracurricular activities was doing there. For one thing, there was no space for him to sleep in the house…

‘I’m just visiting for a couple of days,’ Naomi said when it did not look like there would be a break in the smooching to give him a more obvious opening. ‘Just to see how everyone is doing. The school arranged for me to stay in one of the postgrad apartments, but I thought I’d stop off here first since Kyle was coming straight here.’

‘I’ll make some drinks,’ Nava said. ‘Kyle will probably need the fluids after Courtney finishes sucking all the ones he currently has out through his mouth.’

That got through to Courtney. ‘I am not going to– You just said that to make me stop, didn’t you?’

‘Not entirely.’ Nava turned for the door to the kitchen. ‘You have been making noises about Kyle’s visit all week. I suppose we should be thankful he’s finally here. Should we just put food on trays outside your room for the next few days?’

‘No!’

‘It’s really difficult to tell if she’s being sarcastic,’ Naomi commented.

‘You just noticed?’ Mitsuko asked. ‘Don’t stand on ceremony, Naomi. Sit down. That bag looks heavy.’

Naomi glanced over his shoulder at the kit bag he was lugging around. It almost looked like he had forgotten he was carrying it. ‘I suppose it is.’ Placing the bag on the carpet beside the door, he walked over to one of the sofas and took a seat: the seat beside Melissa, who looked more than a little surprised by that turn of events. ‘I heard you were re-elected, President. Congratulations. How are things going on the council?’

‘Well, no changes in the team. Yet. Courtney is stepping down at the end of this term, but we’ll deal with that when it happens.’

‘You persuaded Marie to stay on?’

Mitsuko nodded a reply. ‘We cleared the admin early this week, since we’re sticking with the same council, so we’ve just got back from a couple of days at the mansion.’

‘I heard that a Firmin was running against you in the election.’

‘You heard right. In the end, she wasn’t much of a threat. I was more worried that the small amount of competition seemed to depress the voting numbers.’

‘Hm.’ The big man turned his head. ‘And you, Melissa? Are you still doing your usual impressive job as secretary?’

‘Oh! Me?’ Melissa was a little surprised at being addressed. Which she should not really have been. ‘Uh, it’s going fine. Same old, same old. I’m just glad I never had to use my resignation letter.’

‘The school would have lost a valuable asset.’

‘Th-thank you, Naomi.’ Melissa was not sure what to make of the compliments. It was not like she hated being complimented, or that Naomi was doing it. It was, however, a little unexpected…

Nava returned from the kitchen with a tray holding several mugs and pots of both coffee and tea. Naomi seemed to realise he was confounding Melissa and quickly looked around at Nava. ‘And have you been keeping busy, Nava?’

‘Of course, Naomi,’ Nava replied. ‘I have schoolwork. I keep an eye on the MagiTag and Flight Clubs. And I have a new friend whose imaginary friend turned out to be a real Harbinger. So, you know, normal stuff.’

‘I think I need to hear that story.’

‘Just so long as it doesn’t get reported up the chain of command. This Harbinger turned out to be a nice Harbinger.’

‘I definitely need to hear that story.’

236/3/9.

Dinner was getting crowded. Carina did not always eat with them, but it was far from an infrequent occurrence. Tonight, they had Kyle at the table too. Since Hoshi and Rochester were there rather than at Hoshi’s apartment, there were eight people and they had required two tables to fit everyone together. The conversation was flying about, making eating something take second place to chatter.

And Courtney had an announcement. ‘The administration informed me that Taryn Borchardt Firmin has applied for the position of SSF captain. They’re going to arrange an interview for her, so they’re taking it seriously.’

‘I see,’ Nava said. She figured that Courtney was mostly aiming the statement at her, though it was likely that Mitsuko and Melissa would be interested.

‘Courtney said she’d asked you to take on the job,’ Kyle said.

It was a statement which seemed to warrant an answer. ‘She did,’ Nava said.

‘Your power surpasses even mine,’ Carina said in an overly dramatic tone. ‘You would make an excellent leader of the school’s guardians.’

Courtney rolled her eyes, but Nava responded in her usual flat tone. ‘So I’m told.’

‘Probably better than this Taryn Borchardt Firmin,’ Kyle said. He took a forkful of pasta and began chewing it thoughtfully.

‘If there are no more applicants, Taryn’s likely to get it,’ Courtney said.

‘I may need that letter of resignation after all,’ Melissa said mournfully. Nava gave her a look.

‘The Firmins are good fighters,’ Kyle said. ‘Can’t deny it. They’re some of the best mercenaries in the Alliance. Not many of them in the ASF, however. And I’m not really sure a fighter is what we need at the top of the SSF.’

‘Then I–’ Nava began.

‘I think it’d be interesting to see what you did with it, Nava. Yes, you’re an excellent fighter, but you’re on the support stream for a reason. You see magic as more than just a weapon. You want to use it for more than just killing. And you’re not a typical clan-educated girl, so you’ll likely have some interesting ideas about where you could take the SSF. That’s my opinion anyway. Take it or leave it.’

Nava looked across the table at him for a second. ‘I’ll take it under consideration, Kyle.’

‘Well, that’s all I can ask, really.’

236/3/13.

‘He’s only been gone a day, Courtney.’ Mitsuko had some sympathy for the current SSF captain, but Courtney was moping a lot.

‘I probably won’t see him again for four months, Suki,’ Courtney replied. She was on a sofa, curled up around a pillow. It was that bad. ‘Tell me how you’d feel if you had to be away from Nava for four months.’

‘She does have a valid point,’ Nava said. ‘You would be unhappy. You weren’t happy with a couple of weeks over the winter holiday.’

‘Yes, but– I suppose you’re right. It’s going to be quieter around here without Kyle around.’

‘Especially at night,’ Nava said, entirely deadpan.

‘You aren’t sleeping right across the hall from it,’ Melissa said. Her scowl had a smirk in it.

‘Is that why you’ve been spending most of the week in Suki’s bed?’

‘That’s not the only reason…’

‘Hey!’ Courtney exclaimed, finally noticing what they were saying. ‘Are you saying me and Kyle are loud?’

‘Yes,’ Nava said flatly. ‘You’re loud. When you’re living together, buy an apartment with very good soundproofing.’

‘We are not that–’

‘Maybe we should move the bed in that room for Kyle’s next visit,’ Mitsuko suggested.

‘What?’

‘Away from the wall.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ Melissa said.

‘I concur,’ Nava added.

‘You three are really mean,’ Courtney replied.

‘Suki and I are mean,’ Nava said. ‘Melissa is just sleep-deprived.’

‘Really mean. I’m going to sulk now.’

‘At least you’re not moping.’

236/3/18.

‘She’s good,’ Francis said. ‘Almost as good as you, Nava.’

‘Mm,’ Nava responded. She was watching the screen where Taryn could be seen demolishing her opposition in a battle royal MagiTag game.

‘She’s good,’ Sara Janvier said, ‘but she’s maybe a little too vicious for us to rely on her in competitions.’ Sara had taken over from Francis as captain of the MagiTag Club after Francis became the chair of the EAC. She was a Sonkei, a third year in the combat stream, and she suffered from Francis butting in at a lot of club sessions. It was, perhaps, to be expected that Francis would take particular interest in the club he had run, but he did tend to undermine Sara’s authority a little.

‘Really?’ Nava asked.

‘She doesn’t like losing. She never cheats, but she bends the rules as far as they’ll go to make sure she has the advantage. I mean, she is one of the best we have, so she shouldn’t need to push things as much as she does.’

‘Yet she does.’

‘Yeah.’

‘She’s competitive,’ Francis said. ‘Competitive is what we need in the summer games.’

‘You might be right, Chairman,’ Sara said.

‘What about as captain of the SSF?’ Nava asked.

‘She’s applied for that? I didn’t even know Courtney Martell was stepping down.’

‘At the end of the term,’ Francis replied. ‘She didn’t mention that Taryn Borchardt had applied though.’

‘Taryn has applied,’ Nava said. ‘I expect Courtney didn’t wish to bother the majority of the council until the administration needs a decision.’

‘But she told you.’

‘She had a reason.’ Nava’s gaze never left the screen. ‘And I think she’s won this one.’

‘Huh?’ Francis asked, frowning.

‘Don’t worry about it, Francis. You’ll have far more to worry about if her plan actually comes to fruition.’

~~~

‘All right, Courtney,’ Nava said as the housemates settled down in the lounge after dinner, ‘you get your way. You can put my name forward as your recommendation for SSF captain.’

‘Okay,’ Courtney said, halfway onto her seat. She more or less fell the rest of the way. ‘Thanks. You won’t regret this.’

‘I agree, but you might.’

‘Huh. I’ll tell the principal tomorrow morning. Uh, what made you change your mind?’

Nava considered her answer for a second. ‘I didn’t. I still think I’ll be a poor choice for captain. I did, however, come to the conclusion that I would be a better choice than Taryn Borchardt. She’s a woman who believes the ends justify the means. She can’t be given the job you’ve been doing.’

‘I think you’ll be great at it,’ Melissa said. ‘And, obviously, if you get the job, I won’t have to resign.’

‘A distinct advantage,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I’m wondering what sort of thing you have planned, Nava. As Kyle said, you’re not from the Clan Worlds, originally. Perhaps you have a different take on the way the SSF should operate.’

‘I think it operates quite well,’ Nava replied. ‘Though I have a few ideas which may make it more effective in the long term. I need to talk to some people, so I hope I’ll get a few days before the administration wants to interview me.’

236/3/22.

The principal of SAS^2 was wearing powder blue today. Well, his suit was white, but his waistcoat was a pale blue which Nava could have sworn was glowing. She sat opposite him in a seating area in his office, wondering whether she should have brought tinted glasses. Behind Auberon Ewart, his VP stood like a bodyguard, one hand resting on the back of his chair. Joslyn Harris was in the school’s staff uniform and looked just as strict as she usually did. She was noted as a stickler for the rules and Nava was not sure how the VP’s judgement would fall when it came to Nava versus Taryn. With Auberon being a difficult man to read, Nava was faced with a tough audience.

‘As you know, Nava,’ Auberon said, ‘Courtney has given her personal recommendation regarding her replacement, and you are the person she has recommended.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Nava replied. ‘She asked me whether I would accept her endorsement around three weeks ago. I accepted on Saturday.’

‘Why the delay?’ Joslyn asked.

‘I had concerns regarding my suitability for the role.’

‘The same concerns which caused you to turn down a position in the SSF last year?’

‘Yes.’

‘What changed?’

Nava made a show of considering the question. That probably worked for these two who were not so used to dealing with her. Her friends had largely worked out it was just for show. ‘Several things. I have more experience of Clan Worlds society. I believe I can do the job without causing a scandal and hurting my fellow students. My reputation in the school is now such that I don’t believe members of the combat stream will be inclined to test me. Also, the position of captain offers opportunities which I cannot deny interest me.’

‘You don’t think you’ll kill anyone now?’ Joslyn asked flatly.

‘That is correct. Or, if I do, it will be because there was no other way to handle the situation.’

‘Hm.’ The VP did not seem entirely convinced.

The principal, however, latched onto something else. ‘The position offers opportunities you find interesting, Nava?’ The man was not much into formalities; he had instructed Nava to call him Auberon as soon as they were in his office. She was, largely, ignoring him. She could reduce the formality if she got the job and got to know him better.

‘Yes, sir. If I am given the opportunity, I’d like to change some of the focus of the SSF.’

‘Go on.’

‘The SSF has always been something of a training ground for students intending to join the ASF in a policing capacity. The ASF or a Clan security force. I would like to expand upon that. I’ve made some enquiries through my contact in the ASF regarding their willingness to provide external lecturers on police procedure, forensics, and other aspects of the ASF’s law enforcement role. It’s all been quite vague so far since I obviously can’t commit to anything. You would need to agree and they would need to find people willing to take on the extra work. It would also depend on SSF members being willing to put in time after lessons and in addition to their normal duties. It’s a big ask. I believe that’s the correct idiomatic phrase. However, the initial feedback from my contact is positive and my conversations with Courtney suggest that her people would be interested. Essentially, both they and the SSF would see it as a leg-up in becoming a useful member of ASF policing.’

‘Forensics. So, your thinking is that the SSF needs more support students in the ranks?’

‘Yes, sir. Courtney will tell you that the loss of Donovan Ilbert has left a significant hole in her ability to process crime scenes.’

‘He was an exceptionally useful member of the team,’ Joslyn agreed.

‘Indeed,’ Auberon said. ‘Essentially then, you’re proposing a system to provide more training for those going into the ASF’s support operations.’

‘That would be part of it. I don’t wish to leave out the combat stream students. The tactics used in policing vary slightly from those used in military operations. There are nuances which should be taken into consideration. And there are currently no courses at SAS-squared in police procedure which would apply to everyone.’

‘It sounds like you’re turning the SSF into Police Club,’ Joslyn said. ‘There is a very specific reason the SSF exists.’

‘And I think my ideas could only improve how its duties are handled, Vice Principal. The school gets a more effective, student-driven security force. The ASF gets new recruits more capable of handling the work and may get more support students applying for positions. I’m sure you’re aware they have difficulty recruiting support magicians since there’s more competition for their talents.’

‘That’s true… It sounds like you’d be taking on more work than the captain typically has.’

‘Perhaps, but I intend to do less of the basic policing work than previous captains have engaged in. First, I think it’s the captain’s job to direct the troops, so to speak, and be there when really difficult situations arise. Second, decreasing my patrol work also decreases the chance that any overenthusiastic students decide to test me. I’d be primarily in charge of administration, but I’d also be the big gun they break out when the situation calls for it.’

‘You’re very confident in your abilities, aren’t you?’

It was Auberon who answered, before Nava could open her mouth. ‘Joslyn, we’ve both seen Nava in action. Aren’t you confident in her abilities?’

Joslyn paused, looking thoughtful. She was probably remembering what she had seen in an auditorium in Alliance City where Nava had wiped out an entire contingent of terrorists, without any civilian casualties, on her own. ‘Well, yes, I suppose I am.’

236/3/26.

When Nava spotted Taryn climbing up toward her, into the cool but clear Sunday afternoon sky, she thought briefly about taking off at high speed and ditching her rival for the captaincy. That, however, seemed like a show of weakness. If she was going to try another seduction attempt…

‘I heard you applied for the SSF captain position,’ Taryn said without preamble. Not a seduction then.

‘You heard correctly,’ Nava replied. ‘To be more precise, however, Courtney Martell more or less forced me into applying.’

Taryn grinned. It was not an especially nice grin. ‘You should back out now then. It’s better than a humiliating defeat.’

‘You’re that confident?’

‘Oh yeah. They’re not going to pick a support stream student to be the captain of the school’s security force. No way. You have to know that.’

‘Both the principal and vice principal have seen me in “police action” of sorts. They’re quite well aware of my ability to enforce the rules if I have to. Actually, most of the school is aware of my capabilities by this point. I’m a little surprised you aren’t.’

There was a flicker of annoyance in Taryn’s eyes: maybe she was not as confident as she claimed to be. ‘I think you should quit while you’re ahead, but it’s not like I don’t want the competition. May the best woman win.’ She dropped back toward the ground before she could hear Nava’s answer.

‘No,’ Nava said to the now empty air, ‘she’s not that confident at all.’

236/4/3.

Homeroom was quiet. Luca Newton had few notices to give out and the session had shifted to individual students with concerns going up to talk to her. There were few of those. Nava had decided that it was a good opportunity to make notes on her plans for the SSF should she get the captaincy.

Frankly, it seemed to be taking the administration far too long to make a decision. Late spring break was several months away, so there was time, but there had been no other applicants and it seemed like the principal was dragging his feet. Or maybe some of the other faculty members were delaying things with arguments one way or another. Maybe Nava’s proposals were causing conflict. It was possible they might think she was going too far, but–

A message notification appeared on her screen, popping up on the bottom right and, with nothing much else to do, she selected it. A window expanded and she found herself reading a message from ‘The Office of the Principal.’ She examined it carefully and then nodded. Selecting the reply box, she composed a return message, hit send, and closed the window. That was that over with then.

~~~

‘You didn’t say a thing about it all morning!’ Melissa squeaked at lunchtime.

‘It isn’t that important,’ Nava countered. ‘We had lessons.’

‘But–’

‘I have to agree with my fellow council member,’ Mitsuko said, ‘it is that important. I’m a little annoyed the administration didn’t notify me that they’d made a decision.’

Nava shrugged. ‘When’s your next council meeting?’

‘Things have been quiet. We’ve been doing everything by messaging, but we’re meeting on Saturday afternoon.’

‘I expect they’d have notified you by then. They do know when you’re meeting, don’t they?’

‘Yes, it’s in the calendar Mel maintains. I’d like you to attend the meeting on Saturday. And you’d better get used to saying things like “when we’re meeting” since you’ll be a member of the council next term.’

‘Hm. Yes. If you want me there, I suppose I’ll be there.’

‘Sucks, doesn’t it?’ Courtney said, grinning a little maliciously.

‘I knew what I was getting into when I applied,’ Nava replied. ‘I want to start shadowing you at least some of the time. Attending SSF meetings. Maybe even a couple of patrols. If I’m going to do your job, I need to know what it really is, even if I’m going to redefine it.’ She turned her head away from Courtney before the latter could answer. Her gaze fell upon the approaching form of Taryn who did not look exactly pleased.

‘Congratulations,’ Taryn said as soon as she was in range. ‘They informed me of the decision this morning.’

‘Thank you, Taryn Borchardt. I don’t think they’ve made it entirely official yet because the student council hasn’t been informed.’

‘It’s done though. I hope you enjoy your victory.’ She turned, but this time Nava was not going to let her stalk off without an answer.

‘I’m not as competitive as you. I’d imagine someone will suggest celebrating, but it’s not really a victory.’

Taryn looked back. ‘Of course it is. You won.’

‘I was judged to be the better choice. I didn’t win anything aside from a lot of extra work. Maybe thinking of it as a competition is why you weren’t selected.’

‘Yeah. Sure.’ And Taryn walked away without further comment.

‘She doesn’t like you,’ Courtney said.

‘And I can’t help but think that’s going to be a problem,’ Nava replied.

236/4/11.

Nava followed Courtney into the SSF’s HQ room, wondering what she could expect. By now, the whole team knew that Courtney was stepping down – they had known that for weeks – and that Nava was replacing her. Most of them knew that Nava had been scouted as a member the year before and had turned it down. How were they going to react?

‘Settle down,’ Courtney said as she walked up to the head of the meeting table in the room. There were currently ten people besides Courtney in the SSF, plus a few others who were considered auxiliaries and not present. The table could seat twelve comfortably and both sides were full, so Nava took the seat at the other end from Courtney. ‘As you all know, Nava Greyling Sonkei will be taking over from me during the next holiday. She’s going to be attending a few of our Saturday meetings and shadowing me while I take care of business until then. She may go out on patrol with some of you too. Get used to her being around, because it’s going to be permanent in four weeks.’

Nava scanned the assembled faces, getting mixed results. A couple of them had expressions she would classify as hostile. A couple more seemed rather happy. The rest were various shades of neutral, so there was a slight majority who seemed to think nothing much was going to change. Interesting. Nava had expected some hostility. She was a little more surprised that some of the team seemed to expect good things. One young man looked positively enthusiastic; what had Courtney done to him to provoke that reaction?

Courtney seemed to think they’d had enough time to take that in. She continued. ‘Before we get down to the usual business, frankly, it’s quiet at the moment and there’s not much to say, I’d like Nava to give you a rough idea of what she’s got planned for next term and going forward. She’s got some pretty interesting plans, so pay attention.’

‘Thank you, Captain,’ Nava said. ‘First, the SSF provides security for the school. That’s its primary purpose and I obviously have no intention of changing that. To a lesser extent, this organisation serves as an additional learning experience for those students who may wish to join the ASF or a Clan security force in a law enforcement capacity. That is an area I wish to expand upon. Both the school and the ASF have agreed to my proposals, so we’ll be going ahead with them next term. As the vice principal put it, starting next term, the SSF will also be the Police Club, a place where students can learn law enforcement techniques through instruction and practical exercise.’

There was a rumble of sound from around the table. Most of it sounded surprised. Some of the surprise was noticeably positive, but not all of it. ‘We already learn tactics for breaching buildings and dealing with sieges,’ one of the men said. He was a fit, tanned, fairly big man with dark-blonde hair and brown-green eyes. His nose had been broken at some point and he had not bothered to get it fixed properly. It suggested he liked fighting and liked people knowing his preference.

‘And how often have you used those tactics while you’re here, Zayden?’ Courtney asked. ‘For real, not in a simulation room.’

‘Uh…’

‘Exactly.’

‘Most policing does not involve violent action,’ Nava said. ‘Even if you’re part of a Special Tactics Unit, you’ll likely discover that you aren’t involved in many military-style breaching operations. Sieges are normally hostage situations and are resolved by a psychologist, not a sniper rifle. In addition, the school doesn’t teach anything useful for forensic analysis and, as the loss of Don Ilbert has shown, the SSF needs that kind of skill.’

‘If the school doesn’t teach it,’ Zayden said, ‘where are you going to get instructors? Or anyone willing to learn it?’

‘The ASF. The programme is being put together now, in consultation with the school. As for who wants to learn it, I’ll be recruiting support students for that. The ASF has trouble recruiting support magicians due to competition from non-military organisations. Training people up in this kind of work is likely to incline them to move on to police work in the ASF.’

Zayden grinned. ‘How did you get the ASF to agree to something like that?’

‘Zayden, you should just close your mouth,’ Courtney said. ‘You’re making a fool of yourself. I thought everyone knew Nava was here on an ASF scholarship. She has contacts. Her liaison officer, First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton, took the initial enquiry and is handling the communications between us and the ASF.’

Nava noticed the smirk on the face of the most enthusiastic of Courtney’s staffers; it seemed to her that he knew Fawn from somewhere because the smirk developed right after Courtney said the lieutenant’s name. He was an attractive young man. Nava placed him no older than the third year, younger than Zayden. He was also tanned, but his skin was a little lighter than Zayden’s. He also lacked Zayden’s muscle, being more wiry than bulky. His features were almost pretty with a sensuous sort of mouth, a relatively small nose, and sparkling blue eyes. His red-brown hair was cut short, though hardly in a military style. If he knew Fawn, then maybe that somehow explained his enthusiasm; he was not happy to see the back of Courtney but genuinely happy to see Nava take the position.

‘In case you’re wondering,’ Nava went on, ‘the support students I’ll be recruiting will be in addition to the usual complement of patrol staff. The remit for the SSF allows for up to twenty members, plus the captain. It has rarely had that many. I intend to expand closer to that maximum. There will be more patrol staff and they will have more backup.’

‘Is this training for everyone?’ someone asked.

‘Everyone who wants it. I can’t make you attend extra classes. These will be in the evening and on holidays. Second Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell suggested that the ASF might be able to arrange some external courses for those interested and the opportunity for senior students to shadow working officers. All this is extra commitment. Extra work for those who wish to take the opportunity. Take it up and you’ll be in a far better position to move into policing work when you graduate, but you’ll be putting effort into this. It won’t be an easy ride, gentlemen.’ She looked around the table once and then added, ‘I think I’ll look into recruiting more women while I’m adding to our team.’

Courtney looked a little embarrassed. ‘It has been a bit of a boys’ club for a few years.’

It was also pretty heavily dominated by the combat stream, but that probably went without saying. ‘I’ll see what I can do about that,’ Nava said. ‘I think there are a few women around who can hold their own here.’

~~~

‘Are you thinking of asking Taryn Borchardt to join?’ Courtney asked as they walked back to the house.

‘No,’ Nava said flatly.

‘Just checking.’

‘Who was the auburn-haired boy with the blue eyes who seemed so enthusiastic about me taking your place?’

‘Six? Uh, Sixte Wescott Kinnari. He has everyone call him Six because his name’s French and everyone pronounces it wrong.’

‘Wescott Kinnari?’ Nava asked.

‘Uh-huh. You know someone from that family?’

‘Major Deveraux Wescott. He’s the second lieutenant’s superior. Head of the Intelligence Response Directorate.’

‘Huh. So, he’d be your superior too.’

‘Operationally, yes. I assume there’s some relationship between him and Six. That may explain his enthusiasm. Not that my name should have been mentioned in connection with the major.’

Courtney was silent for a second. ‘He’s a bright kid. I shouldn’t say “kid,” he’s a third year. If he knows anything much about the incident in Alliance City, he may have made a connection between you and the major. And Fawn, for that matter. I just said Fawn was your liaison officer, so that likely firmed up any suspicions he might have had.’

‘That’s not impossible.’ Still, Nava figured it might be an idea to mention Sixte to Fawn and see whether there might be an issue.

‘And the one who was all negativity is Zayden Hillam Beyer,’ Courtney supplied before Nava could ask.

‘Ah. Does he, by any chance, hold grudges?’

‘You did blow his cousin’s brains out last year. He was a little grumpy about it at the time.’

‘Dana deserved what he got.’

‘I’m not arguing, but Zayden probably would.’

236/4/18.

The temperature was beginning to climb toward summer, if gradually, and the night was a warm one. On the other hand, it was still April and it had rained on and off for most of the day before sunset. It was a warm, moist sort of night as Nava did the rounds with Courtney.

‘Patrolling isn’t normally much fun,’ Courtney said. She seemed to be taking the humidity badly, but then Nava would not have shown it if she was having trouble.

‘I’d imagine it’s mostly intensely boring,’ Nava replied.

‘That about covers it. It’s Saturday night, so we might see some action of some kind. Mostly, it’s just making sure drunks get back to their apartments safely. When I say drunks, most of them aren’t drunk drunk. Most students, and faculty, have more sense. It’s not so great when they throw up on your feet.’

Nava looked down at her boots. ‘I’d prefer to avoid that.’

Courtney gave a shrug. ‘Comes with the territory sometimes.’

‘Hm. If you’d told me that before I got the job, I might have let Taryn win.’

‘No, you wouldn’t.’

‘No, I wouldn’t.’ Nava’s gaze scanned across the front of the club the school’s young adults were allowed in. It was quiet, aside from the distant sound of music coming from within the soundproofed walls. The two doormen looked untroubled. ‘The clubs have professional security. Why do we need to be here?’

‘We sweep past, mostly. If the bouncers have real trouble with anyone, they’ll keep them in an office until one of us walks past and then hand them over. The clubs are mostly more like checkpoints. We go past each and sweep the areas between for trouble. Like I said, it’s mostly just people getting a little too celebratory. The end of each term is the worst.’

‘It’s early yet,’ Nava said. ‘I doubt we’ll see many people a little worse for drink at this hour.’

‘Well, you’re probably right, but some people like to get a head start on a bad hangover.’

~~~

They did find someone a little the worse for alcohol outside the senior students’ club around ten p.m. She, however, was with two friends who were taking her back to her apartment. She had misjudged her alcohol tolerance, was very embarrassed even in her inebriated state, and was not going to be a problem. After checking the other two had her in hand, Courtney let them go.

‘We get that more than you’d think,’ Courtney had said. ‘People just coming of age don’t know their limits and get carried away. It’s better not to make a big deal of it. You also get the ones who haven’t noticed they’re drunk until they can’t feel their feet. Those are usually stress cases. We’re required to flag them to the administration for the psychologists to look over, but they’re usually no trouble.’

‘So, the SSF can be as much counsellor as police force?’ Nava had asked.

‘I think that’s true of the ASF as well. Sometimes, someone you come across doesn’t need punishment, they need to be taken care of.’ Pause. ‘And that wasn’t a euphemism.’

Nava had almost smiled. ‘I didn’t think it was.’

Now, as midnight approached and people were starting to head back to their homes, there were more people to check over. The club in the Estate, frequented by school staff, would be open for another two hours, the junior club was already closed, but the senior nightclub was emptying its load of tipsy men and women and the SSF were busy. Courtney was busy helping Zayden and another man with the aftermath of a drunken brawl which had broken out between a couple of students when Nava heard a familiar sound and went to investigate.

Not that she could remember ever having made that noise herself, but someone was retching in the shadows of a nearby wall belonging to one of the mid-range apartment blocks. Whoever it was sounded like they were really suffering. Medical attention might be required. Nava’s night vision was better than a typical human’s, so she located the person responsible fairly quickly. Male: probably. Bent over with one hand on the wall, body trembling as it tried to rid itself of what was, essentially, a poison: definitely.

‘Are you okay?’ Nava asked, coming up behind the man.

She was still in the light, so when he turned and looked at her, he could see her uniform clearly. ‘None of your business. You’re not a cop.’ Belligerence: Nava figured that was a common reaction to SSF staff sticking their noses in, but he seemed more annoyed that she was not wearing a gold-trimmed uniform.

‘Not yet.’

‘Then fuck off!’

Nava watched the blow coming. She was not sure how competent the man was sober, but drunk he was so far below being a threat it was almost comical. His fist missed Nava’s face by several centimetres, then she moved and a second later he was lying face down in the mud. The soil beside the wall had obviously had no sun on it since the rain stopped. Then again, Nava realised as she applied a lock to the arm she had used to throw him that she had also delivered his head into the lake of puke he had left behind.

A warning seemed appropriate. ‘If you throw up on my boots, I’ll break your arm.’ The only reply she got was a pained groan.

‘What happened?’ Courtney asked, walking over. Nava noted that Courtney was walking and not quickly. Unaccountably, that small vote of confidence from her friend left Nava feeling rather pleased.

‘He was throwing up,’ Nava said, ‘and when I asked if he was okay, he took a swing at me.’

‘Could you get him up?’

‘Sure.’ Nava pulled. Her victim let out a shriek of outraged pain, rising to his knees and turning into the light as Nava directed.

Behind Courtney, Zayden and his partner had approached. Zayden was sneering and had apparently heard Nava’s explanation. ‘Sure. He took a swing at you, did he? You sure you didn’t– Oh, crap! That’s nasty. Yeah, you’re right, he probably did try to hit you.’ The about-face in attitude was a little surprising. The distaste had a more obvious reason since the man had half his last meal smeared across the left side of his face.

‘Rhett Allan Bishop,’ Courtney said, clearly recognising the man. ‘What a surprise. What’s this, your fifth disorderly conduct charge? And we can add assault this time.’

‘I’d prefer we didn’t,’ Nava said. ‘He missed by twelve centimetres and I think he’s paid for his mistake.’

‘Even without, you’re looking at suspension this time, Rhett. And, this time, I think Mercia Reynell will want to talk to you. You’re clearly having issues.’ Rhett moaned and tried to twist out of Nava’s hold. He was not going anywhere, however. Mercia’s name tended to strike fear into mortals, and she was just the school’s psychologist. ‘Zayden, Booker, take Rhett to the infirmary to sleep this off.’

‘Do we have to, Captain,’ Booker, Zayden’s partner, asked. Well, it was more of a whine, really.

‘Since Zayden saw fit to disparage your new captain, yes, you do. I’ll take care of the paperwork with Nava. Let whoever’s on duty at the infirmary know to treat him as hostile.’

‘Not sure that’s needed, Captain. I think he’s had the fight beaten out of him.’

Courtney looked Rhett over for a second. ‘You might be right. Let them know he’s a potential vomiting risk then. There might still be something in there to come out.’

‘Oh, God,’ Zayden said, grimacing. ‘I hope not.’

236/4/29.

Another patrol, but this one was in daylight and it was not with Courtney. Sixte Wescott walked alongside Nava, looking like a really happy puppy. It was a little weird, but Nava had specifically wanted to patrol with Sixte: she wanted to find out why he was so enthusiastic about her.

‘Do you enjoy being in the SSF?’ Nava asked. They were wandering the various areas of the campus where the after-hours clubs operated. There was no expectation of real trouble, but the SSF were expected to keep a lookout while the students were out of classes.

‘Yes,’ Sixte replied. ‘I plan to join the ASF after I graduate. Go into law enforcement. Uh, my uncle is already in the ASF, though he’s not directly involved with policing.’

That seemed to mesh with what Nava thought, so she asked. ‘Major Deveraux Wescott?’

‘That’s right. My father’s younger brother. He, uh, mentioned you. After I asked about you anyway.’

‘Hm. And what did he have to say?’

Sixte was silent for a second or two. His expression suggested that he was working out exactly how to say what he wanted to say. ‘Well… Okay, so I heard you were in Alliance City when there was that terrorist incident.’

‘It wasn’t publicised, but it’s fairly common knowledge at the school.’

‘Right. I also heard that Fawn Tyrell was there, and she’s one of Uncle Deveraux’s people.’ He paused, perhaps expecting a comment, but Nava remained silent. ‘And there have been a lot of rumours about some of the stuff you got up to last year. Like taking on an entire squad of mercs on your own. Fawn Tyrell visited you here last year, so I figure she’s your ASF liaison and the captain confirmed that in the meeting. So, I asked if he knew you and… Well, he wouldn’t say much, which means it’s all a big secret. He’s hella frustrating at times. I know he knows about stuff, but he never talks about anything he can’t talk about.’

‘I would hope his nephew has learned from his example.’

‘Oh, I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. Anyway, Uncle Deveraux would only say that, if there was ever a problem here that I thought was way over my head and I couldn’t go to the captain about it, you would probably be able to handle it. Whatever it was.’

‘I see. So, when it was announced that I would be taking over the SSF, you were quite happy.’

Sixte held up his hands. ‘Don’t get me wrong, Courtney has been a good captain. Great. The SSF has done well under her, I think. She’s good in a fight, and she knows how to command her people. But we were expecting her to stand down this year – she pretty much had to – and I have to admit I was kind of dreading who might replace her. I think Zayden might have gone for it if the captain hadn’t said her recommendation was going elsewhere. Then we heard Taryn Borchardt Firmin was applying. Zayden was sure Courtney was recommending Taryn, but I didn’t think so. I’m just really glad you got it, and your plans for next term sound amazing. Being in the SSF may be more than just a tick point on my résumé.’

‘Huh. Glad to be of help. So, I want your take on procedures. Is there anything in the patrol system you think could be improved? This is your chance to influence the future course of the SSF, Six. Don’t waste it.’

‘Oh, crap.’ He looked genuinely horrified. It was as though he had been hit with a surprise test. ‘You just want me to come up with stuff?’

‘We have a couple of hours, right? Take your time.’

‘A couple of hours. Right. I take it back. You’re going to be an evil captain.’

Nava nodded. ‘I get that kind of thing a lot.’

236/5/2.

On a Thursday afternoon at the beginning of May, the household was out of lessons and being diligent. Homework was being done. By Mitsuko and Melissa anyway. Nava was quite content to leave it for an hour since all she had to do was a research report on small unit tactics she could have written from memory while sleeping. Instead, she was watching over Courtney’s shoulder because Courtney was not doing homework either. Courtney was busy working through paperwork for the SSF.

A distraction event abruptly happened, though Nava was the kind of girl who could ignore distractions easily enough: Mitsuko paused in her work, stretched somewhat like a cat rising from a good nap, and yawned. ‘This is tedious. Are you ready for the handover next week, Nava? I see you’re still watching everything Courtney does.’

Not moving her eyes from Courtney’s screen, Nava replied. ‘I believe I have a good start. I have the basics of the required administrative work down, I think.’

‘You should have,’ Courtney commented. ‘You do know it’s really hard to concentrate when there’s someone looking so intently at what you’re doing, right?’

‘Yes, and that isn’t how you spell proceed.’

‘Yeah, thanks.’

‘Anyway, the first lieutenant has organised the first lectures,’ Nava went on. ‘I have a reasonably firm grasp on the patrol system and a few operational areas I wasn’t sure of. I’m still studying what seems to be the main component of the captain’s role, but a little learning on the job is probably to be expected.’

‘The main component?’ Melissa asked.

‘Paperwork.’

‘Oh, really? Somehow, I figured there would be more patrolling and, you know, field work.’

Nava shook her head. ‘Reading and writing reports. Filling in forms for the school’s administration. Paperwork.’

‘Yeah,’ Courtney said, ‘that’s about the size of it. Police work is never as glamorous as you see in the vids.’

‘I never thought it was,’ Nava said.

‘I thought it was,’ Melissa admitted. ‘Though, if I really think about it, there’s no way it could be.’

‘Just about everything involves more paperwork than you’d imagine,’ Mitsuko said.

‘I think it’s a universal law,’ Courtney agreed. ‘Like gravity.’

‘We’re all sorceresses,’ Melissa pointed out. ‘Gravity isn’t universal for us.’

‘Well, you know what they say about death and taxes. It’s true of paperwork too. Even where gravity doesn’t work.’

236/5/6.

SSF HQ was not quite as full as it had been at the last meeting Nava had attended. Notably absent was Zayden, but Nava knew why that was. Two more members were away due to family commitments, but they would be getting a recording of the proceedings sent out to them.

Also noticeable was Nava’s dress, which now had gold trim above and below the corseted section and around the arm holes. Courtney’s dress still had the trim, but she had said it would be something of a relief to change out of that dress when the meeting was done. Nava was not entirely sure that the soon-to-be ex-captain was really that sanguine about losing her position.

‘Okay,’ Courtney said, ‘let’s do this.’

Silence fell over the room as everyone turned to the head of the table where Nava was standing beside Courtney. Sixte was smiling at them. Pretty much everyone else was wearing a neutral expression, though it looked to Nava as though, in some cases anyway, that was because they felt the little ceremony deserved some solemnity. Not that there was much ceremony.

‘If you’re expecting a long speech,’ Courtney went on, ‘well, sucks to be you. What I will say is that it’s been a pleasure to serve with you all and, at least most of the time, you’ve made me proud to be your captain. I hope you’ll do the same good work for your new captain.’ She turned to face Nava. ‘Nava Greyling Sonkei, I hereby relinquish command of Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery’s Student Security Force to you.’ Then, surprising Nava a little, she saluted. ‘Welcome to the SSF, Captain.’

Surprised or not, Nava returned the salute. ‘Thank you, Captain. I accept command of the SSF. You stand relieved.’

‘I am relieved,’ Courtney said, the statement not sounding like part of the ceremony. The grin which followed it as she lowered her arm added to that impression. ‘Now I can finally hand over the paperwork to someone else.’

‘That’s something to look forward to.’ Nava turned to face what was now her team. ‘I hope I can count on all of you to do the excellent jobs you have been doing up until now.’ She paused. ‘However, if any of you feel you can’t continue under my command, I’d like your resignations by the end of the week. Zayden Hillam has already submitted his resignation to Courtney. He won’t be back with us next term. I don’t hold grudges. If you don’t want to be here, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can find a suitable replacement. There won’t be any questions asked.’

She paused again, apparently waiting to see whether anyone would speak up. No one did. ‘Okay, on to other matters. For now, patrol patterns and the like will remain as they have been. As I’ve already said, I’m going to be recruiting new members, starting this week. We’ll have some new blood in this room at the start of next term. I’m letting things bed in for a week before we really get going, but the first voluntary lecture from the ASF will be taking place in the evening on the twenty-first. Details to follow. It’s not going to be exciting. It’s covering basic police procedures. All the lectures will be available on vid for those on patrol duties when they happen. I’d like everyone to watch these first ones, even if you can’t be there, because they cover the most basic protocols we’re expected to follow.’

‘It’s mandatory?’ Booker Tucker asked.

‘It’s highly recommended.’ Booker was going to be one to watch, Nava figured. That was assuming she did not get his resignation in the next few days. ‘I’ll be posting additional lecture schedules to the private site as soon as I know details. Aside from that, it’s late spring break and the usual reduced patrol schedules will be operating. Go about your jobs as you have been doing and enjoy your time off. I know I’m going to.’

236/5/7.

The sun was not as hot in early May as it would be later in the summer, but it was still warm enough that Nava could lie in the back yard of the house and enjoy the heat on her skin. She was wearing a bikini or, since the house was on the end of a street and the garden was not overlooked, half of a bikini. Beside her, Mitsuko was wearing a swimsuit which barely deserved the name and a lot of sunscreen. Even Melissa was in a bikini, a pink one with white, shell-textured beads on the hip strings.

Courtney was wearing shorts and a camisole top, and she was not sunbathing. ‘For someone who just took over the SSF, you seem very relaxed,’ she said to Nava as she brought a tray of drinks out to those basking.

‘I went over the patrol schedules and a few other details yesterday afternoon,’ Nava replied without opening her eyes. ‘I start interviewing new recruits tomorrow morning. Today is my day off, but I have my ketcom here, so I’ll be alerted if there’s a problem that needs my attention.’

‘You know Nava always does her homework before anything else, Courtney,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Huh,’ Courtney responded. ‘Have you done your homework, Nava? Your schoolwork, I mean.’

‘On Saturday afternoon,’ Nava replied. ‘I have this in hand, Courtney. You really can stand down and stop worrying in my place.’

‘I’m not– Okay, yes, I probably am. I should relax, right? I should go put a bikini on and lie down beside you.’

‘Yes,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you should. Relax, Courtney. Nava’s got this. All you need to worry about for the rest of the year is your final grades.’

Courtney winced. ‘That jinxed it. Something really bad is going to happen now.’

‘I must concur with my predecessor,’ Nava said. ‘What were you thinking, Suki?’

‘You worry too much. Kyle is visiting this weekend, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, he is,’ Courtney replied. Now she was smiling.

‘Is Naomi coming with him again?’

‘Yes. Kyle thinks he wants to see how Nava is coping.’

‘That’s going to be difficult to decide,’ Nava said. ‘I won’t even have been doing the job for a week.’

‘Well, we can’t think of another reason for him coming. Unless it’s just nostalgia.’

‘I guess we’ll see when they get here.’

236/5/8.

The SSF’s HQ was, for obvious reasons, a secure suite of rooms. If you were not a member, you needed to request access. Two of the rooms were on an external corridor: the one where the SSF met when needed, and the one where hearings were conducted. It just so happened that the ‘court’ room was guaranteed to be free all day, so it was that one Nava was using to conduct her interviews.

When she hit the release button for the door after she heard the door’s chime, Moritz Evered poked his head into the room with a guilty sort of look on his face. Briefly, Nava wondered what he had been up to, but she concluded his ‘guilt’ was more about confusion. He had been summoned to court and he had no clue why, but he had a bad feeling there was probably something he had done wrong to warrant the new captain of the SSF wanting to see him.

‘Come in, Moritz,’ Nava said. ‘You’re not in trouble. This just happens to be a useful room.’

‘Uh, right,’ Moritz replied, entering and allowing the door to close behind him. He still hung near the door, wondering what was going on. ‘Why did you want to see me, Nava? I mean, Captain. Captain Nava?’

‘Nava is fine for now. Have a seat.’ Nava waited while Moritz took the seat she had indicated beside her at the table normally used for the SSF contingent at any given hearing. He was a big man, but right now he looked kind of small, nervous. That was probably a good reflection of his personality. He was generally pretty brash, but there was an undercurrent of insecurity behind his bravado which kept him to the status of wingman among his peers. He was not ugly, but he was also not particularly good-looking either. Mid-brown hair and hazel eyes did nothing to distinguish him.

‘So, why am I here?’ he asked.

‘I’ll get straight to the point then. I’d like you to consider becoming a member of the SSF.’

Moritz’s face froze in surprise. ‘You’re serious?’

‘Generally. And specifically. I’m seriously offering you a position in the SSF. As is fairly widely known, I declined Courtney’s offer last year. While it’s generally assumed that people offered the job will accept, I don’t hold that view. You may decline if you wish.’

‘Uh, you know, we haven’t always been exactly friendly.’

‘I’m aware.’

He frowned. ‘But you still want me?’

‘I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.’

‘No… No, I guess you wouldn’t. Can I think about it?’

‘I’d like to know before Friday, if possible, but you may consider it.’

Wheels turned. Nava could almost see his brain working. It meant rank within the student community. It meant working under Nava, a support student who had in fact killed a friend of his in a duel. Nava was actually pretty badass and not as bad as he had first thought. She was better than most combat students when it came to fighting. It meant responsibility. Was he up to that? How could he really refuse?

‘I’ve thought about it,’ Moritz said. ‘I’m in.’

Nava nodded. ‘Thank you, Moritz. It requires confirmation from the administration, but that’s basically a formality. You’ll hear what they say by the end of the week, probably sooner. They’ll ship you some new uniform jackets at that time. I’ll be in touch with timetables and other details. Welcome to the SSF.’

One down, several more to go. It was not going to be a short day.

236/5/11.

Two dashing men in ASF uniform of black and gold walked into the house. One of them was immediately wrapped in a flying Courtney. The other edged past the couple as though this were the most normal thing in the world and continued into the lounge.

‘Good morning, President, Captain, and Secretary,’ Naomi said.

Melissa giggled. ‘Maybe we should get Marie to move in too. Then we could have all the female members of the council under one roof.’

‘Where would we put her?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘Well, Nava hasn’t actually slept in her room since we moved in…’

Rather than answer, Nava got to her feet. ‘Good morning, Naomi. I’ll go make some drinks.’ She set off toward the door at the back of the room.

‘I was going to ask her how her new role is going,’ Naomi said once Nava was through the door.

‘And she’ll tell you that she only started on Monday and it’s a holiday week,’ Mitsuko replied.

‘That’s… fair.’

‘She might give you some impressions, but don’t expect much.’

‘I’ll try to restrain my enthusiasm. How do you think she’s doing? I’d ask Courtney, but she’s going to be vacuum-sealed to Kyle for at least another five minutes.’

There was a shriek of ‘Hey!’ from behind him, but it came a couple of seconds late, in the middle of Mitsuko’s reply.

‘I think she’s doing quite well,’ Mitsuko said. ‘She’s got almost all the new recruits she wanted. There’s one away for the holiday, so she’ll be tagging that person tomorrow, I believe. The training scheme she’s planning starts next week. In a small way, but it’ll ramp up fairly quickly. She’s putting her stamp on the position early and, from the feedback I’m getting, the school is very enthusiastic about it.’

Naomi nodded. ‘When Kyle mentioned her plans, in broad strokes because he didn’t know the details, I asked around a little. The ASF seems to be strongly behind her endeavour too. The instructor corps anyway. Anything which makes their job easier is fine by them and since she’s using ASF instructors, they believe they’ll get better-quality recruits from SAS-squared.’ A slight smile touched his lips. A rather proud smile. ‘They already expect good recruits from SAS-squared.’

Mitsuko’s grin was broader. ‘Of course, we’re the best.’

Nava reappeared carrying a tray, this time with a coffee pot and a jug of lemonade on it: it was warmer outside than it had been on their last visit. She lifted her head. ‘Kyle, put her down, your drinks are here.’

A few seconds later, Kyle and Courtney came in from the hall. Kyle headed straight for the back to dump his bag. ‘You know, it’s natural for a woman to miss her fiancé,’ Courtney commented.

‘Of course it is,’ Nava replied. ‘We’re just naturally concerned about brain damage due to oxygen deprivation.’

‘That’s not even logical!’

‘So you say,’ Mitsuko replied.

Then Kyle returned, a puzzled frown on his face. ‘Courtney, why’s the bed in the middle of the room?’

~~~

‘Somehow,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I don’t think it’s really right for me to welcome our new captain of the SSF to the council,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Allow me to deputise,’ Darius said. ‘Nava Greyling, welcome to the student council. I’m sure we all wish you the best of luck in your new role.’

It was not the first time Nava had sat in on a council meeting, but it was the first time she had done so as an official member. It did not really feel any different, but she did get to sit in a different position, on Mitsuko’s left rather than the end of the table. ‘Thank you, Darius. Things are off to a good start. Hopefully, they will continue in that fashion.’

‘I think Courtney made a good choice as her successor,’ Francis said, smiling broadly. ‘I can’t wait to see what your plans are.’

‘Suki hasn’t mentioned them?’

‘In broad strokes, I guess. The training idea is pretty big.’

‘Have you thought of opening that up to other students?’ Marie asked. ‘I bet more than just the SSF members would be interested.’

‘We’ll see how it goes,’ Nava replied. ‘There may be some issues with conflicts between what the ASF teach and what the school wants taught, but we’ll see. Maybe next year we could offer it to additional students.’ Marie nodded at that; it seemed like a reasonable plan. ‘So, Madam President, what do we have planned for this meeting?’

Mitsuko grimaced. ‘You’re going to call me that a lot, aren’t you?’

‘As long as you keep reacting to it.’

‘Hm. Esteemed Secretary, what’s on the agenda today?’

Melissa grimaced. ‘This isn’t going to become a thing, is it? Uh, welcoming the new captain. Check. We have fourteen weeks until summer break, so it’s time for the interim report from the chairman of the EAC on progress toward the competition teams.’ Melissa looked at Francis. ‘Revered Chairman?’

Francis grimaced. ‘That makes me sound like some ancient priest. Or a monk. Do I have to shave my head?’

‘I don’t believe there’s a shaver that could handle your hair,’ Mitsuko said. ‘How are the teams going? Aside from anything, Naomi’s visiting and he’s bound to ask.’

‘Okay. Well, things seem to be going pretty well. We’ve got a strong MagiTag team…’

Nava settled back in her seat and let Francis’s words float in by osmosis. She had enough processing power to handle listening while she worked on her plans for the SSF. Maybe attending these meetings would even turn out to be productive. Well, hope springs eternal.

~~~

Naomi was standing outside the student council room when they exited after the meeting. There was the usual round of greetings, as would be expected of a group of friends who have not seen a member for a while. They were all expecting him to walk off with Francis to discuss the summer games teams. Instead…

‘I was wondering whether I could have a quick word, Melissa,’ Naomi said.

Melissa blinked. ‘With me? I mean, yes. Of course you can.’ She moved to one side with him. Behind her, Nava and Mitsuko moved to a safe distance before coming to a stop with their back to Naomi and Melissa. ‘What was it you wanted?’ Melissa asked.

‘Well…’

~~~

‘So, how was it?’ Melissa was barely in the door before Mitsuko was asking. It was not yet nine o’clock, not very late at all, and everyone was there. Somewhat to Melissa’s surprise, even Courtney and Kyle were waiting for her return before making it an early night.

‘It was… good,’ Melissa said. She was still a little in shock. Naomi Himura Sonkei, the taciturn giant Melissa had said was intimidating to his face, had asked her out for dinner. He had asked her out for dinner! She had said yes before she had really thought about it.

‘Just good?’

Melissa walked over to the sofa and sat down. ‘Well… Yes. The meal was nice. Naomi had a steak. Somehow, that wasn’t surprising.’

‘He does like beef,’ Kyle commented. ‘I mean, he probably needs it to keep up all that muscle.’

‘You’re one to talk,’ Courtney said.

‘He’s not great at small talk,’ Melissa went on, ‘but we managed to have a conversation that wasn’t all about work. It… I think… It was quite nice, actually. I still don’t understand why he did it. Why would Naomi Himura want to take me out for dinner?’

‘I should have thought that was obvious,’ Mitsuko said.

Nava lifted a hand and started ticking off points on her fingers. ‘One, you’re stacked and that’s far from your only attractive feature. Two, you’re smart and I believe Naomi would value a woman who is somewhere in the same league as him on that measure.’

‘Three,’ Courtney said, ‘you’re quite small and a lot of big men have a thing for smaller women. Believe me on this, height is not always an advantage.’ Kyle grinned and patted Courtney’s head gently.

‘Four, you’ve demonstrated that you have courage,’ Nava continued. ‘I believe that would be another factor Naomi would value. Five, you’ve spent a lot of the last year working together, so he’s familiar with you. I think he may be a little shy of women, or unused to dealing with them in a social capacity anyway, so having the opportunity to get to know you is likely to be an advantage.’

‘Four B,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you’ve actually stood up to him. You’ve made jokes about him being intimidating while admitting you’re intimidated by him. That takes courage. And five B, I don’t think he was especially happy that you were intimidated by him. Especially after he stepped down as chairman.’

‘Now I think about it,’ Kyle said, ‘he has mentioned your name more than I’d expect. He asked a couple of times if Courtney mentioned you in any of her messages. Made it out like he was just interested in council business. I didn’t think anything of it at the time.’

Courtney rolled her eyes. ‘Men.’

‘About the only thing standing in your way right now,’ Mitsuko said, ‘is that you’re still sixteen, but that changes in the summer. And there’s nothing to really stop you dating before then, so long as you both control yourselves.’

‘Sixth of August, right?’ Kyle asked, getting a nod from Melissa in reply. ‘About four weeks after our training finishes. Naomi’s sure to be posted on Shinden, given that he’s a Sonkei, so by the time he’s settled into his new position, you’ll be able to take things any way you like.’

No one else seemed to be about to add anything, so Melissa said, ‘Oh. I guess, when you put it like that, maybe it’s not so strange.’

‘And the signs have been there,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I admit that I didn’t notice until the last time he was here, but in retrospect… Did you notice sooner, Nava?’

‘Perhaps,’ Nava replied. ‘I was only sure he was interested on his last visit. Then again, I didn’t get to see them interacting as much as you did.’ She turned her attention to Melissa. ‘You can rest assured that this is not entirely out of the blue, Mel, and that there are logical reasons why Naomi would be interested in you. I don’t think logic is required – just look at me and Suki.’

‘Or me and Kyle,’ Courtney added.

‘However, there is logic there if you need it.’

‘More importantly,’ Mitsuko said, ‘did he get a goodnight kiss?’

Melissa’s cheeks coloured. That almost certainly meant a positive answer. ‘It wasn’t, you know, a big kiss.’

‘Well, at least it seems to be a mutual attraction.’

‘Well, yeah. Who wouldn’t be interested in a big, strong man who’s into you?’

‘Me,’ Mitsuko said.

‘And me,’ Nava added.

‘Oh, well, you’re in love so it doesn’t count.’

236/5/12.

‘Why don’t you look particularly happy?’ Mitsuko asked. ‘Aside from the fact that you’ve just seen Kyle off on the train again.’

Courtney frowned as she flopped onto the sofa. Melissa, who had been out to see Naomi off, settled down beside her. ‘Kyle was telling me about his plans for after his training,’ Courtney said. ‘He thinks he’s likely to spend his first year on Beherbergen.’

‘Oh,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I see why you might be a little displeased.’

‘I’m not displeased. He feels like he needs to give something back to his home world, even if he leaves for good afterward. It’s just… Beherbergen is a hundred and thirty-four light years away. I probably won’t see him at all for over a year.’

‘Then again,’ Nava said, ‘you’ll graduate here and almost certainly end up doing the same training he’s doing. Then they’ll put you through law enforcement training. If Kyle requests a transfer back here after Beherbergen, you could end up on the same law enforcement course. If I recall correctly, basic training is normally carried out where you’re recruited, but officer and law enforcement training is only done on Shinden.’

‘Are you trying to cheer me up?’

‘Not especially. Just providing perspective. Though, I was thinking of retiring to the sento with a cold drink, and you being excessively dismal won’t make for a pleasant bath.’

‘Huh.’ Courtney got to her feet again. ‘Sounds like a plan. I’ll try not to be too dismal then.’

236/5/21.

They were not using one of the larger lecture theatres, so the small audience did not look too small. Still, all of the members of the SSF – twenty students plus Nava – a couple of members of faculty who had asked to attend, the VP, Fawn Tyrell, Courtney, and Mitsuko were there for the first lecture from an ASF instructor on policing. Courtney was there by special dispensation; as the ex-captain, she was interested, and the course would be useful to her. Mitsuko was there as student president to welcome the ASF officer. Technically, Joslyn Harris was there as VP to do the same, but there was a suggestion that she wanted to keep tabs on things too.

Fawn, of course, was there as the liaison officer who had set it all up. ‘Let me introduce Captain Takuma Ishikawa Sonkei,’ she said, indicating the man standing to her right. ‘He’s an instructor in police procedure and law.’

Takuma was a tall, slim man with the suggestion of muscle hiding under his ASF uniform. He was an Ishikawa, so his Japanese ancestry was probably fairly pure. He had a rather intense, shrewd look about him. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you all,’ he said.

‘Captain, this is Joslyn Harris Daison, the school’s vice principal, Nava Greyling Sonkei, captain of the SSF, Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei, student president, and Courtney Martell Garavain, who led the SSF until Nava took over recently.’

‘Welcome to SAS-squared, Captain Takuma Ishikawa,’ Joslyn said. ‘Or, welcome back, I think.’

Takuma smiled slightly. ‘Yes, I graduated from here seven years ago. Is the principal still…’

‘Whatever phrase you’re looking for, I’m sure he is.’ Joslyn’s smile was a little tight, but she was smiling.

‘Thank you for doing this, Captain Takuma Ishikawa,’ Nava said, before that conversation could go further.

‘The ASF thanks you, Captain Nava Greyling, for this opportunity,’ Takuma said. ‘If this experiment is successful, we’ll possibly see more better-quality recruits entering our ranks.’

‘I guess we’ll see how it goes. Shall we get started?’

‘This is going to be basic police procedures, right?’ Courtney asked before Takuma could reply.

‘That’s correct, Courtney Martell,’ Takuma said. ‘It’s the kind of thing you’d normally learn in the basic policing course and you may already know it all, but I will also be providing some of the legal framework behind the procedures to explain them.’

‘Sounds great. Like Nava said, let’s get going.’

Takuma gave a nod. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing how the students react. Let’s find out.’

236/5/22.

‘All in all,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I thought it went rather well. No one fell asleep. That’s a good sign.’

‘That’s a fairly low bar you’re setting, Suki,’ Darius pointed out.

‘Maybe, but we passed it.’

A lunchtime meeting of the student council was in session, mainly to discuss the previous night’s lecture. It was not theoretically council business, but it did affect the school’s relationship with the ASF, so it had been deemed appropriate that Nava give progress reports. Nava was happy with that since it got her impressions written up by Melissa, rather than her having to compile a report herself.

‘As Suki said,’ Nava said, ‘it seemed to go down well with most of the audience.’

‘Most?’ Darius asked.

‘I’m keeping an eye on one. I’d rather not give a name at this point. It may simply be a matter of that one being a little bored. Otherwise, I learned something. The feedback I’ve had from several other members is similar.’

‘I learned something,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I’m not sure I’ll go into policing after graduation, but it was interesting learning about it.’

‘You’re welcome to sit in on other lectures if you wish. No one had trouble with the content. Captain Takuma Ishikawa seems to have understood the level needed for his audience well. I’ll be sending him some feedback over the weekend to let him adjust things as he thinks he needs to, but I think we can go ahead with the two additional lectures planned for next week without delays. We’ll also be kicking off the forensic analysis course next week, beginning with an introductory lecture and planning to introduce lab work by week three.’

‘Uh, the school has indicated they can make lab space available as required,’ Melissa said, ‘but there will need to be a faculty member from the school present. It’s health and safety. No way around it.’

‘I don’t suppose they gave us a list of teachers willing to handle that?’ Nava asked.

‘No such luck. I think Hoshi might be a suitable candidate, though. If it’s once a week, for a good cause, and especially if it was temporary until we could get others involved, I bet we could persuade her to do it.’

‘We’ll see how things work out. I’ll contact Joslyn Harris tomorrow and ask who might be available. It’s Chess’s birthday soon.’

‘What’s that got to do with– Oh, he’ll be seventeen. Right. Yes. They might be busy in the evenings.’

Mitsuko giggled. ‘I’m sure she could spare a couple of hours a week.’

Nava looked at her girlfriend. ‘I remember you when we first hooked up. I am not discounting them vanishing into a room and not coming out until winter.’

‘I was not that bad! Not… quite… that bad. I think it’s time we moved on to another subject.’

Francis grinned. ‘I don’t know. I could stand to hear more.’

‘I’m president. I get to say when the subject gets changed.’ Pause. ‘I’ll pout, you know. Don’t think I won’t!’

236/5/25.

‘What’s up with you?’ Melissa asked, keeping her voice fairly low. She was walking beside Rochester after lunch. There would be a council meeting sometime soon, but she had a few minutes. ‘It’s your birthday. You’ve just turned seventeen. You look like someone drowned your puppy.’

‘There’s nothing–’ Rochester began. Then he gave up on the ridiculous denial and tried a different way. ‘It’s nothing you need to worry about.’

‘Chess, we’re friends. If you’re worried about something, you can talk to me.’

‘It’s… private.’

Melissa’s eyes widened. ‘You’re worried about being with Hoshi tonight.’ The strangling noise she got in reply was a definite indication that she had hit the nail squarely on the head. ‘I assume you’re going out. Or are you just staying–’

‘We’re going out. I-I am to have my first alcoholic b-beverage. Hoshi claims she’ll need one t-too. Then we’ll be returning to her apartment. I will be spending the n-night for the f-f-first t-time.’

‘Breathe. You’re getting incoherent.’ Melissa sighed and came to a stop, turning to face her ex-lover. Rochester stopped out of habit. ‘Look, Chess, you don’t have anything to worry about. Unless you go a bit far with the Dutch courage. Don’t get drunk before your first time with her. You never had any trouble satisfying me. Why should Hoshi be any different? I don’t get the feeling that she’s enormously experienced and we got up to a few fairly kinky things while we were together. You’ve got stamina and a good recovery time. She’s willing. Hell, she’s waited this long, so she’s patient. I hope the two of you have a really wild night and wake up with sore heads. And other sore parts. But you don’t need to worry. Just do what comes naturally.’

Rochester regarded her for a second or two and then nodded. ‘You’re right, of course. I shouldn’t be nervous. Thank you, Mel. Thank you very much for that.’

Nodding in return, Melissa turned and set off again after Nava and Mitsuko. That had been a lot easier than she had expected. Giving your first boyfriend away to another woman. Encouraging him to go to someone else. That seemed like it should have been harder. Maybe it would have been before Nava and Mitsuko, and now Naomi’s interest. She was, she realised, over the failure of her first love affair. That was a revelation she could live with.

236/5/35.

It was not long after seven p.m. and Nava was sitting in on one of Takuma’s lectures on policing when her ketcom buzzed at her. The message was from Booker, asking her to go to the library building immediately. Booker had volunteered to run patrols, saying he would watch the vid of the lecture and, to be honest, someone had to. Apparently, however, there was something going on out there that needed her attention.

When she got there, she could see the point. There were various students sitting around on the ground looking shocked. Booker seemed to be fine, but his partner was blinking watery eyes and did not notice Nava approaching. There was a medic from the infirmary already there, checking people over with a relatively unconcerned expression on his face.

‘Booker? What happened?’ Nava asked.

‘Someone used a Flash spell in the middle of this lot just as we were walking past,’ Booker replied. ‘I was lucky, I guess. I was looking the other way when it happened. Theo… wasn’t so lucky.’

‘Is that you, Captain?’ Theodore said. Theodore Garver Morgan, one of Courtney’s recruits but apparently happy with the change of leadership.

‘How are you doing, Theo?’ Nava asked.

‘I can see light now. I think it’s wearing off. I think I’m going to have a bad headache though. Feels like I got hit with a hammer, not a bright light.’

‘When you’re good to go, take off for your apartment. I’ll finish this with Booker.’ Nava turned to Booker before her blinded subordinate could argue. ‘I take it no one saw who used the spell?’

‘No one’s saying if they did. Doing it right when we were nearby though. Seems like they’re testing us.’

Nava nodded slowly. ‘That’s a possibility.’

‘Permission to give my unfiltered opinion, Captain?’

‘Granted.’

‘The disreputable element have heard our captain isn’t patrolling and they’re trying their luck.’

‘Then they’ll be in for a shock when I walk around with you then, won’t they?’

‘Huh, yeah. Good point.’

‘And Flash needs a permit. I’ll be checking the databases later for people who have one. We’ll see if we can put any of them near here within the last thirty minutes.’

‘That was going to be my next suggestion.’

Nava nodded again, looking around at the slowly recovering students. ‘I’m glad to hear your education hasn’t gone to waste, Booker.’

236/6/1.

There had been no more incidents after that, but Nava had no luck tracking down anyone with a Flash permit whose ketcom placed them near the library at the right time. It was annoying.

Particularly annoying was the possibility that Booker was right. Someone, person or persons unknown, was playing tricks to see what they could get away with under the new regime. Maybe not specifically because Nava was only patrolling as a last resort, but they might just be trying their luck now that Courtney was no longer in charge. It did not entirely make sense, given the reputation Nava had… Then again, Nava was not out there. Maybe Booker was right about that, which would put her in an uncomfortable position.

Nava was somewhat confident she could compartmentalise any threat the other students posed into the ‘I don’t need them dead’ category. There were relatively few students in the school who were a threat to her. Unless they decided on sniping with something like Magic Bullet. Even then, if she could survive the initial attack, she could be back on her feet in seconds. Active Recovery was useful for that.

There were probably students who could make real nuisances of themselves, however. People who might be able to push her over the edge might be out there. She preferred to avoid a confrontation like that for as long as possible, hence she was there as backup for the other members rather than regularly patrolling.

She was, in fact, at SSF HQ, waiting for anyone to report a problem when the call came in about another Flash attack.

‘This,’ she said as she headed for the door, ‘needs to end.’

236/6/2.

‘Okay, everyone,’ Nava said, calling the meeting to order. The room fell into silence fairly quickly. That was good. ‘As you’ll all be aware, someone out there is playing dirty tricks. I’ve sent a spell schema to your ketcoms. It’s for Sense Protection, which provides some assistance in resisting light and sound attacks aimed at damaging your senses. Unfortunately, it’s not a cantrip, unless some of you are holding out on me regarding your capacities, but you should all be able to cast it from the schema.’

‘What, even you can’t do it, Captain?’ The speaker was Skylar Keyes, a girl from Mitsuko’s class who Nava had met on a field trip. She had seemed competent at the time and Nava had asked her to join up. Skylar was a tall, powerfully built woman with shoulder-length, auburn hair and dark-green eyes. Attractive, but not remarkably so. She hated her rather masculine name and insisted on being called Sky.

‘No, Sky. I can’t manage a twenty-eight Tammy spell as a cantrip.’ Nava’s gaze swept the room. ‘If you’re out patrolling, make sure you’ve got this cast on yourself. It lasts for thirty minutes, so it shouldn’t be too strenuous to keep going through your patrols.’

‘And if we find the one who’s doing it, Captain?’ Booker asked.

‘Then you arrest them. If they happen to get a little bruised while you’re doing it, we’ll write it up as resisting arrest. Just don’t go overboard. At the very least, they should be able to walk to the infirmary.’

‘Gotcha, Captain. So, breaking their arms won’t be an issue.’

Nava shook her head. ‘I feel you’ve taken in the general meaning, but there may be nuances you’ve missed…’

236/6/3.

Nothing happened on Thursday night, which came as a bit of a surprise. It was almost as though the mysterious attacker knew the patrols were using protective sorcery. Nava decided not to dwell on that; if something fairly simple could put them off, maybe that would be the end of it.

It was getting close to eight in the evening and nothing had happened today either. Nava was doing paperwork at her desk, which sat at the far end of the HQ room from the door. Patrols started from here and ended here with the teams checking in and making a report before heading off for their apartments. That made this a good place to wait for anything to happen. Nava was hoping she could do watches like this from the house now and then, but the solitude was actually quite to her liking and right now she needed to be here.

Paperwork, she had decided, was going to be the death of her. The worrying thing was that she suspected a lot of what the ASF did was paperwork, and she was going to end up in the ASF after graduation. Could you actually die of boredom? She would have to look that up. Maybe there was a medical clause she could invoke to restrict her paperwork time.

Pausing, she leaned back in her chair and picked up the mug of coffee she had poured herself. The SSF had, it seemed, some of the best coffee in the school. It could not quite match the special stuff Mitsuko brought from the mansion after a visit, but it was pretty damn good. The flavour was excellent. The scent was even better. Nava sat in the silence, savouring the smell of good coffee. Skylar and her partner would be coming in soon, but for right now, the silence was golden.

Then the silence turned into crackling, and arcs of electricity danced in the air throughout most of the room. Computer screens went blank in an instant and Nava heard a shriek from outside the door. She was on her feet, her mug hitting the ground beside her, and heading for the door almost before the electricity had stopped. The screaming continued and she yanked open the door to find Skylar and her partner lying in the corridor. Skylar was the source of the shrieks, but it looked like her partner, Vance Shepherd Fosse, a fourth year who was close to being a veteran, was in just as much pain. Both of them, along with the paintwork on the walls, were showing signs of electrical burns. Skylar’s burns did look worse.

Nava cast Active Recovery on Skylar and then Vance. Vance’s pain vanished in a second as his wounds faded into nothing. Skylar had been hurt worse, because it took three full seconds for her to stop screaming.

‘Captain,’ Vance began.

Nava held up a hand. ‘You’re both going straight to the infirmary to be checked over. That was an electrical attack. I’ve healed your wounds, but it may have done nerve damage or something. Go. I’ll listen to your reports when I get there.’ She had a second thought. ‘Sky, are you okay to walk to the infirmary?’

Skylar pulled herself to her feet and looked herself over as though checking she was all there. ‘I think so, Captain. That spell’s amazing. I mean, I saw you use it on Mori, but it’s like a miracle when it’s used on you.’

‘Anyone can learn it. It’s not even that complex. Get yourselves checked out and wait for me there.’ Turning, Nava went back into the HQ room. Around her, machines were coming back to life. No permanent damage, it seemed, but she would get an engineer in to check everything tomorrow.

Walking back to her desk, she pulled up the views from the security cameras outside the room. No one was visible on them. Next she checked for ketcom registrations there in the last few minutes, but the only ones showing as near were Skylar, Vance, and herself. Someone had cast an area effect electrical spell right outside the SSF’s HQ and they were not showing up on any means she had of detecting them.

No… If there had been someone there casting the spell, they would have been seen by Skylar or Vance. A trap then. A delayed spell with a trigger condition. Sitting down, she connected through to the school’s database of spells and began searching.

~~~

‘It’s called Lightning Mine,’ Nava said. ‘It’s a conditional delay spell which causes a wide-area electrical attack. Generally, it’s triggered by a human walking within two metres of the centre point, though there are variants with different triggers. Someone had to place it right outside the door, which means it was done after everyone left on their patrols.’

‘So, why didn’t you trigger it?’ Skylar asked. She was still being checked over by Tanzi Royce, the school’s best medical technician. Vance had already been checked and given the all clear, but he had waited, as asked, for Nava to arrive.

‘I didn’t go near the door. That room’s pretty big. The discharges didn’t even reach me and the spell’s radius is eight metres. But, if it had been there when everyone left, it would have triggered and electrocuted all of us. Whoever is doing this, they just stepped up their game to ridiculous levels.’

‘Right,’ Vance said. ‘First it was Flash spells. Now it’s military-grade magical traps?’

‘And they had to be aiming to catch you, Captain,’ Skylar added. ‘They had to figure you’d leave and trigger it at some point.’

‘Maybe,’ Nava said. ‘This is going too far. If they want me, then I think it’s time they got their chance.’

Skylar’s face went even more serious. ‘Uh, Nava, what are you planning to do?’

236/6/4.

‘I’m going out on patrol tonight,’ Nava said.

Mitsuko, who already knew this, did not look pleased, but it was Darius who spoke. ‘Is that entirely wise, Captain? It seems to be playing into their hands.’

‘It is. I won’t let them hurt any more of my people. Tonight, everyone but me will be patrolling in armour. If they want to attack anyone, they’ll go for me and I’ll arrest them.’

‘You’re that sure of yourself?’

Nava gave Darius a blank look, as though surprised at the question. ‘Yes.’

Francis burst into laughter. ‘Don’t question it, Darius. Nava could take on a battalion and come out on top.’

‘That may be a slight overestimate of my capabilities, Francis,’ Nava admitted, ‘but thank you for your vote of confidence. I won’t actually be alone. Everyone patrols in pairs. I’m enforcing that rule with particular emphasis tonight.’

‘Who are you taking with you?’ Darius asked.

‘Booker Tucker.’

‘Him? Why him?’

‘Oh, I think it’ll be interesting to have him along. He has an interesting attitude to justifiable force which I’d like to observe.’

~~~

‘So, why aren’t you wearing armour, Captain?’ Booker asked. His voice sounded a little hollow thanks to his helmet, but it was recognisable.

‘Well, I look fairly good in that armour,’ Nava replied, ‘but I look better in this dress. I mean, I can’t wear my kickass boots with the armour.’

‘Ha! Good one. You’re trying to provoke whoever’s attacking us into taking you on, right?’

‘Something like that. How are you finding the new armour?’

‘Better than the old suits. We don’t get to wear the helmets much. I’m not so used to that. Uh, maybe a little claustrophobic, but I think I’d get over that in time.’

Nava nodded. ‘I felt the same way, more or less. The more familiarity you have with it, the better it gets.’

‘You had it before the rest of the support stream, right?’

‘My family considered it a must, so they bought me a set. The school wasn’t going to complain.’ They were taking their time, doing a standard patrol route between the clubs, but it was early and there was little to see. No one had got drunk enough to cause trouble yet. ‘And the other reason I’m not in armour is that if we find a drunk, seeing two people dressed like you coming at them would probably result in projectile vomiting.’

Booker’s shrug was a little dampened by his armour. ‘We can get someone to hose us down before we take it off.’

~~~

‘Hold on, Captain,’ Booker said, pausing on their way to the senior nightclub. ‘I’ve got a call coming in.’ The suits did not have a built-in computing capacity, but you could lock a ketcom into a slot in the back over the right shoulder blade. Inside the suit, it had the same protection as the wearer, and the suit’s electronics allowed you to access your personal computer through the helmet interface. You could take calls with complete security too, so long as you remembered to cut off the external air system for a bit.

Nava waited. She had a feeling this was going to be it. Whatever happened next, it was going to bring an end to the attacks. One way or another.

‘A friend of mine says he’s spotted some students sneaking into one of the training plantations,’ Booker finally said. Nava looked to the south where the training fields and forests, along with various support buildings, were located. ‘He says they were carrying bottles. Think we should check it out?’

‘Yes,’ Nava said without hesitation. ‘did you get a better location than “one of the plantations?”’

‘I have the right one on the heads-up map in here.’

‘Good. Lead the way.’

Nava had decided to set aside the question of what Booker’s unnamed friend was doing out in that area at this time on a Saturday. There were a number of legitimate – or at least believable – reasons for someone to be there. The nights were already pretty warm and, despite it not being encouraged, students would go out to the woods for alfresco sex. Drinking outside the clubs and private housing was actually forbidden, but not unheard of. So, maybe Booker did have a friend who had given him the tip.

‘How far?’ Nava asked as they got to the edge of the fields which were the northern border of the outdoor training section of campus.

‘About a kilometre,’ Booker replied.

‘Okay. Let’s get moving.’

Pacing their run, it took them six minutes to reach the end of the forest where, their tip said, they would find a bunch of students getting drunk. They slowed to a walk at the treeline and began to head into the woods, Nava clipping her ketcom to her dress with the recording function working. Ten metres in, the path branched.

‘Take the left one,’ Nava said. ‘I’ll go right. Call me if you find them.’

‘On it, Captain.’ Booker set off down the left track. Nava had chosen the directions based on where they were standing. Booker had made a point of being on her left for most of the evening.

Nodding, Nava set off down the right-hand path. There was not much light. The sun had set already and Shinden had no moons. Nava had good night vision, but this needed something else, so she was using the spell she had last used in a cave, Sense Environment. She had to work it from scratch, forcing her mind to follow the processes needed to cast it, but it was a fairly easy one compared to some she had worked that way. Now she could ‘see’ a sort of relief map of the world in front of her, a radar image of her surroundings with the added advantage that vegetation was not a complete screen. Someone hiding behind a bush would be fairly obvious. When she arrived at a clearing maybe twenty metres across, they were obvious.

Five of them. As she walked toward the middle of the clearing, she looked around, spotting five humanoid shapes hidden from plain sight behind the undergrowth. There might have been more since she doubted her spell could see through solid wood, but she suspected there were five of them waiting for her. They continued to wait as she stopped, right in the centre of the open area, waiting for them to make their move.

She heard whispering. Snatches of sound reached her eyes, not loud enough to be deciphered. Time stretched on. If they had laid an ambush here, why were they not closing in? Something had gone wrong with their plan?

Someone dropped a Light spell right on top of Nava. It illuminated the entire clearing just as the five men stepped out of cover. A couple of them were carrying lengths of pipe; not exactly the preferred weapon of a sorcerer. One had a spell assistance handgun, and that one was Zayden. It might have come as a surprise, but it did not. None of them were in armour, probably because walking through the campus dressed for battle would have drawn attention. Even carrying the armour in a case and changing out here might have looked odd since everyone knew what the cases looked like. So, no physical armour, but they might have spells active, just as Nava had.

‘Zayden,’ Nava said. ‘How interesting that I’d find you out here. And you brought friends.’

Zayden grinned. ‘Don’t try to call out. There’s a radio jamming spell working on the whole clearing. Who’d have thought a support spell could be useful?’

‘Everyone with a brain. That would be Radio Noise. It can be a quite useful assassination tool in the right hands. Stops anyone calling for help, as you’ve done here, but you can attach it to your target so they can run but not get away from the spell.’

‘Huh, you learn something new, I guess. You’re going to learn that taking this job was a mistake.’

‘Mm. So, just so I’m clear on the details… You all have alibis?’

‘There are eight people all ready to say we were with them when this happened. And our ketcoms aren’t here, so you’ll get no evidence there.’

‘And you plan to smash my ketcom in the fight, of course.’

‘Of course.’

‘You don’t intend to kill me?’

‘Beaten and humiliated is enough.’

Nava nodded. ‘I agree, though I’d imagine that the administration will kick you out of the school.’

‘Trying to intimidate us with your oh-so-amazing reputation?’

‘Not at all.’ She glanced back over her shoulder quickly at a sound from behind her. ‘Oh, six against one. Hello, Booker.’

‘Hey, Captain. Nothing personal, you know? Well, that’s actually a lie. It is personal. You shouldn’t be leading the SSF.’

Nava nodded and turned back toward Zayden. ‘Are you going to do this or not?’

‘Sure, Captain.’ Zayden delivered the word with as much sarcasm as he could muster. ‘Get her!’ He raised his pistol.

Nava raised her hand and a pulse of energy left it, hitting Zayden in the bicep of the arm holding his weapon. He let out a shriek as the Magic Bullet tore through the muscle, leaving his arm hanging and his pistol on the ground at his feet. Three Concussive Force spells hit her from the left and from behind. None of the damage made it through her Armour spell’s protection, but the impacts were enough to toss her two metres across the clearing in such a random direction that she fell. Yelling loudly, the two men with the metal pipes, probably both running Might spells to enhance their strength, charged at Nava, weapons raised.

Unfortunately for them, that meant one of them ran through the spot where Nava had been standing. The clearing exploded into a mass of electrical arcs. The only people spared were Booker, still outside the area of the Lightning Mine, and Nava, safe inside her armour. Three of them were now unconscious: Zayden and the two pipe guys. That still left another three, one of them Booker in his armour.

Twisting on the ground, Nava launched another Magic Bullet, blasting the leg off one of her opponents before he could launch another attack. She heard ‘Shit!’ from somewhere to her left; that had to be Booker. Another Concussive Force spell smacked into her side, this one significantly stronger than the previous three, but still not enough to penetrate her armour. It did shunt her across the ground a couple of metres, which resulted in the Slice spell the other man cast only cutting the grass where she had been. Stabilising herself, Nava returned the favour, slicing through the meat of the man’s thigh and instantly dropping him to the ground where he rolled around, screaming and grabbing at his shredded leg.

There was no immediate attack from Booker and Nava rolled to her feet to look at him. It was difficult to tell through the helmet, but he looked like he was in shock. He was standing there, one hand raised in her direction, without casting another spell. ‘W-what are you?’ he asked, his voice shaking. ‘Why d-didn’t the mine spell go off when you w-walked over it?’

‘Just lucky, I guess,’ Nava replied. ‘Now, I’m going to give you a choice. You can surrender, in which case I’ll arrest you. You can run, in which case I’ll disable and then arrest you. Or you can attack, in which case I’ll treat you as a substantial threat and kill you. What’s it going to be, Booker?’

‘Fuck you!’ Turning, Booker started to run back down the track.

Nava raised her arm. He was in armour. She did not know whether he had also activated his suit’s embedded Armour spell. Her Slice cantrip might penetrate, but she could not be sure. A pulse of energy left her hand, flashing against magical armour but continuing into Booker’s right thigh. A small globe of white light expanded out from the spot where it had hit. Skin melted. Muscle burned. Booker let out a scream of agony and fell as his leg went out from under him.

‘Okay,’ Nava said. ‘For those of you still conscious, you’re all under arrest. I’ll make sure your wounds are healed just as soon as I have some backup. I have recordings of this entire incident, so your fake alibis are going to be worth squat. You are all going to be leaving this school in disgrace, but I hope you’re feeling hurt and humiliated. I will be repeating this for those of you who aren’t conscious later.’

Now all she had to do was figure out where the Radio Noise spell was so she could dispel it and call reinforcements. Hopefully, none of them would bleed to death before then.

236/6/5.

Sunday lunchtime and everyone was there. Hoshi and Rochester were looking distinctly pleased with themselves, which likely meant they had just got up. Carina was there, though Trudy was, as usual, absent. Everyone wanted to know what had happened the night before, even if the details were not especially conducive to a nice meal.

‘When my backup arrived,’ Nava said, ‘I used Active Recovery on them all. They were back on their feet in a few seconds and we hauled them all in for the administration to deal with.’

‘What about the ones who were going to give false alibis?’ Courtney asked.

‘We picked five of them up later. They were the ones carrying an extra ketcom to give incorrect locations. The others… Well, no one’s talking, but I don’t see it as a major issue. They weren’t willing to fight last night and I don’t think they’ll be willing to stick their noses out any further than they have.’

‘You may be right.’

‘The main group of six are likely to be expelled. All of them are suspended until next term. The initial judgment came down more or less immediately.’

‘It sounds like justice has been done,’ Carina said.

‘Something like that,’ Nava agreed.

‘Uh, there is one thing I don’t get.’

‘Ask away.’

‘Why didn’t their trap go off when you walked over it?’

Around the table, people looked up from their food at Nava, wondering what she would say.

‘I was wondering that myself,’ Courtney said, ‘though I’ve a feeling I know the answer.’

‘It’s simple enough,’ Nava said, ‘though you’re to keep this to yourself, Carina.’

‘Sure. I’m great at keeping secrets! Uh, I mean, anything you say, I’ll take to my death bed, Champion of the Light.’

‘Mm. Well, the trigger for the commonest form of Lightning Mine is when a human comes within two metres of the point the spell was cast on.’

‘Yes, but you walked right over it, didn’t you?’

‘When a human comes within two metres, Carina,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Yes, but…’ Carina’s eyes widened with a slowness that spoke of dawning shock. ‘Oh. Oh! Wow, that’s– Oh wow, I knew you were awesome, but this is… You really are the Champion of the Light!’

Part Four: One-Woman Army

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 236/6/20.

‘Do we have any idea how the additional chromosomes will express?’

‘We have some idea. He hasn’t given us a precise map. If I’m honest, I don’t think even he really knows.’

‘But she’ll look human?’

‘The homeotic genetics are entirely human. The general stuff is human, the details may be different.’

‘Right. And we believe it’ll boost sorcery capabilities, obviously.’

‘Nothing’s certain, but…’

Nava shifted in her sleep, turning over with a soft moan. The voices faded.

‘I’m a biologist, you know,’ Trudy said. She did not look like a biologist; what she looked like was a girl in a rainbow dress with too many frills.

‘You said,’ Nava replied. ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘I can tell these things. That you’re not human. You’re not even a little human. Not really. Have you looked at yourself?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘There’s a mirror behind you.’

Nava turned. What she saw in the mirror was…

Twisting, Nava tossed the bedsheet away from her body. She felt half asleep, half awake, and too hot. The cool air swept over her skin, raising goose bumps. It was too cold, but it was better than too hot. Half awake became totally asleep.

Light blossomed before her. A quintessence explosion. The Harbinger was not in it and it continued chasing her. She dodged its counterattack, a massive blast of kinetic energy which would have likely torn her in half. She ran, twisting as she got to a corner and firing off another Magic Burst. Not waiting to see whether she had hit her target, she ran on…

And slammed right into the monster’s chest. Long fingers wrapped around her wrists as she tried to reverse her flight. It stretched her out, crucified her before it, and looked down into her eyes with cold, blue eyes of its own. ‘You’re not strong enough,’ it said. She could not pull away; its grip was too firm. ‘You’re not strong enough,’ it repeated. She screamed into its face, kicked up to plant her feet against its stomach and push. She could not budge the thing’s grasp on her. ‘You’re not strong enough,’ it said again. This time, its eyes began to shine a brighter blue which turned whiter the brighter it got. ‘Let me fix that.’ The light…

The light was bright enough to blind her.

The light was burning into her body, her mind.

The light exploded within her…

Nava struggled against the hands gripping her shoulders. It was entirely ineffectual struggling and her confused mind initially thought that was because the Harbinger was holding her. But the Harbinger had been holding her wrists…

‘Nava! Nava, wake up for God’s sake!’ The voice sounded distant. Familiar.

There was a clattering noise and another voice. ‘Hell’s teeth, what’s going on?’ That one was familiar as well.

‘Is she okay? What’s happening?’ Third voice. Also not an unknown. ‘Something woke me up and then I heard noises.’

‘I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She won’t wake up. She was boiling hot a minute or two ago, but–’ Back to that first familiar voice and it belonged to…

‘Suki?’ Nava opened her eyes to see Mitsuko’s worried expression. She turned her head to find Melissa and Courtney standing just inside the bedroom door. There was no large-scale destruction and no Harbingers of any kind. She did feel a bit weird. Lightheaded. ‘I’m okay. You can let go now.’

Mitsuko did not let go. ‘What happened? When I came to, you were almost bent in half. Like you were in a lot of pain. And you were hot. Really hot. Humans are not supposed to be that temperature.’

‘Not human,’ Nava said. ‘I know I have to remind you at times.’

‘You’re not not-human enough to be that hot!’

‘Okay, okay. I’ll avoid jokes since you’re clearly worried.’ Nava looked around at Courtney and Melissa. ‘Did I wake you? Was I screaming or something? I was dreaming about… Not sure. Something bad.’ The dreams were, in fact, fading from her memory rather rapidly. Had there been a Harbinger in them?

‘I don’t know what woke me,’ Melissa said. ‘One moment I was asleep and the next I was awake. Like…’

‘It felt like something had tripped my fight-or-flight response,’ Courtney said. ‘I woke up ready to run or kill something. Then I heard Suki shouting.’

‘Pretty much the same,’ Melissa agreed, nodding.

‘Weird,’ Nava said. ‘Well, I don’t think it’s anything to–’ She cut off as a Harbinger materialised in the room right beside her bed.

Trudy immediately held up defensive hands as Nava raised an arm to blast her. ‘I felt the threshold shift! I came to see what caused it! Don’t kill me!’

‘Trudy? Sorry, I had a bad dream. I think there might have been a Harbinger in it.’

‘You shouldn’t just materialise in someone’s bedroom like that,’ Melissa said.

‘My apologies,’ Trudy said. ‘But–’

‘What’s a threshold shift?’ Nava asked.

Trudy stared at her for a second. It was not an entirely comfortable thing to have happen to you. ‘Young Harbingers can undergo sudden large changes in their sorcery capacity. It’s a developmental thing. We call them threshold shifts because what you call sorcery capacity, we called manipulation threshold.’

‘I’m not a Harbinger, Trudy,’ Nava pointed out. ‘For one thing, I’m not blue. Though that may change if I don’t put some clothes on soon.’

‘The climate control is still set for sleeping,’ Mitsuko commented, rather pointlessly.

‘You’re not a Harbinger,’ Trudy said, ‘but there’s no reason why a human couldn’t undergo a threshold shift, I’d imagine. And your capacity has increased. Markedly.’

‘Markedly?’

‘I’m afraid I’ve never bothered to work out a conversion between our units and your Tammys. However, I’d calculate an approximate increase of thirty-seven percent.’

‘That’s a lot,’ Melissa said.

‘Thirty-seven percent?’ Nava asked. ‘That’s… something like three hundred and seventy Tammys, based on my last test.’

‘That’s a lot,’ Melissa repeated. She looked a little wide-eyed.

‘I think,’ Mitsuko said, ‘that we should go back to bed. We’ll call Hoshi in the morning. Early. I’m sure she can get us access to a capacity-testing machine. Privately, obviously.’

‘That sounds like a plan,’ Nava said. She looked at Trudy. ‘You’re still staring at me, Trudy. Is something wrong?’

‘No. Nothing. Just something Carina told me. If it means anything, I’ll let you know.’ And with that, she vanished.

‘I hope she’s not going to make a habit of that,’ Courtney said.

‘She hasn’t up until now,’ Nava pointed out. ‘I guess whatever happened to me, it spooked her. Maybe she thought there was another Harbinger here.’

‘She said that only happened to young ones,’ Melissa said. ‘I don’t think she’d be expecting a young Harbinger to turn up here.’

‘Good point. I’m going to get some sleep now, so…’

‘Right,’ Courtney said. She turned and walked out, heading for her own room.

Nava settled down, pulling the sheet back over herself. A second later, Mitsuko was curling up against her back. ‘You were worried about me?’ Nava asked.

‘Yes.’

‘I’m fine.’

‘I know. There is one thing that bothers me a little, though.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Well… well, you’re not a Harbinger, but you’re not entirely human either. And you don’t know where those weird genes came from.’

Nava was silent for a while. ‘They can’t be Harbinger chromosomes, Suki. How could they have possibly got their hands on the genome of a Harbinger?’

Mitsuko’s body relaxed against Nava’s. The tension had not really been noticeable until it was not there. ‘No. You’re right, of course. It’s not possible. Goodnight, Nava.’

‘Goodnight, Suki.’

Nava closed her eyes and tried to relax into sleep. In the morning, she would find out whether any of this was true. But that would be something for when the sun came up.

~~~

‘That’s three seventy,’ Hoshi said, looking at the monitor. ‘You don’t think you can go higher?’ She tapped at the screen, just in case, and a new schema appeared.

Nava stared at it, trying to push her mind into the shape required for the new spell. ‘No. Won’t fit. She was right. That’s a little over a thirty-seven percent increase since my last test. And I think my quintessence reserve has got bigger.’

‘That’s a lot,’ Melissa said. Nava gave her a look.

‘A “threshold shift,”’ Rochester said. His arms were crossed over his chest. Sort of. He was stroking his chin with one hand, looking like an old professor faced with an interesting problem. ‘I’m not aware of anything in the literature regarding that kind of event.’ He glanced at Hoshi.

‘No,’ Hoshi said. ‘Me neither, but I’ll do some research while you lot are in lessons.’ It was seven forty in the morning. No one had eaten breakfast yet. And of course Rochester had been with Hoshi when they called. Aside from anything else, what idiot would sleep in one of the tiny capsule apartments when their girlfriend had a spacious postgraduate apartment?

‘Uh, it goes without saying,’ Nava said, ‘but I’ll say it anyway. I’d rather this was kept strictly on a need-to-know basis. And no one else needs to know.’

‘Of course,’ Hoshi replied.

‘My lips are, as usual, sealed,’ Rochester said.

Courtney gave a shrug. ‘What’s one more secret to add to the long, long list?’

~~~

Practically speaking, Nava’s sudden increase in capacity made little difference. She would find it easier to work spells from scratch, and she could use more complex ones that way. She could use more complex cantrips too. The spells she had memorised, however, had not changed and would not suddenly get more powerful just because there was more space available for them.

She consoled herself with this kind of thought as she sat in the SSF’s HQ, working through the weekend’s reports from her troops. Another boring task to go with the very many boring tasks the captain had to deal with. Maybe she should take some turns patrolling, just to break the boredom. Then again, the patrol she had done with Sixte had been pretty tedious…

A slight sensation of pressure on her mind told her a spell was being used on her. This sensation was familiar, however, and she allowed it through without resisting. In front of her, just the other side of her desk, a young human girl in a very frilly rainbow-coloured dress appeared.

‘I thought I’d do it this way,’ Trudy said, ‘rather than appearing physically. It’s easier, and it won’t cause problems if someone walks in.’

‘Which is possible,’ Nava said. ‘There will be patrols popping in now and then, though…’ She checked the time on her terminal. ‘… Mm, I’m not expecting anyone for half an hour or so. What did you want to talk about? The threshold shift thing?’

‘That’s… part of it.’

Nava gave the illusion an appraising look. ‘Trudy, I don’t appreciate it when exceptionally intelligent people with information I assume is important beat around the bush.’

‘Oh! “Beat around the bush.” I know that idiom. It means you think I’m not getting to the point.’

‘And now you’re dodging the question.’

‘I… This may not be entirely comfortable as a topic of conversation.’

Nava paused, waiting, but that did not seem to give the Harbinger the hint. ‘I assume this is important, as I said. Perhaps you could illuminate me? If you haven’t noticed, I don’t scare easily.’

‘No. I have a spell I use in biological analysis. I think you’d call it Analyse Species. It sequences the genome of a subject.’

‘Ah, so you noticed the artificial chromosomes in my DNA.’

‘You know about them?’

‘I know they’re there. No one but the people who made them knows what they do.’

‘Sort of. They weren’t made. They were… harvested. They’re Harbinger chromosomes, Nava.’

This time, Nava was silent for several seconds. ‘That’s not possible. You’ve made a mistake.’

‘Genetics isn’t my speciality, it’s true, but I know those genes. Even the amino acids are right. And I know it’s not possible. It’s ridiculous. How could someone possibly have got their hands on Harbinger DNA? It’s not even as simple as that. They’ve taken Harbinger DNA and transplanted it into human cells and made it work. Do you have even the smallest idea of how hard that would be?’

‘The smallest idea? Probably. Yes. My biology isn’t normal. Drugs can have weird effects on me. I’m probably lucky that alcohol and coffee have more or less normal effects. There has to be some really weird engineering in my cells to make it all work.’

‘That is a considerable understatement. However impossible it is, you have Harbinger genes in your genome. Whole chromosomes.’

Another silence. This one was shorter. ‘Do you know what they do?’

‘I’m not a geneticist, as I said. I can tell you some of the things those chromosomes do in a Harbinger. That may not hold true for a modified human. They’re mostly concerned with neurological and sensory development. One of them has a lot of genes which code for immune system elements.’

‘So… That would seem to indicate they’re there to enhance my sorcery abilities and my lifespan. I have better sorcery abilities than typical humans, and I’ll live longer, if I don’t get killed somehow. I know that. I was told that. My cognitive speed is faster than normal too.’

‘That all fits. The genes are expressing nerve cells with higher firing rates and transmission speeds. They must be creating suitable regions in the brain for better handling of quintessence and Q-field integration. Your immune system probably contains some of the factors we integrated to prevent diseases, cancers, and various other metabolic problems. Overall, those factors would likely result in an enhanced lifespan.’

‘Okay. Am I likely to exhibit any other Harbinger traits? Am I going to turn blue? Or start walking on my toes?’

‘In those heels–’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘It would seem that your homeotic genes are entirely human. You shouldn’t exhibit any physical traits associated with Harbingers.’

‘Homeotic?’ A flicker of a memory from a dream surfaced. ‘What does that mean?’

‘Homeotic genes are those which control your morphology. They control how you grow. Give you bilateral symmetry with your arms and legs and eyes in the right places. At a basic level, they make you look like a human, not a fly or a cat or a Harbinger.’

‘That’s something of a relief then.’ Pause. ‘Trudy, I’d prefer to keep this private for now. Please don’t tell Carina. I won’t be mentioning it to my friends. For now. When I’ve worked out what I think of it myself, I’ll reconsider.’

‘That’s fine with me. I’m not sure what to make of it myself. The only way I can think of that someone could have got that DNA is from a live Harbinger. There could be a live Harbinger out there somewhere!’

‘Mm. That would be… I think it would probably cause all sorts of problems. We’ll keep it quiet. At least until we know what we want to do about it.’

236/6/32.

Courtney unfolded her ketcom’s screen, tapped at something, and then peered at the message she had just received. ‘Oh. I just got an invite to Kyle’s graduation ball.’

‘Graduation ball?’ Nava asked. They were variously doing homework, personal study, and SSF paperwork around the lounge. Nava had decided she could work from there for this afternoon, though she was using her own ketcom to monitor for problems with the afternoon patrols.

‘Officer training ends with a dinner and dance. Part of the training is etiquette, so the ball is sort of a final graduation exercise. It’s also an excuse for various officers to take their partners out for a meal on the ASF.’

‘Right. And when is this happening?’

‘It’s–’

‘Sunday, July twelfth,’ Melissa said without looking up from her work. ‘About two weeks.’ Courtney frowned at her and, apparently, Melissa detected this through ESP because she went on. ‘I got an invitation to be Naomi’s plus one. I’m not totally sure about going, but I guess if you are…’

‘I am,’ Courtney said. ‘Aside from anything else, Kyle will get a week off before he’s deployed. We can all come back here together.’

‘That means staying overnight. I’m not sure–’

‘They’ll provide accommodation,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Married officers can have their partners stay with them, but they don’t allow that kind of thing for unmarried officers. Sorry, Courtney.’

‘I can cope for one night,’ Courtney replied.

‘Well, I’ll need a suitable dress,’ Melissa said, presenting her next objection.

‘Not a problem,’ Mitsuko replied.

‘I’ve seen the kind of dresses you and Nava come up with. I’d rather have something that isn’t going to leave my boobs hanging out.’

‘I am capable of matching wardrobe to an occasion. A little flesh will be expected, however.’

Melissa sagged. ‘I know.’

‘If this is going to become serious,’ Nava said, ‘you should get used to this kind of event. Naomi’s a Himura. They have around the same status as the Trentons. That means social events. Naomi’s obviously not aiming for a central role within the family, but his partner would be expected to entertain.’

‘I know.’ Melissa sagged a little further.

‘Naomi has clan rank,’ Mitsuko said. ‘It’s worse than you might think.’

A whimper came from Melissa. ‘I just don’t see what he sees in a nobody from Avorna.’

‘That is almost certainly one of the things he sees in you. Most of the young women he’s likely been targeted by know exactly what he should see in them. A modest girl is bound to be a novelty. A refreshing novelty.’

‘Oh. Well. Looks like I’m going. This should be fun.’

236/7/5.

Melissa soared upward into the sky, searching out the dot which was Nava and aiming for it. She was grinning the whole way.

‘Ten minutes,’ Nava said when Melissa was alongside her. ‘I told you that Gather Quintessence would give you more time in the air.’

‘You did. I knew it would. Now I just need to work out how to have two spells in my head at once and I can stay up here forever. Like you.’

‘It makes all kinds of extended sorcery use possible. And being able to have two active spells is a very useful skill.’

‘I know that. I also know it’s not easy. And you can do four of them at once. That has to take some amazing mental gymnastics.’

Nava gave a shrug, which was an odd sort of movement when hanging in the air at a thousand metres or so, watching the ground below. ‘I suspect my weird genetics help. I’ve always been able to, well, think faster than other people.’

‘I know I’m not supposed to envy you, but I envy you. I won’t hang around for long. I know you like your alone time. I just wanted to show you your constant nagging to learn this spell has paid off.’

‘I do not nag.’

‘You don’t?’

‘No. I do something else which may, to the uninitiated, seem like constant nagging. And you don’t have to go so soon after you went to all the trouble to get up here. I can cope with you being here until you need to go back down.’

Melissa smirked. ‘Oh, thank you. I feel so wanted.’

‘I persuaded you to learn Gather Quintessence, hence your ability to pester me more often when I’m flying. Doesn’t that indicate that I’m willing to entertain your presence?’

Melissa shook her head and floated over to lie in the air beside Nava. ‘That did not sound better at all.’

Admiral Aurora Trenton Advanced Training Centre, Alliance City, 236/7/12.

Apparently, Aurora Trenton Sonkei had been one of the first admirals of the ASF and had essentially formulated the curriculum for basic and advanced training in the organisation. Naomi had supplied the information when Melissa had asked about it. The base handled officer training as well as several specialist training activities and was known either as the ATC or as “Aurora’s Base.” The name you used tended to depend on how official you were being.

It was a large, somewhat sprawling facility on the outskirts of Alliance City surrounded by high fences and accessed via three gates which were guarded. Guarded, but generally open. The reception centre was where the ball would be taking place, and it was situated right beside the main gate. Melissa and Courtney were staying in a hotel just outside the base, and they were met just inside the gate by their partners for the evening, who then escorted them into the building.

Externally, the building was grey and rather institutional. Internally, things were a little different, especially in the ballroom and dining room. Both were vast and done up in baroque mouldings and draped curtains. There was a lot of dark blue and silver on display. Somehow, Melissa had expected more black and gold to go with the uniforms. She had not expected to have her name announced at the door to the dining hall.

‘Second Lieutenant Naomi Himura Sonkei,’ the chief petty officer said in a voice quite loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear it, ‘and Miss Melissa Connelly Avorn.’

Melissa felt her cheeks heating as, arm in arm with her giant suitor, she continued on to find their seats.

‘Second Lieutenant Kyle Maynard House and Miss Courtney Martell Garavain.’ The announcement sounded from behind them as Kyle and Courtney followed them in.

‘We should be sitting together,’ Naomi commented. ‘They do take preferences into account.’

‘That’s something,’ Melissa replied. ‘You know, I’m not really used to making small talk with perfect strangers who happen to be important.’

‘It’s unlikely you’ll need to worry too much about that. We’ll probably be sitting beside other recent graduates, not generals and vice admirals.’

‘Oh. Good. Am I going to have to worry about which cutlery is right?’

Naomi’s lips quirked, very much as though he was trying to suppress a broad grin. ‘We might be officers, Mel, but we’re not some sort of ancient aristocracy. Cutlery choice is a factor in our training, but it’s mostly recognising the difference between steak and fish knives. I’ll help if there’s anything too complex involved.’ Pause. ‘And you won’t need my help.’

‘You say that now…’

The dining hall was laid out with circular tables set for eight. There was also a long table at one end where the VIPs would be sitting. Melissa had a sudden rush of horror at the thought that someone might have decided that Naomi was a VIP, but she was quickly disabused of that worry. It was probably impossible to always arrange it with interspersed male and female diners, but their table had been arranged that way. Naomi and Kyle had been seated together, or more accurately, the two couples had been with Melissa on one end of the foursome and Kyle on the other.

Melissa looked at the array of cutlery dubiously, wondered whether she could possibly use the napkin which had been so carefully folded to stand at her place setting, and then tried to work out the best way of sitting in the dress Mitsuko had bought for her. It was a fairly simple, ankle-length, strapless gown in red. Melissa had been sort of impressed with the lack of nudity. It did have a split up the left leg wide enough that her leg was exposed almost to the hip in its entirety and there was a black mesh V-shape let into the top to show off more cleavage. Basically, however, Melissa considered herself well covered. Making sure her skirt covered her panties when she sat down was, however, a priority. She managed it well enough.

As best as Melissa could tell, Courtney was not wearing any underwear. It was a little difficult to tell. Her gown was more of a mini; at least, the front hem was very short even if the back fell as a train to pool on the floor behind her. The dress was sleeveless and had a fairly high collar, but the back dipped almost to her buttocks, making wearing anything under it difficult. The fabric was red with a brocade pattern woven into it, stabilised by a dense mesh which gave strong hints of the body beneath without showing anything. Still, it did not show anything resembling panties either…

Leaning to her right, Melissa checked the name on the seating card beside her seat. She made a strangled sort of noise which caused Naomi to raise an eyebrow in her direction. She pointed at the card. ‘Colonel Myron Seward Voll,’ she explained.

Naomi considered this for a second. ‘Don’t know the man. I only guaranteed you wouldn’t be talking to vice admirals or generals.’

Melissa glowered.

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery.

‘Think they’ve started yet?’ Mitsuko asked. She was up to her chest in the sento. It was early; they had not had their evening meal yet, but there were reasons for being in the sento.

‘I’d imagine they’re getting seated for the meal,’ Nava replied. ‘There are probably going to be speeches. I see something like that having speeches. Long speeches.’

‘I’d imagine you’re right.’ Short pause. ‘It means we have the house to ourselves until morning.’

‘I’m aware.’ Nava knew exactly what her lover was thinking, and she had one small proviso she needed clearing up before she was entirely happy with it. ‘We are going to stop for food at some point, right?’

‘Of course. Right after we’ve christened the kitchen.’

Admiral Aurora Trenton Advanced Training Centre.

Colonel Myron was in his late thirties and not too hard to talk to. Maybe Melissa had expected senior ASF officers to be more stuck-up. Myron was a strategy instructor at the ATC and seemed pretty down to earth, especially for a Voll. Melissa recalled that one of his family members by the name of Brigitta had been Nava’s understudy in the play the year before, but it turned out that the relationship was distant.

‘I don’t suppose you’ve studied much strategy yet,’ Myron said.

‘No, sir,’ Melissa replied. ‘I’m support stream, so we don’t get involved with that kind of thing until the last two years. And then it would be an elective. We do small unit tactics, mostly so we know how best to support assault troops.’

‘However, Colonel,’ Naomi said, leaning forward to include himself in the conversation, ‘Melissa has proven herself quite capable of handling combat situations already.’

Both men ignored the reddening of Melissa’s cheeks. ‘She has?’ Myron asked. ‘Since when are we involving students in actual combat?’

‘Melissa was involved with the Free Beherbergen incident last summer. Not that she, or anyone else who was there, has ever given me details, but I was informed that she acquitted herself well. There was also an incident in Jukai Forest last autumn. An attack by a group of mercenaries on a school survival field trip. I heard more detail about that. Melissa’s defensive walls saved lives.’

‘Force Wall,’ Myron said, nodding with a pleased smile on his face. ‘That’s an underestimated spell. I’m not a sorcerer myself, but the best use of magicians in tactical and strategic manners is something we’re constantly researching and experimenting with. Of course, a derivative of the Force Wall spell is used in many of our ships, but practical deployment of defensive barriers in ground combat is still something we haven’t really optimised.’

‘M-mine are pretty weak,’ Melissa said, hoping to lower the enthusiasm level a little. ‘One bullet will normally bring one down. They’re more useful at keeping people out of an area than stopping gunfire or anything more dramatic.’

Myron’s eyes narrowed a little. ‘And yet, I suspect you’ve come up with a way of making them more useful against armed assailants if that story about Jukai is correct.’

‘Uh, well, if I layer a lot of them… It was only really practical because my friend was taking care of the mercenaries while I shielded our position.’

‘Your friend?’

‘Nava Greyling Sonkei. She’s–’

‘I’ve heard of Nava Greyling,’ Myron said. He looked past Melissa to Naomi. ‘You know her?’

‘We’re acquainted,’ Naomi replied. He waved a hand toward Courtney. ‘Courtney Martell was the captain of the SSF until this term. She recommended Nava as her replacement. Melissa has, I believe, been Nava’s friend since they both started at SAS-squared.’

‘We met on the first day of last year,’ Melissa confirmed. ‘I hope you haven’t been hearing bad things about Nava, Colonel?’

‘Not at all,’ Myron replied. ‘If you’re going through SAS-squared with her, I think it will be very interesting to see what you do after graduation.’

Melissa swallowed. ‘N-no pressure then.’

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery.

‘Which rooms are left?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘Basically, the bedrooms,’ Nava replied, ‘but I think we should avoid Mel’s and Courtney’s rooms.’

They were in the lounge. The kitchen floor had been a little uncomfortable. They had had to be quiet in the garden, though it was not overlooked, so that had been fine. Nava had drawn the line at the mudroom beside the bath; that was a little too much.

‘We could probably do both showers.’

‘Okay.’

‘And what about the corridors?’

‘Uh…’

‘And there’s that service room. Might be a bit cramped. The front hall?’

‘Suki, I think you may be taking this a bit far…’

Admiral Aurora Trenton Advanced Training Centre.

‘How are we supposed to dance after that meal?’ Melissa asked. ‘I’m sure my stomach looks three times its normal size.’

‘It does not,’ Naomi said. ‘It looks just as it usually does, except with a little less fabric over it.’

‘You’ve never seen her in a bikini,’ Courtney said.

Seeing Naomi’s cheeks colour was both unusual and worth any hardship. ‘I… have not.’ On the other hand, he rallied well, ‘Something to look forward to in the summer, perhaps.’

‘My birthday is the first Monday of the summer holiday,’ Melissa said. Her eyes widened a little at how brazen that sounded under the circumstances.

‘I’m aware of that,’ Naomi replied. ‘I was hoping that I might join you to celebrate. Perhaps we could go out to Le Jardin Magique again.’

‘That would be nice, but I expect Nava and Suki, and maybe Courtney will join us there. This time.’

‘I’m sure that will be acceptable. I enjoy their company.’

‘Maybe Kyle could–’

‘I… won’t be there,’ Kyle said. ‘I’m deploying to Beherbergen for my first year.’

‘Oh. That’s…’ Melissa glanced at Courtney. The ex-captain was clearly not happy, but she was doing her best to hide it.

‘I may be going out to join him for a couple of weeks,’ Courtney said. ‘I’ve never been to Beherbergen and it’ll let me meet the prospective in-laws. It, uh, depends on my finances.’

‘I’ll be able to help,’ Kyle said. ‘I’ll be getting a second lieutenant’s salary from now on.’

Courtney flashed him a smile. ‘I know. We’ll see what’s happening. Right now, we’re going to dance and hope no one steps on my skirt.’

‘Sounds like a plan.’ Offering Courtney his hand, Kyle led the way out onto the dance floor.

Naomi offered his hand to Melissa. ‘My lady, would you do me the honour?’

‘Okay,’ Melissa said, ‘but I should warn you, I’m not very good.’

‘Then I’ll just have to make you look good.’

~~~

Melissa had a feeling she was now intimately familiar with the problem Nava had when dancing with Mitsuko. Even in heels, Melissa’s eyes were about level with Naomi’s throat. It was still romantic, dancing in his arms to something slow played by a military band – which, incidentally, trained at the same base. For a military band, they seemed quite capable of playing non-military music.

‘You know, I have no idea how we ended up like this,’ Melissa said. It was sort of an off-hand remark, but it was also what she had been thinking ever since Naomi had shown an interest in her. Even the comments she had received from her housemates had not clarified things for her. ‘I really don’t see what you see in me. I don’t think I’m your type.’

There was a pause long enough for Melissa to wonder if she had said something wrong. ‘If I am entirely honest,’ Naomi finally said, ‘I don’t understand it myself.’ That was not a good start. ‘To clarify, I don’t believe I have a “type.” I’m aware of a number of rumours which circulated at school to the effect that I was gay. I did not have a girlfriend while at school, though I have had a couple of… summer flings.’

‘Oh.’ So was this a ‘summer fling’ with an extended courtship?

‘I am also aware of another fact which pertains.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes. You described me as intimidating. More than once.’

Melissa blushed, though she doubted he could see it with his eyes all the way up there. ‘I did. You are. Maybe less so now.’

‘I suppose that I am. Under the right circumstances, I find it useful. However… I began to find it utterly intolerable that you found me intimidating. I couldn’t tell you why or when I began to feel that way, but that became the state of things and I had to do something about it.’

‘That’s…’ Melissa smiled and leaned closer in to Naomi’s chest. It was a good chest for snuggling against, when you got right down to it. ‘That’s possibly the oddest romantic impulse I’ve ever heard of. But I can’t deny the romance.’

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, 236/7/13.

‘We’re back,’ Melissa called out as she walked in through the front door, trailed by Courtney and Kyle.

‘Welcome back,’ Mitsuko called out from the lounge. Melissa was planning on going to her room anyway, so she pushed through the door. ‘If you hurry and get changed,’ Mitsuko went on, ‘we can all go to breakfast together.’

‘A military ball one night,’ Nava said, ‘and back to lessons in the morning. Good morning, Kyle and Courtney. I hope you all enjoyed your evening.’

‘It was good,’ Courtney said, nodding. ‘Now I have Kyle for a week before they ship him off to Beherbergen.’

‘I enjoyed it,’ Melissa said. She sniffed, frowned a little, and then shrugged. ‘I’ll get into my uniform and we can go grab some food.’

‘I’ll join you,’ Kyle said. ‘I skipped breakfast so we could catch one of the early trains.’

‘I’m sure they serve breakfast quite early at Aurora’s Base,’ Mitsuko countered.

‘Okay, I wanted to have breakfast with Courtney. And the rest of you, really. You can catch me up on events here.’

‘Sounds like a better excuse.’

Melissa had come to a stop in the doorway to the hall between the bedrooms. She sniffed. ‘Why does this entire house smell of sex?’

Mitsuko glanced at Nava and then put on her best innocent expression. ‘I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.’

236/7/15.

The forensics lecture on Wednesday evenings was not just for SSF members. That was how it had turned out anyway. There were three recruits in the new team who were learning to provide technical support for the patrol personnel – including Lydia Bonfils Plank from Nava’s class – and it had seemed like a very small number to have someone come out from Alliance City to teach them. So, Nava had put a post on the info-net saying that seventeen additional students could attend the lectures by contacting her and arranging a place. She had not really expected much of a response. There were now twenty people in the class and she could have filled the lab it was being held in three times over.

‘More people want to do this kind of thing than you’d think, huh?’ Kyle asked. Nava was sitting in on tonight’s lecture and Kyle had asked if he could come along. Obviously, Courtney was there too.

‘And are willing to sacrifice an evening to learn,’ Nava said. ‘I believe some of them simply want another option. They’re adding to their portfolio of skills but may not end up using this in anger. However, some are certainly here because this is what they’d like to do after graduation.’

‘I should’ve thought of this,’ Courtney muttered. ‘I did think of something like this, but we had Don and it never seemed urgent…’

Nava nodded. ‘My lack of forensic cover does seem more like a matter I need to deal with as soon as possible. We haven’t needed these skills yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.’

‘What about computers?’ Kyle asked. ‘Don used to be a wizard with computer skills too.’

‘I’m fairly good. I also have Chess in reserve if needed. He’s actually not bad at computer intrusion, though we tend to keep that quiet around the faculty. I don’t think he’s at Don Ilbert’s standard, but he can crack a system if I need him to.’

‘I wonder where he learned that?’ Courtney asked. ‘I wonder why he learned that?’

Nava gave a shrug. ‘Chess has a dark side. Who knew?’

236/7/16.

‘Do you have any idea what you’ll be doing on Beherbergen?’ Mitsuko asked. Gathered in the lounge, they had finally got around to asking about the one thing Courtney was trying her best to ignore: Kyle would be leaving for his home planet the following evening.

‘Some,’ Kyle replied. ‘The ASF office in Hausman City mostly does liaison work with the House militia and antiterrorism intelligence gathering. My briefing says that the intelligence gathering has got a higher priority after the Alliance City thing. There’s also security for the Alliance administration offices and the ambassador.’

‘Of course,’ Courtney said, ‘if he spends the entire year on the ambassador’s security detail, I’ll be quite happy.’

‘You say that, but Befreit Beherbergen first came to attention when they bombed the Alliance administration building.’

‘I… hadn’t thought of that.’

‘Beherbergen doesn’t sound like an especially safe place to do your first tour,’ Melissa commented. ‘I’m sure you’ll be fine,’ she added quickly, ‘but still…’

‘It’s like anywhere,’ Kyle replied. ‘It’s pretty safe most of the time. Sometimes there are problems. That’s in the areas under clan jurisdiction, however. Outside clan lands, things are a bit more, uh, chaotic. Maybe not chaotic, but the rule of law is a bit more relaxed. Some of the people living out there are basically outlaws. The clan doesn’t get involved unless it’s affecting our internal trade relationships. Just about everyone out there carries some form of weapon, usually a rifle. There’s a sort of excuse given that there are indigenous animals and they can be dangerous.’

‘It’s an old Harbinger colony then?’ Nava asked.

‘It’s even got some archaeological sites.’ Kyle paused and frowned. ‘After what’s happened here, that worries me more than it did.’

Waving a hand, Nava brushed that aside. ‘We met one of the worst examples. We’ve also met Trudy, whose only interest in humans is observing them. If you were going to have trouble with Harbingers, you’d have seen something by now. The colony was established a couple of hundred years ago, right?’

‘Give or take. I guess you’re right. It’s probably not a problem.’

‘My advice would be to stick to worrying about the terrorists. Invisible voyeurs watching you in the shower should be the least of your worries.’

‘Nava,’ Courtney whined, ‘I’m planning to go out there soon. I do not need that thought in my head.’ Nava just looked at her. ‘You’re evil.’

‘So I’ve been told.’

236/7/17.

‘You’ll send me a message when you get there, right?’ Courtney asked. It was probably more of an order than a request. They were at the station. It was time for Kyle to leave.

‘I certainly will,’ Kyle replied.

‘How long is the flight?’ Melissa asked.

‘About three days.’

Melissa’s eyes widened. ‘It only took a bit over a day to fly from Avorna and I thought that was tiring.’

‘Beherbergen’s further out. Plus there are the flight-time regulations. The ASF sticks to commercial rules unless they’ve got a solid reason to break them. If you’re flying long distance, you have to take a four-hour break after every eight jumps. If memory serves, it’s fourteen jumps from here to Beherbergen. Plus, it takes about a day to get from the legal jump limits at each end.’

‘Huh, yeah. We spent more time flying in normal space than making jumps.’

Grinning, Kyle turned to Courtney. ‘There’s about a five-and-a-half-hour difference between the clocks here and there. Beherbergen is five hours and twenty-five minutes ahead. Keep that in mind if you want to call.’

‘The day lengths are about the same though, aren’t they?’ Courtney asked.

‘Yeah. That’s not a problem. The year there is only three hundred and fourteen days, but the days match up pretty well with Shinden’s.’

‘That’s something.’ Courtney paused. ‘You will try to stay safe, won’t you?’

‘As safe as I can. I need to be going…’

Courtney glanced at the train car waiting to take her boyfriend away for a year. ‘I know.’ Then she was wrapping herself around Kyle, attempting, it seemed, to give him a kiss which would keep him warm until he got to his destination.

‘She is going to let him go, right?’ Nava asked.

Mitsuko considered her answer briefly. ‘Not by choice. No.’

236/8/5.

‘Well,’ Mitsuko said, stretching languorously, ‘this is certainly a fine way to close out the first day of the summer holiday.’

‘I can’t immediately think of a better one,’ Nava replied. ‘Maybe if we also had cake.’

‘Cake would be an interesting addition. I think it might get messy.’

‘That’s a possibility. Is messy bad?’

‘Well… It depends, I suppose.’

Melissa said nothing. She was lying on Mitsuko’s bed, panting. At midnight, she would be turning seventeen and Mitsuko had insisted they have one last threesome before she became off-limits. They had been at it for ninety minutes. Melissa was not entirely sure she would survive to see her birthday.

‘You did set an alarm, right?’ Mitsuko asked.

Nava nodded. ‘We get a five-minute warning. I am head of the SSF now, I can’t really go around breaking the law.’

‘How long do we have?’

Leaning across to the bedside table, Nava checked the time on her ketcom. ‘Twenty-seven minutes.’

Mitsuko considered briefly. ‘Hm. I suppose it’s really time to start wrapping things up. Shall we carry her to the shower?’ Melissa let out a whimper.

‘Probably for the best,’ Nava agreed. ‘I’m feeling a little sticky myself. We can get her clean and then put her to bed. And tomorrow, we can hand her over to Naomi.’

Melissa let out another whimper, though it sounded like more of an intrigued whisper.

‘I’m not entirely sure I want to give her up,’ Mitsuko countered.

‘Short of chaining her up in the basement, I don’t think that’s an option.’

‘We don’t have a basement.’

‘There’s that plan out the window.’

236/8/6.

‘Happy birthday, Melissa!’ It was a chorus. The table at Le Jardin Magique was pretty full, what with Naomi added to the regular members of the house. The toast was drunk with three out of the five drinking alcoholic drinks; Nava and Mitsuko had insisted that the others not be constrained, given that it was Melissa’s first chance to try alcohol. Legally anyway; no one was mentioning the night in Mitsuko’s apartment after Melissa had broken up with Rochester. Rochester had been invited to the meal, but he had declined, probably because Melissa had a new boyfriend.

‘Does being an adult feel any different?’ Nava asked. ‘I’m curious about what I should expect.’

‘Not really…’ Melissa looked thoughtful for a few seconds. ‘Technically, you’re an adult anyway. Sort of. I mean, if you were still working on old years, you’d be… nineteen?’

‘I haven’t bothered to work it out, but that sounds right. Unfortunately, the legal categories use Shinden, i.e. Alliance, years. Hence, I’m not even seventeen until November.’

‘Better than for me,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I won’t be seventeen until January.’

‘And aren’t we all going to suffer from your deprivation for those two months,’ Courtney said.

‘It’ll be hell,’ Melissa agreed, nodding.

‘You two won’t have her being an evil temptress the whole time,’ Nava said. Then, since Mitsuko was starting to glow, she changed the subject. ‘How is active duty in the ASF, Naomi?’

‘Relatively inactive,’ Naomi replied. ‘Useful in this instance since it was easy for me to get the evening off to visit. They seem to be unsure what to do with me. I’m riding a desk while they decide on diplomatic security or further training in strategy.’

‘Grooming you for higher rank?’ Courtney asked.

‘Mm. I believe I’d prefer the Diplomatic Protection Unit. Going back to school for another couple of years is not what I joined up for.’

‘You’d make a great bodyguard,’ Melissa said. ‘No one would be willing to attack someone you were guarding.’

‘I think that would result in a rather boring life.’

‘Boring is better than riddled with bullets,’ Nava suggested.

‘You have a point.’ Naomi looked across the table at Nava, narrowing his eyes. ‘What do you intend to do when you finally join the ASF, Nava?’

‘Oh, that’s more or less decided. I’ll be joining the Intelligence Response Directorate. What I’ll be doing there, I don’t yet know, but that’s where I’ll be.’

‘The ASF’s spy branch,’ Melissa said. She grinned, but it was a commonly held belief that the IRD were spies.

‘Intelligence gathering,’ Nava replied. ‘It’s not the same thing. Or that’s what I’m told. Besides, they do other things. For example, they act on the intelligence gathered where appropriate, which makes them more like special forces, and they act as a bridge between divisions of the ASF and outside agents to facilitate the communication of information.’

‘You sound like a recruitment post on the info-net,’ Courtney said.

‘I may have had that lecture from a number of people since I came to the Clan Worlds. Anyway, you’ve met Fawn Tyrell. Can you see her as a spy, Mel?’

Mel looked a little perplexed as well as thoughtful. ‘Well, maybe. I’m trying to imagine her in shades… That works. And the uniform’s already black, but maybe a suit… Oh, she’d need a good tailor or her bust would be bursting out all over. Okay, you got me. No, I can’t imagine Fawn as a spy.’

‘But that’s exactly what a spy would want you to think,’ Courtney said.

‘Oh! I hadn’t thought of that…’

236/8/7.

‘So?’ Mitsuko asked as she prepared coffee in the kitchen. ‘How was he?’

Melissa blushed. A lot. They were up quite early so that Naomi could get back to Alliance City in time. She had, in fact, been up even earlier since she wanted a shower – with Naomi – before he left. ‘He was a bit too much of a gentleman at first, but we got over that.’

‘It sounded as though you were having fun,’ Nava commented. ‘Until around one in the morning, I think.’

‘Sounds about right.’ Melissa could not have got much redder. There were limits to how embarrassed she was going to get about something she had enjoyed, a lot. ‘He’s big. I mean, everything’s in proportion, you know? I wasn’t sure it would go in… It did. And he’s not as green as Chess was that first time. Neither am I, of course. All in all, I think my first time as an adult was a screaming success.’

‘So we heard,’ Nava said.

‘And I’d appreciate it if we stopped talking about it now so my cheeks can return to a normal colour before he comes in.’

‘What’s keeping him?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘He got a message just as we were going to come out. It was from the ASF, so he wanted to check it in case it meant a change of plans.’

On cue, Naomi came through the kitchen door. He was a man who rarely showed emotion. He was not quite like Nava – who had to try to get herself to do something as simple as smiling – but he was what one might describe as taciturn. Normally. Right now, his face was exhibiting signs of not knowing what emotion to show. There was a hint of anger in his eyes, wrinkles of worry on his brow, and a definite indication of frustration about him in general.

‘You do not look like a man who just got laid, Naomi,’ Nava said. ‘I assume your message was bad news.’

‘You could say that,’ Naomi replied. His gaze moved from Nava to Courtney. ‘You could say it is far worse than that…’

~~~

‘To recap with more detail than Naomi was supplied with,’ Nava said, ‘while on a reconnaissance operation outside of the clan-controlled lands on Beherbergen, Kyle was apparently ambushed by an unknown force. It’s believed he was taken prisoner along with another officer. We can posit with strong evidence that his captors are Befreit Beherbergen.’

‘You got this from Fawn?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘Yes. She was most forthcoming for reasons I’ll get to.’

‘And she’s sure he’s not…’ Courtney asked, unable to say the final word.

‘The House clan sent out a search party after the unit missed two check-in calls,’ Nava replied. ‘They found bodies. However, Kyle and First Lieutenant Kory Greyling Sonkei were missing.’ She paused. ‘There’s no guarantee, but the current assumption is that they were captured for interrogation or use as hostages.’

‘Okay.’

‘A Greyling was also taken?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘And so I called Rhianna after I was finished with the first lieutenant,’ Nava said. ‘Obviously, the Greylings were already aware of the situation. First Lieutenant Kory Greyling was on Beherbergen as part of a joint operation between the IRD and the Greylings. After the attack in Alliance City last year, Befreit Beherbergen have become a hot topic for investigation. Especially their connection with the Redwing Faction. It appears that the recon op was requested by the House clan based on information gathered by their militia. However, it fitted with the task of information gathering First Lieutenant Kory Greyling was sent there for.’

‘Okay,’ Courtney said, ‘but what are they doing about it?’

‘The House militia are conducting searches in the area. The ASF have people embedded in the militia and are conducting detailed scans from orbit to attempt to locate potential sites where the prisoners are being held. A rescue operation is being planned, but the ASF are constrained in what they can do. Politics.’

‘That’s–’

‘The Greylings are not so constrained. Rhianna and Nobuyuki will be leaving tonight to investigate and mount a rescue. I requested that I join them, and Rhianna accepted. With no indication that she had to think about it.’

‘I want–’ Courtney began.

‘Your place on the trip is already arranged. Rhianna did not appear to think about that either.’

‘I think I could be useful,’ Mitsuko said. ‘This is another clan member we’re talking about in addition to a close friend.’

‘You’ll need support,’ Melissa said.

‘And reconnaissance,’ Rochester added.

‘Chess!’ Hoshi exclaimed. Nava had asked Rochester to come to the meeting and Hoshi had tagged along after hearing what the issue was. Kyle was not a close friend, but she was still worried. Now she had something else to worry about.

‘Are you both sure?’ Nava asked.

‘Yes,’ Melissa said.

‘No,’ Rochester said, ‘but I’m going if you’ll have me.’

Nava gave a nod. ‘Hoshi, we’ll do our best to keep both of them safe. Frankly, they’re both too useful to leave out. We’re doing this fast and there’s not much time to prepare. I’ll inform Rhianna that we’re all going. Be ready to leave by four p.m.’

‘Do we need to bring our combat gear?’ Courtney asked.

‘No. You’ll be supplied with military-grade suits. You won’t have time to fully familiarise yourselves with them, but they’re not different enough to the civilian versions that you’ll have any problems. If you have personal weapons you want to bring, bring them. If not, spell carbines and spare cells will be issued.’

‘I think you’re the only one with personal sidearms,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Perhaps. I will be bringing my three-oh-ones. It should be interesting to see how they perform in actual combat. You have about ninety minutes to prepare in whatever way you need to. Be on the helipad at four.’

~~~

‘The Greyling family thanks you for your assistance in this matter,’ Rhianna said as the shuttle which had come to pick them up powered its way into the upper atmosphere. She was standing at the front of the passenger seating compartment and the ship was currently accelerating at two gravities; artificial gravity and inertial compensation thanks to sorcery meant you could barely tell the craft was moving.

‘I thank the Greyling family for this opportunity to get my boyfriend back,’ Courtney replied.

‘We’re all here because Kyle is our friend,’ Mitsuko pointed out.

‘We’re aware of that,’ Rhianna said, ‘but thanks anyway. Of course, your father may ostracise the entire family if we get you killed so… swings and roundabouts.’

‘I don’t think he’d do that.’

‘Did you tell your parents you were coming on this mission?’

‘Strangely, I didn’t have time before we left.’

‘What a thing.’ Rhianna grinned and went on. ‘It’ll take us a short time to meet up with the Yosozume and then we’ll have a few things to do before we can get moving. The plan is to leave at seventeen hundred. We have clearance to break orbit in that slot. Then we’ll be making all speed for Beherbergen. That means sixteen hours at two gravities, a straight jump to the Beherbergen system, and another sixteen hours of acceleration at the other end. We should arrive at oh-five hundred Shinden time, which is ten twenty-five local. We’ll head straight down to the planet when we arrive.’

‘Sixteen hours at twice normal gravity?’ Melissa asked. ‘There’s no compensation?’

‘Afraid not. Not on the Yosozume. There’s no gravity either, until we start accelerating. You should be able to move around. If you take it slowly, anyway. Best thing to do is try to get a little sleep. We’ll all be able to use the better cabins and the beds are really very comfortable.’

‘You’re doing over a hundred and sixty light years in a single jump,’ Rochester commented. ‘You must have a very good navigator.’

Rhianna smiled. ‘Yes, well, we are the Greylings.’

Yosozume Armed Courier, Shinden Orbit.

Rochester was not a happy man. It had started as he floated down the docking tube from the shuttle. ‘Oh… Oh, that’s not good.’ He had muttered it but Melissa, who was just in front of him, heard.

‘You okay, Chess?’ Melissa asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

‘Space adaptation syndrome. I’m feeling…’

‘Green? You look green. I think your skin has actually changed colour.’

‘We’ll get you straight to your cabin,’ Rhianna said. ‘There’ll be medication there. It should help. Some.’

‘It can affect anyone,’ Nobuyuki said. It was not like the man to give comfort, so maybe he had been afflicted once. ‘Well, except possibly Nava.’

‘I get motion sickness,’ Nava said. ‘I just don’t get it very often. Once, in fact.’

‘What were you doing?’

‘They were putting me through multiple rapid acceleration changes to see what I could take. I vomited all over one of the instructors. He accused me of aiming at him.’

‘Did you?’ Rhianna asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Could we not discuss vomit right now?’ Rochester asked.

‘Sorry, Chess,’ Nava said, though the flat delivery did not necessarily suggest she was.

The vessel they had seen through the shuttle’s viewscreens was clearly quite capable of landing on a planet. It was a slick, streamlined dart with sweptback wings, maybe a hundred and fifty metres in length. It was visibly armed, but then it was classed as an armed courier. Point defence weaponry ran in rows across its back and underside. There were indications of missile launchers at the front and definitely a large gun barrel of some sort. And yet the accommodation was far from what one might expect on a military vessel.

It was not immediately obvious that the floors were essentially on their sides, but you figured it out fairly quickly because each floor occupied relatively little space. How this worked when the ship landed was an open question, but it was clearly arranged so that when the ship accelerated, passengers felt it as gravity pushing them into the decks. Everyone was getting a room to themselves. Well, Nava was sharing with Mitsuko, and Rhianna was apparently in with Nobuyuki, but the others had rooms to themselves. And the rooms were well appointed. Double beds, en-suite bathrooms, a full entertainment system, and a desk you could use for whatever you might need a desk for, plus two acceleration couches with straps to hold you down in microgravity.

Nava ignored the seats and floated over to the bed. ‘I think I’ll enjoy this more lying down.’

‘It’s a shame we don’t have much time,’ Mitsuko commented as she positioned herself beside Nava, hovering twenty or thirty centimetres above the sheets.

‘Never done it in microgravity?’

‘You’re aware of my entire sexual history.’

‘Good point. I don’t think it’s as exciting as it sounds. And I think sex in two gravities would probably require lifting gear.’

‘Hm. I hope Chess is going to be okay.’

‘He’s not that unfit and the nausea medication will help. Plus, he’ll probably be lying down too.’

‘Right.’

‘Attention.’ The voice came from hidden speakers and was male. ‘Acceleration in ten minutes. Will all crew and passengers secure their belongings and prepare for two gravities.’

Nava lifted her head a little to check the case with her armour in it was in a suitable position. It was. ‘I guess we just float here until someone loads sixty kilos onto our chests.’

‘I don’t weigh sixty kilos. I’ll have you know I’m only fifty-eight.’

‘That is because you’re a beanpole. You could do with putting on a bit of muscle.’

‘And ruin my smooth lines? No way.’

‘Smooth lines. Right. Your waist size is only a centimetre less than mine.’

Mitsuko gave a sniff. ‘My hips are four centimetres smaller than yours.’

‘So, you have boyish hips.’

That got a gasp. ‘I can’t believe you just said that! I am not going to speak to you for the rest of the trip.’

‘Mm.’

About ten minutes later, when their own body weight was pressing down on their chests and forcing their bodies into the quite firm mattress, Mitsuko said, ‘Sixteen hours of this is going to make me very tired.’

‘I thought you weren’t speaking to me,’ Nava replied.

‘I’m not. My thoughts are being forced out of my head.’

‘It’s not that bad. I’m going to get up and take a walk in a bit.’

‘You,’ Mitsuko said, ‘are nuts.’

‘It’s going to be a slow walk…’

~~~

Climbing down to the engineering section was a chore. Two gravities made everything harder. Climbing back up was probably going to be worse. On the other hand, going down to engineering felt right. It was really the rear subsection of the ship, sealed away behind a heavy bulkhead, but the acceleration made it feel like you were going down into the bowels of the vessel which was really where the engines should be.

Bowels or not, the Yosozume’s engine room was as clean and tidy as the rest of the ship. Nava had half expected to be turned away at the bulkhead hatch, but her ketcom opened the door without trouble and she climbed the ladder down onto the first engineering deck to find a world of polished metal and clean plastic. There were also people, most of them seated in gimballed workstations which allowed them to ignore any changes in the orientation of the ship. Nava had never seen the engines of a sorcery-based spaceship before – which was why she had gone to look – and she had been entirely unsure what to expect. What she was seeing looked like the engineering in any other large vessel, or a power station, or maybe even a chemical plant. There were a lot of cables connecting sealed units and not a lot of signage to indicate what was what.

‘You’re Nava, right?’

Nava turned to find herself looking at one crew member who was not at a station. A tall, slim woman wearing blue coveralls, she had a monocle display over her left eye and the air of someone with authority. Brown hair and hazel eyes and the general look of European ancestry. Her skin was paler than was typical for Shinden residents.

‘I’m Nava, yes.’

‘Gretchen Greyling Sonkei, chief engineer.’

‘Good… afternoon probably, Chief Engineer.’

‘Gretchen,’ Gretchen corrected. ‘Even the captain only goes by Captain when he’s talking to people outside the ship. Never seen engines before?’

‘Was I that obvious? No, I’ve never had the chance to get into a spaceship’s engine room. I think I could have persuaded one of my friends to come too, but he’s still feeling woozy.’

‘Space sickness sucks. Have you got any clue about what you’re looking at?’

‘Honestly, no.’

Gretchen pointed upward at what appeared to be a solid wall with various cables emerging from it at various points. ‘Up there, well, behind there really, is the reactor and the quintessence aggregator. They need to be tied pretty closely together on these compression-type fusion units, but then the excess quintessence powers pretty much all the other sorcery-based systems on the ship.’

‘Okay.’ Nava knew the basic principles of most of the engineering, if not the details. Compression-type reactors used telekinesis generators to create the intense pressures required for efficient nuclear fusion. They also used barrier technologies to help screen everything outside the reactor from the radiation the reactor generated, and energy-transformation sorcery to improve the efficiency of the heat-to-electricity conversion. Traditional reactors used heat to pressurise water which drove turbines; sorcerous reactors worked more like magic thermocouples. ‘So it’s not a great idea to go in there?’

‘Well, it’s actually pretty safe, so long as you limit your time. The barriers block most of the radiation, but the wall’s there for what gets through and in case of a reactor breach. It’s the high-speed neutrons that really cause the trouble. We use a helium-three reaction, so there are plenty of neutrons. Basically, if they weren’t contained, they’d irradiate the entire ship. They still put a limit on the lifetime of the reactor before it has to be entirely overhauled.’

‘Mm. What about the jump and manoeuvring engines?’

Gretchen gave her a grin and waved a beckoning hand. ‘Come with me.’

They went down a deck to where the jump drive was located. This turned out to be a pair of semi-circular projectors with cables connecting the two together through a central synchronisation unit about the size of a family car. There was not much to see, really, but what was there was big and impressive.

‘Of course, it’s basically a big teleportation device,’ Gretchen said. ‘The really clever bits are getting the two field projectors to work together, it gets really messy if they don’t, and making sure that the whole ship and its contents are covered by the field.’

‘It gets messy if they aren’t?’

‘Right. It’s not a good idea to leave the forward section here and send the rest a hundred light years away. It means the schema the drive implements is a bit more complex than a typical teleportation-type spell. Plus, most people aren’t capable of teleporting across interstellar distances. You can only do it with mechanical assistance, both the physical movement and the specification of the target coordinates. Not that I do the latter. If needed, I can make a jump, but the navigation isn’t something I’m trained in.’

Nava nodded. Even nodding felt a bit weird when her head was twice as heavy as normal. ‘And the main engines are based around telekinetic sorcery?’

‘Correct. Physics says it’s not possible, but physics says that a lot when it comes to sorcery. The engines in the ship push on the ship to move it forward. Shouldn’t work. It’s like flying by grabbing your feet and pulling.’

Nava gave a shrug. ‘My metaphysics isn’t quite good enough to explain it. Chess might be able to. He’s the one I said was too sick to come down here.’

‘Metaphysics nerd?’

‘I wouldn’t call him that to his face… He’s aiming to go into academic research when he graduates.’

Gretchen gave Nava a quizzical frown. ‘Then, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s he doing here? You’re going to end up in combat. Nerds don’t usually do well in combat.’

Nava gave another shrug. ‘He volunteered. Also, he’s been in combat a couple of times now and he doesn’t flinch. He’s good at recon. Frankly, with him along, we can gather information without putting any of us at risk. And I trust him.’

‘Huh. Well, there’s no better reason than that.’

236/8/8.

They were in microgravity again. There had been a short time about eight hours ago when the Yosozume had stopped accelerating to turn around and start decelerating when they had been floating, but this was going to be around thirty minutes of hanging on to things to keep from drifting away from a solid surface.

That was the theory. Nava, Melissa, and Nobuyuki were flouting the dictates of zero-G movement by using Flight spells to glide around the ship with ease. Rhianna had done free-fall training and was managing to get around just fine without sorcery. Everyone else was hugging the scenery. At least Rochester was looking less green.

‘Did any of you get any sleep?’ he asked as he watched Nava gliding around the communal area outside his cabin.

‘I managed a few hours,’ Nava replied. ‘It’s not easy with someone sitting on your chest.’

‘Tell Suki to get off then,’ Melissa suggested.

‘Ha ha,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Much as I might like the idea, I have not been anywhere near Nava’s chest. You’ve all been through a jump before, right? What’s it like?’

‘It’s the same as teleporting,’ Nava replied. ‘Which, thinking about it, isn’t a good analogy.’

‘I think you’re the only one here who’s done that, Nava,’ Courtney said.

‘Untrue,’ Rhianna said. ‘Nobo can teleport. Best lockpick ever.’

‘It has its uses,’ Nobuyuki agreed. ‘Nava is right, however. Being aboard a ship during jump is not very different to using Teleport on yourself.’

‘That makes sense,’ Rochester said. ‘Jump drives are basically teleportation engines.’

‘You might experience some disorientation immediately after we jump,’ Rhianna said, ‘but it’s usually not that bad.’

‘There’s a sort of… discontinuity,’ Rochester said. ‘I’m not sure I can explain it properly, but you know when it’s happened.’

‘Like there’s a tiny sliver of time gone missing,’ Melissa said.

‘You’re right,’ Nava said. ‘I don’t notice that when I teleport myself.’

‘Because the process takes a little longer when the spell has to ensure that everything jumps together,’ Rhianna said.

‘Okay,’ Mitsuko said, ‘so there’ll be a slight discontinuity followed by some disorientation.’

‘Possible disorientation,’ Nava corrected. ‘Not everyone has problems every time.’

‘Jump in thirty seconds,’ said the voice from the speakers.

‘Here we go,’ Rhianna said. ‘A hundred and thirty-four light years in the blink of an eye.’

A few seconds later, Nava blinked. Or it felt like it. Like the universe had skipped a beat and she had had her eyes closed when it happened. She turned her head to look at Rochester. He was looking a little weird, like his equilibrium was off, but so were Mitsuko and Courtney.

‘I’ve never really liked jumps,’ Courtney commented after shaking her head.

‘I may decide to agree with you,’ Mitsuko said.

‘We have arrived in the Beherbergen system,’ the man on the speakers said. ‘Acceleration starts in five minutes.’

‘Back to lying down then,’ Rochester said.

‘That sounds like a plan,’ Nava replied, heading for the access hatch to her level. ‘Next stop, Beherbergen. And then the fun starts.’

Hausman City, Beherbergen, Hausman’s Stars, 236/8/9.

Hausman’s Stars, the system where Beherbergen was located, was a binary system. A K2 star orbited some eight astronomical units away from the primary G8 star. Beherbergen was the fourth planet out from the G8. It was quite a yellow sun compared to Shinden’s. It also looked bigger because Beherbergen’s orbit was closer. Right now, Shinden was actually a bit hotter than Beherbergen was, but Beherbergen stayed warmer while Shinden’s eccentric orbit made for greater variation in temperature.

There was also the atmosphere. Compared to old Earth, Shinden’s atmosphere was a little less than twenty percent higher in pressure. It was within tolerable limits for humans, except in some very low-lying regions. Beherbergen’s atmosphere was over forty percent denser. You could breathe the stuff, but you would not want to unless you had to. The residents of Beherbergen – Kyle included – had been genetically modified to allow them to handle higher air pressure without discomfort. For visitors, the only solutions were to grin and bear it or wear a pressure suit.

Or, as the planet’s latest visitors from the Alliance capital were doing, you could ask Nava to cast a Pressure Support spell on you. She could do it as a cantrip and it lasted for five hours before it needed to be renewed. As the team emerged from the shuttle’s airlock, the men waiting for them looked a little surprised that no one seemed to be having trouble breathing.

One of their greeters had more brass on his uniform than the others. He took stock of his visitors and then picked the wrong one to talk to. He saluted Nobuyuki. ‘Oberstleutnant Stefan Sieger House, head of the Befreit Beherbergen Response Unit, at your service.’

‘Good morning, Oberstleutnant,’ Rhianna said, a smile on her face. ‘I’m Rhianna Greyling Sonkei. You’ll primarily be talking to me.’

‘Ah. Apologies.’ Despite his name, there was no sign of an accent in his speech. Most of the House clan spoke both English and German fluently, and Kyle had once said that the German accent had largely faded across the entire planet, even for those who spoke no English. What you got was a Beherbergen accent, which was something not quite like typical English or German accents. Stefan, however, did not even show that. ‘We have prepared pressure-controlled quarters for you. If you’ll follow me, I’m sure you’d like to rest after–’

‘The pressure isn’t a problem, we’re all magicians. If you could get one of your men to show some of my companions to those quarters for now, the rest of us would like to hear an update on the current situation. We have people to extract with all speed.’

Stefan regarded Rhianna for a second. ‘If that is what you wish. There is some urgency. We believe we have pinpointed the location your people are being held, but there is a problem.’

Rhianna’s smile did not falter. ‘Just what kind of problem are we talking about, Oberstleutnant?’

~~~

The militia’s operations room was busy. There were a lot of people in sandy-brown uniforms at consoles, working feverishly, and others rushing around, apparently carrying messages by hand. It seemed rather inefficient and there was no sign of any sorcery being used in anything.

The central focus of the room was a map table. It was purely video, no use of sorcery to add a 3D element. On display currently was a map of the region where the ASF team had gone missing and, in the south-east corner, a marker showed the location the militia believed they were being held. There were a few other markers too: one showing the location the bodies were found – about ten kilometres to the north and west of the primary target – and flashing icons to show where militia squads were operating.

Nava examined the display carefully while Rhianna handled the communication with Stefan. Courtney was along too; no one had tried to stop her despite what she might hear. The area on the map seemed to be relatively undeveloped, except in that south-east corner where there were a number of buildings, probably a small town. Beherbergen had a total population of around ten million and a little more than half of those lived on clan lands. There was a lot of empty space on the planet.

‘Would you mind explaining why you believe the two officers are being held here?’ Rhianna asked the Oberstleutnant.

‘Intercepted communications,’ Stefan replied. ‘Our scouts detected radio transmissions coming from a disused factory complex. We knew nothing about this location prior to our searches for the missing soldiers. We believe it’s been set up recently and it’s a major Befreit Beherbergen camp. They’re up to something. Unfortunately, we can’t decrypt all of the methods they use to secure their communications, but we have deciphered some low-priority messages and found references to prisoners. Two prisoners. It appears they are considering moving them to another location in the near future.’

‘Then we need to go in and get them before they do,’ Courtney said. Rhianna glanced at her and she quickly went back to examining the map.

‘My colleague does seem to have a point, Oberstleutnant,’ Rhianna said.

‘Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that,’ Stefan said.

‘I’m not sure I see why not.’

‘We don’t have the people trained in special ops to go in without being spotted. We believe there could be up to two thousand Befreit troops there and anything we try could turn into a siege. The hostages would be unlikely to survive something like that.’

Rhianna nodded. Beside her, Nava expanded the map display to show more detail of the target site. ‘We do have a team capable of performing an undercover extraction,’ Rhianna said. ‘We can be in and out before they even know we’re there.’

‘I’m afraid that won’t be possible. A decision has been made to eliminate the threat this base poses. We’ll be enacting the clan’s decision at twenty-one hundred tonight.’

Rhianna frowned. ‘If you’re not going to go raid the place, how do you plan to eliminate anything?’

‘A high-yield thermobaric device will be delivered by guided missile.’

Courtney froze, which was probably for the best.

‘What about the people living in the houses around this factory?’ Nava asked.

‘The town has been deserted for years,’ Stefan replied. ‘We expect no collateral damage.’

‘Aside from the two ASF officers.’

‘They’re soldiers. They know the risks.’ Nava turned to put a hand on Courtney’s shoulder. The ex-SSF captain was looking murderous. ‘If we’re lucky,’ Stefan went on, ‘they’ll be moved prior to the strike. We’re keeping the area under constant surveillance. Anyone who leaves will be tracked. It’s possible that this single operation could break the back of Befreit entirely.’

‘You’re going at nine tonight,’ Rhianna said. ‘That gives us time to go in and get the prisoners out. We’re ready to move. We can have our extraction team in position in less than an hour.’

‘I’m afraid I can’t agree to an operation like that. If they know we’re coming–’

‘I think you underestimate the Greyling family’s capabilities, Oberstleutnant.’

‘I think you are underestimating Befreit’s capabilities, Rhianna Greyling.’

‘We’re not,’ Nava replied before Rhianna could. ‘I’m quite aware of their ability to resist intrusion by a skilled magician and Rhianna has read all of the reports on my experience with them. I note that none of your staff use sorcery. Perhaps you are also unaware of what a well-trained magician can do, Oberstleutnant Stefan Sieger.’

‘I’m sorry, you are?’

‘Second Lieutenant Nava Greyling Sonkei, ASF Intelligence Response Directorate.’

There was a slight pause while Stefan’s brain caught up with what she had said. ‘You’re not in uniform.’

Nava was, in fact, in casual clothes; there was no reason to associate the school with this operation. ‘I’m here as a member of the Greyling family, not as an ASF officer. I only mention it now so that you know that I do know what I’m talking about. I was involved with the resolution of Free Beherbergen’s attack on the conference in Alliance City last year. Almost our entire team were, in fact, at that incident.’

Stefan’s jaw tightened; he was annoyed, though about what Nava could not tell. ‘I see,’ was all he said.

‘We’re quite capable, Oberstleutnant,’ Rhianna said, smiling. ‘I’m quite sure we can come to some form of arrangement which gets everyone what they want. Except Befreit Beherbergen, of course. Let’s talk about it further…’

Graugebiete Region.

In the end, Stefan had said he would have to contact his superiors and Rhianna had short-circuited that by calling someone high up in the clan. Whatever the House clan believed concerning the need to eliminate the Befreit Beherbergen base, they could not afford poor relations with the Sonkei clan. Stefan had received orders to allow the Greyling team to attempt a rescue at the earliest opportunity. They were not, however, calling off the missile strike.

Now, not long after midday, the rescue team was making its way on foot toward the town where their target was located. A stealth dropship had been called down from the Yosozume to transport them out to five kilometres from their destination. The ship was a fully armed vessel designed for mounting assaults from orbit. It could carry up to twenty-four troops in comfort – or as much comfort as military vessels usually supplied – along with three tons of gear, and provide ground suppression and point defence support when it got there. It was overkill for what they were doing here, but it could get them to their landing zone without being spotted. Stealth was important on this job.

Their personal gear helped. Everyone was in military-grade combat suits. The chameleon surface of the suits adapted to their surroundings and made it tough to spot them moving through the rather blighted landscape. Everyone except Nobuyuki was wearing such a suit; the resident ninja was actually dressed in what would best be described as a ninja suit. It was a bit more high-tech than the outfits worn by ancient shinobi; Nobuyuki could change the colour manually to suit different situations. Right now, he had the cloth set to a sickly, rather unpleasant beige shade which did do a good job of concealing him.

The region was known as Graugebiete. Apparently, that translated as something like ‘grey areas.’ That was supposed to be a reference to it being contested land early in the colony’s existence, but it fitted the landscape well too. Everything was a subdued beige with hints of grey rock showing through here and there. They had landed among low hills, but the land flattened out the closer they got to the town and it became a featureless wasteland dotted with grey-leaved, drought-tolerant bushes. Nava had never seen plants like them; they had to be things the Harbingers had seeded here when they had colonised the place. The few animals they spotted were of no Earthly design either. Mostly it was birds, except they appeared to be more like lizards with feather-like coats, and their wings seemed to have more joints than a typical bird and came with grasping digits. Nothing came near them though, and there seemed to be no danger.

‘I don’t suppose you’ve sensed any Harbingers?’ Melissa asked as they walked.

‘Nothing’s pinged my radar,’ Nava replied. ‘Why would they come out here? The place is nothing but scrubby bushes and bare rock. Somehow, I can’t imagine it was like this while they were here.’

‘It could have suffered some climate change since then, I guess.’

‘Mm. There’s the town.’

Visible ahead of them was a collection of fairly low structures clustered around one larger one, the factory. Even the buildings were grey. It looked like the entire place had been cast from concrete, a rapidly fabricated mill town, now deserted by those who had created it. It was maybe eight hundred metres away and, at least from this distance, there was absolutely no sign of life.

Nobuyuki signalled for them all to conceal themselves in an area of bushes – the bushes did seem to be getting denser as they went south – and then there was the discussion of how to proceed.

‘We need to know where they are,’ Nobuyuki said. He was looking at Rochester.

‘C-can we get closer?’ Rochester asked. ‘I can do it from here, but I can only project out to a hundred metres. After that, I have to move my point of view at normal speeds. That takes time and uses power.’

‘Power isn’t an issue,’ Nava said. ‘I can feed you quintessence to replenish your reserves.’

‘You can?’ Melissa asked. ‘Then why did I have to learn Gather Quintessence for Flight Club?’

‘Because,’ Nava said, ‘you should learn it anyway. Also, I can now cast Recharge Magician as a cantrip. Prior to my recent… change, I would have needed to work it from the schema every time.’

‘Oh.’

‘Putting that aside, if we cast Invisibility on everyone, we should be able to get as close as we like. The issue will be coordination. We won’t be able to see each other any more than they’ll be able to see us.’

‘You take Rochester to a suitable location and transmit your coordinates to us,’ Nobuyuki said. ‘You’ll know where you both are because you’ll hold hands. Once you’re in position, I’ll bring the others over one at a time while Rochester begins searching the factory.’

‘This is where experience trumps academic learning,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Though maybe you should’ve thought of that, Nava.’

Nava shrugged. ‘I’m not used to doing missions with other people. Chess, give me your hand.’ Chess put his hand out and Nava took it. He vanished from sight almost immediately and Nava followed a second later. ‘Let’s go see what we can see,’ Nava’s voice said out of empty air. There was the sound of footfalls, and they were gone.

‘They’ll be safe, won’t they?’ Melissa asked.

‘An invisible Nava could take on an army,’ Courtney replied.

‘Fair point. I just hope she doesn’t have to.’

Hausman City.

Rhianna had stayed behind when the others went out to get Kyle and Kory Greyling. She had things to do and she was not really an assault trooper. Rhianna was stealthy in a different way to Nobuyuki; she specialised in persuasion, social manipulation, and more conventional espionage.

She was not at all bad at computer intrusion techniques either. Right now, she was employing those skills to crack the militia’s secure servers and get at the intelligence they had on the Befreit Beherbergen base Nobuyuki and the others were invading.

Something smelled off about the entire situation. She had got the feeling that Oberstleutnant Stefan Sieger was not telling them the whole truth. It was almost as if he did not want the two ASF officers to be rescued. It seemed likely that someone had done something stupid and/or incompetent and this was all the House clan’s military trying to cover it up. But it was possibly something worse. If there was something nastier than soldiers covering their behinds going on here, Rhianna wanted to know what it was sooner rather than later.

Deserted Town, Graugebiete Region.

Nava had come to the conclusion that Rochester needed to work on expanding his quintessence reserve. Normally he would extend his viewing time by using his body’s energy to gather the required quintessence once his reserve was spent and he could go about ten minutes without resting on that basis. However, Recharge Magician could only refill his reserve, so Nava was having to cast the spell about every four minutes to keep him going. Melissa had more than twice that available and she was hardly over-endowed in the reserve department.

They had been going for ten minutes now and Courtney had just arrived with Nobuyuki. He had deactivated her Invisibility spell and then set off for the next person. Courtney was, of course, impatient.

‘Has he found them yet?’ Courtney asked as soon as Nobuyuki was gone.

‘He hasn’t said anything,’ Nava replied. She looked out of the window and across at the factory. There was still no sign of life in the place. It was starting to worry her.

She had set up in a house no more than thirty metres north of the factory. The building was intact but entirely empty. The windows were still whole, which probably indicated the exodus had not happened too long ago, but there was dust everywhere and no real indications that anyone had ever lived in the place.

‘I wonder where they’re hidden?’ Courtney asked, following Nava’s gaze.

‘No, I mean he hasn’t said anything at all. He usually gives a commentary on things as he spots them, but all he’s done since we started is tell me when he’s getting low on power.’

Courtney frowned. ‘That seems… odd.’ Her frown deepened. ‘He can’t hear us either, so there’s no point in interrupting him.’

‘None at all. He’ll give us something when he has it.’

And, three seconds later, Rochester turned and looked at them. ‘Oh, Courtney, you’re here.’

‘Did you find him?’ Courtney asked immediately.

‘I’ve found nothing.’

‘What? Maybe they’re underground. Is there a base–’

‘No,’ Rochester said firmly. ‘You’re not grasping my meaning. I’ve found nothing. There’s no one there at all. The building is empty. If it’s a factory, they even stripped the machinery out of it when they left. There’s no basement, just two floors of empty space with a few offices on the upper floor.’

‘But they detected radio signals from the place. And they’ve been watching. They’d have seen if everyone left.’

‘It’s something of a puzzle,’ Rochester said in a tone which suggested agreement.

‘Check the roof,’ Nava said. She reached out and refilled his reserve, just in case it took a while.

‘The roof?’ he asked.

‘Yes. See what you can see on the roof.’

‘As you wish.’ Turning, he fixed his gaze on the edge of the roof across the road. His eyes went blank and his body became still.

‘What are you thinking?’ Courtney asked. She sounded a tiny bit desperate.

‘It’s a decoy of some kind. If radio signals are being detected, then there has to be a transmitter somewhere and the roof seems a likely place. Now, if we’re lucky, what they’ve done is put their communications hub here so that their real base isn’t so easy to pinpoint.’

‘And they’d have to have some sort of link, something hard to detect, connecting them to the satellite site here.’

‘There’s some sort of transmission system here,’ Rochester said, though his senses remained on the factory roof.

‘Yes,’ Nava said, though it could have been a response to Rochester or an answer to Courtney. ‘Now, if only they’ve got something we can follow…’

‘I think part of it is a laser comms system,’ Rochester said. ‘Must be infrared or something because I can’t see a beam. It’s pointing… south-west.’

‘If we can get up there,’ Courtney said, ‘we can take a proper bearing. They might have it rigged with sensors though…’

‘I’m going to check to see whether it’s got any alarms or sensors,’ Rochester said. ‘If we can get someone up on the roof, we can take a proper bearing for the laser.’

Courtney looked at Nava and grinned. ‘It’s almost like he can hear us.’

‘I think he’s just smart enough to know what’s needed. If it’s clear, I can go over there and take a bearing with my suit. Then we just have to follow the line to wherever they’ve set up camp.’

‘Yeah. But I’m checking the map and there’s nothing for several klicks in that direction.’

Nava gave a shrug. ‘If there’s a laser communicator up there and the militia have detected radio transmissions from here, there has to be something at the other end of that laser. Hopefully, one of the things at the other end is Kyle and Kory.’

~~~

They were almost two kilometres away, following the line Nava had placed on their maps toward the laser’s target when a sound made Nava turn and look back. Nobuyuki was doing the same and it was him that said, ‘Down!’

Something streaked in from the west and slammed into the middle of the town. An instant later, a vast ball of fire was rising from the middle of the town along with a lot of dust.

‘What the hell?’ Courtney exclaimed. She dropped to the ground, Mitsuko and Melissa just behind her with Rochester a second after that.

Nava dropped to one knee and lowered her head. ‘They went early with the missile.’

‘Indeed,’ Nobuyuki said, ‘they–’ He cut off in a grunt as the pressure wave from the explosion slammed into him. At eighteen hundred metres, it was still enough to hit like a hammer. ‘That hurt,’ he commented, rolling onto his back and then to his knees. ‘Are the rest of you okay?’

‘We’re in high-tech armour,’ Nava pointed out. ‘Sealed armour. How badly did it hit you?’

‘I’m bruised.’

‘Better than the town,’ Mitsuko said. There was still a mushroom cloud of smoke and debris rising from the impact site. Smoke was rising in a couple of locations where the missile had caused fires.

‘Still,’ Nava said, ‘we want you fit to do your job.’ She did not even raise a hand toward him, but a second later his body was relaxing as the pain he had been concealing evaporated.

Nobuyuki bowed his head to Nava. ‘My thanks. That would have impaired my efficiency.’ Reaching into his jacket, he produced a ketcom and rolled out the screen. ‘I’ll inform Rhianna that we’re not dead.’

‘Do we want to do that?’ Courtney asked. ‘If someone in the militia just tried to kill us–’

‘The Greylings have their ways,’ Nava said. ‘No one but Rhianna is going to know we survived until we want them to.’

‘Okay, so what do we do now?’

‘We keep going. I’m beginning to think that what we find might be very interesting indeed.’

Hausman City.

Rhianna was a fair expert at many things, but her acting was second to none. She had been quite impressed with Nava’s ability when she had assessed her at Castle Grey, but even Nava was no match for Rhianna. And if Nava was no match for her, Rhianna was quite confident that a bunch of militia hicks were not going to figure out she was faking her reaction to the news that there had been a ‘terrible accident.’

Apparently, some sort of communications failure had resulted in the missile being launched a full eight hours ahead of schedule. Satellite surveillance was showing complete destruction of the Befreit Beherbergen base and, while a platoon was being sent in to comb the ruins for survivors, it was unlikely that anyone in the town was still alive. Rhianna could believe it, but she also happened to know that Nobuyuki and the others were still kicking. Hence the need for acting.

‘There will be an investigation,’ Rhianna said. She was not shouting. She had always felt that cold fury worked better and it avoided strain on the vocal cords. ‘Whoever is responsible for this will face repercussions.’

‘Miss Rhianna Greyling,’ Stefan said, standing up straighter, almost at attention, ‘I am responsible. Whoever made this mistake, I am responsible for the actions of my men. Whatever sanctions the Sonkei clan wish to enact, I’ll be the one who suffers.’

He was not a bad actor himself. This was an effort to defuse the situation. Rhianna was supposed to back down in the face of being told to punish a man who was not directly responsible and who was clearly willing to protect his people from her wrath. Okay. ‘I… can’t ask you to do that, Oberstleutnant. Perhaps I’m overreacting a little. I’m going to return to my quarters and consider the situation.’

She had things to do and being here playing the outraged clan member was not doing them. It was somewhat necessary, but enough was enough. She was going back to her quarters, but she would not be considering anything. She was going to find out exactly how this ‘accident’ had happened, and she had a strong feeling about where that investigation was going to lead.

Graugebiete Region.

‘You know, if we’d been ten minutes slower leaving that town,’ Melissa said, ‘we’d have been in the middle of that explosion.’

‘I was actually trying not to think about that,’ Rochester replied.

‘It’s a valid point though,’ Nava said. ‘Our opponents aren’t playing games. You should remember that.’

‘They weren’t playing games in Alliance City either,’ Melissa countered. ‘We know they’ll try to kill us if they get the chance. I just think we were kind of lucky back there.’

‘Lucky, and more capable than they expected us to be.’

‘Huh?’

‘Someone estimated how long it would take us to infiltrate the factory and do a search. They didn’t count on Chess and his Sorcerer’s Eye. We didn’t need to infiltrate the building to search it and we found the radio system far faster than they expected.’

‘Oh. Well, I’m glad to think it wasn’t down to purely blind luck.’ They were marching through more horribly uninteresting Beherbergen scenery and Melissa came to a sudden stop as she saw Nobuyuki – at point, of course – raise his fist. ‘Trouble?’

‘Do you think the landscape up ahead looks a little odd?’ Nobuyuki said. He dropped to one knee, his eyes scanning the shallow valley they had just started walking into.

It looked like something carved by a small glacier. U-shaped, it was surrounded by long hills no more than fifty metres above the valley floor. It went on a long way, maybe fifteen hundred metres, and it was difficult to tell how it ended, but there seemed to be a sharp drop-off at the end. The maps suggested a plateau of some kind dropping down a couple of hundred metres onto grasslands. They were right at the edge of the Graugebiete region.

After a second, Melissa said, ‘The glacial valleys on Avorna have more rubble in them.’ Pause. ‘Oh! And they don’t have bushes half-submerged in rocks.’

Nava followed her gaze and spotted what she had seen. One of the relatively few rocks in the valley, over on one side, did seem to have the upper half of a rock sticking out of it. Now she thought about it, glacial valleys tended to have more rocky material left behind by the glacier in them. ‘Chess, why don’t you start your Sorcerer’s Eye about twenty metres ahead and go down into the valley from there. See what you can see.’

‘On it,’ Rochester responded, going still a second later. A few seconds after that, he jerked slightly. ‘It’s an illusion! Almost the whole valley is covered by an illusion. It goes down more steeply and it widens out more than you can see. It’s more of a bowl than a valley. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to conceal a camp.’

‘How big a camp?’ Courtney asked. She was not really expecting a reply just yet, but she got one.

‘I’d imagine this is a Free Beherbergen camp,’ Rochester said. ‘It’s big. There must be… There has to be something like a thousand four-man tents down there. They’ve got at least one regiment and a lot of gear.’ Rochester turned, his senses back where they should be. ‘Nava, they’re preparing something. This isn’t a training camp. I think they’re getting ready for a war.’

~~~

‘Perhaps not a war,’ Nobuyuki said, ‘but they seem to be preparing some form of major assault.’

Rochester had scouted them a way under the illusion to a spot with cover on the rim of the valley and they were now in that position, looking down upon the encampment. Valley was possibly not the right word for the hole in the side of the plateau. It looked like something huge had taken a bite out of the cliff, a semi-circular area perhaps two kilometres wide and a kilometre and a half deep. Maybe it was volcanic – Beherbergen did have some active volcanoes and had probably had more activity in the past – or the result of a meteorite impacting the plateau in the distant past. Whatever the case, it had been made to look like a shallower incline using sorcery to hide a fairly large encampment of Befreit Beherbergen troops. It was now a staging area for some kind of major operation.

‘Your estimate appears to be correct,’ Nobuyuki went on. ‘I estimate around four thousand soldiers. Of the order of eight battalions or a mid-sized regiment. Their organisation isn’t the issue, however.’ He looked out toward the mouth of the valley. ‘They have armoured vehicles and several assault tiltrotors. They appear to have modern assault weapons which they’re training in.’

‘And they have Kyle,’ Courtney said.

‘Unconfirmed, but it’s probable. It seems likely that Kory and Kyle were taken prisoner to provide information on the ASF’s operations here. We need to extract them, but we also need to get back to Hausman City with this information.’

‘We’re going to need to locate them before we can extract them,’ Nava said. ‘Searching all of that a tent at a time is an unacceptable risk. I’ll keep Chess powered while he does the search. Then we can work out the best way of dealing with this.’

Nobuyuki nodded. ‘And the rest of us will keep watch and observe. We may be able to narrow the search area if we watch how the troops we can see are moving around.’

Nava nodded back and turned to Chess. ‘You’re up again, Chess. Let’s get this started.’

Chess gave a small sigh. ‘At this rate, I’m not going to be sure where my senses are when we’re done.’

‘Easy. They’re where they need to be. Let’s go.’

~~~

It seemed like eight battalions was the right arrangement, probably under a regimental commander. The tents were, on careful inspection, arranged into eight groups of twenty rows and twenty-five columns. Befreit Beherbergen were supposed to be individualistic, but it appeared they had been organised by someone with a clear vision here. These groupings occupied the north and west sides of the valley, away from the opening.

The rest of the area was more open and being used for a variety of purposes. The vehicles had been parked up in the mouth of the valley. A few of them had mechanics working on them, but they all looked fairly new. There was a drill area where a company was engaged in unarmed combat practice, and there was a firing range where another company seemed to be familiarising themselves with their new rifles, firing into the side of the valley. They all seemed to be pretty good with a rifle. There were larger tents down there, presumably used to house supplies.

In more or less the middle of the camp were a group of harder structures than the tents that made up most of the encampment. One was actually an armoured vehicle of some sort with a lot of antennas sticking out of it. Probably a command-and-control vehicle which was in constant use and came with a lot of support gear. There was a generator and what was likely a quintessence aggregator, and what was probably generating the illusion over the valley. More communications gear sat beside the vehicle, including several laser communications devices pointed in various directions; the base was talking to a number of other sites.

Traffic in and out of the command vehicle was interesting. Certainly, there were Befreit Beherbergen soldiers going in and out, but there were also others. The others had different gear and they had a collection of tents away from the battalion groupings. They even moved differently, if you observed them for a while. The Befreit soldiers were, for want of a better word, arrogant; the others were confident.

‘Mercenaries,’ Courtney said.

‘Probably,’ Nava replied. ‘In an advisory role, I think. There are a couple of them training the people doing the unarmed combat drills.’

‘Befreit have become serious enough to get help from outside,’ Nobuyuki said. ‘They’ve always viewed outside help as unnecessary before, even distasteful. This is not good.’

‘Could they be Redwing Faction?’ Melissa asked. ‘The Redwing Faction helped them in Alliance City, right?’

‘They did,’ Nava said, ‘but I don’t think this lot belong to them. If they’re involved, I suspect they’ve introduced and maybe financed the mercs. The Redwings aren’t that… uniform. Literally. They don’t have a uniform and this lot are all wearing basically the same gear.’ She reached out and put her hand on Rochester’s shoulder, sending quintessence in to refill his reserve.

‘Found them,’ Rochester said. He blinked and turned, glancing at Nava’s hand. ‘Thanks. I found them. They’re in some of the tents down there.’ He pointed to their left, toward the back of the valley, not far from the tents the mercenaries were using. Befreit officers had been seen going in and out of that area, but it was definitely in the mercs’ area.

‘How is– How are they?’ Courtney asked. Everyone knew that Kyle was her priority so there was really not much point in hiding it.

Rochester did not meet her eyes. ‘They’re… not in a good way.’ He glanced at Nobuyuki. ‘I think you were right about them being interrogated.’

‘I see,’ Nobuyuki said.

Courtney was silent, but she was not looking happy. Actually, she looked kind of like she wanted to rush down and murder anyone she saw.

Nava decided to cut that impulse off. ‘Okay, we have a target. Now we need a plan. We’re going to need transport to get out of here.’

‘I was thinking we’d borrow some from the carpool,’ Nobuyuki said, nodding toward the vehicles at the valley’s mouth. ‘Courtney can fly a contragrav and there look to be a couple of suitable ones over there.’

Nava nodded. ‘We’ll need a distraction if we have to get two injured men from one end of the camp to the other. I’ll provide that.’

‘Good enough,’ Nobuyuki said without a pause. ‘In that case, I’ll take Mitsuko and Courtney down to get Kory and Kyle out.’

‘What about me and Chess?’ Melissa asked.

‘You two will be handling transport.’

‘We’ll make you invisible,’ Nava said. ‘You go down there, find a suitable vehicle, and get into it.’

‘Do you think you can handle that?’ Nobuyuki asked.

‘We’ll do it somehow,’ Melissa replied.

Nava looked out to the valley’s mouth. There were three guard towers watching over the camp, two at each corner of the mouth and one at the back. ‘I’ll take those watchtowers overlooking the parking area down early. Looks like I might get to try my new spell out.’

‘You have a new spell?’ Rochester asked, suddenly very interested.

‘Something I’ve been working on. I combined Magic Bullet with Magic Burst, essentially. It’s a little greedy, but by combining the two, I’ve got a guided missile with a quintessence warhead. I reconfigured it to penetrate armour better too. I have to work it from the schema every time at the moment, but that shouldn’t be a problem if they can’t see me.’

‘Just what kind of distraction do you have planned, Nava?’ Courtney asked.

‘Oh, the easy one. I’m just going to kill as many of them as I can before we leave. That should be a big enough distraction.’

~~~

‘This is the first time in a while that we’ve held hands.’

Melissa glanced back at Rochester. It was a wasted effort, of course, because he was invisible. That was why they were hand-in-hand and crouched in some bushes a hundred metres or so from the vehicle park. ‘I guess it is. Not terribly romantic under the circumstances.’

‘No.’ Pause. ‘So, you and Naomi, huh?’

‘Me and Naomi. I mean, I’m not sure where it’s going. We call each other and send messages. We’ve had… three dates. He’s busy with the ASF and I’m busy with school…’

‘He treats you well? I mean, he’s always seemed rather…’

‘Intimidating? He’s a lot cuter when he wants to be. Or when he gets flustered. He has something in common with you, actually.’

‘Oh?’

‘He gets a lot less confident and imposing when he has to expose his emotions.’

‘I don’t think I’m confident or imposing at any time.’

Melissa smiled, even if he could not see it. ‘You’ve got better.’ Somewhere behind them, something exploded. ‘It’s starting.’ Melissa looked up, waiting for the next detonation. Maybe two hundred metres away, at the southern side of the valley’s mouth, the top of the watchtower was enveloped in a white sphere of light which expanded, brightened, and collapsed in less than a second. ‘Okay, let’s move.’

~~~

Not waiting for the results of her attack on the generator to become clear, Nava turned, raised her SAH-301, and fired her enhanced Magic Burst at the southern watchtower almost a kilometre away. It took nine seconds for the projectile to hit the tower and she was more or less oblivious to her surroundings the whole time. Still, she was invisible and the people she was now surrounded by had not been expecting an attack. The tower’s platform was enveloped in a sphere of pure quintessential energy. The two soldiers in the tower died instantly as skin, muscle, and even bone was torn apart at the subatomic level by raw magic.

Nava did not pause to reflect on their deaths, but she did now check what her first attack had done. The generator was a sealed unit, a small fusion reactor protected by a water jacket, several centimetres of steel, and a magitech radiation barrier. There had to be magicians here to handle the barrier, but then there had to be magicians here to create the illusion hiding the camp. They might be a problem and they might not. Time would tell. Much of the mundane equipment which controlled the reactor and converted the voltages produced within to what was needed without were outside the barrier and the shielding. So, Nava had not attacked the generator as such, risking containment failure and a possible radiation release. Instead, she had destroyed the external equipment and cut power to the camp that way. And she really had destroyed it; there had been an explosion and smoke was pouring from the trailer the gear was in.

So far, so good. There were people starting to run about, grabbing weapons, emerging from the command-and-control vehicle, shouting ineffectual orders… Nava raised her left-hand pistol and fired a normal Magic Burst at the side of the armoured vehicle. The penetrator went right through the armoured side and light blazed out of the open hatch. Then the screams started. Some would be dead, others would be badly injured, but the important thing was that the regiment’s command structure had probably just taken a big hit.

Turning, Nava started for the tents, firing another burst of lethal magic ahead of her.

~~~

Nobuyuki led the way through the camp toward the tents where Kyle and Kory were being held, Mitsuko and Courtney following with the camouflage system on their armour doing its best to conceal them.

They had made it about halfway to their destination – though they were going to have to cover a lot more ground on the way out – and, so far, no one had tried to stop them. That was probably because Nava was raising merry hell somewhere to their right. If you looked that way, you could occasionally see the top of a white sphere appear and then vanish. Once in a while, it was a bigger ball of flame which Nava had to be making up from scratch; they were very big fireballs and Nava was clearly using all of her newly expanded capacity to launch them.

‘She’s practically field artillery,’ Courtney said under her breath. The radio link she had with the others still picked it up.

‘Those Fire Blasts must be close to what a tank cannon produces,’ Mitsuko agreed.

‘A small one,’ Nobuyuki said. ‘Concentrate, ladies.’

‘We’ve reached the vehicles,’ Melissa announced. ‘We’re starting to look for something we can get into.’

‘Acknowledged,’ Nobuyuki replied. Then he took a rapid step forward, his hand rising, fingers straight. Mitsuko was just wondering why when one of the Befreit soldiers stepped around a tent and spotted the man in the shinobi outfit. There was an instant of shock, and that was all Nobuyuki needed. The ninja’s hand almost seemed to slide past the soldier’s neck, but blood sprayed where it passed. The soldier made a choking noise and collapsed onto the grass. He was still breathing, for now, but he would be raising no alarms.

‘That’s an interesting spell,’ Courtney said.

‘Family secret,’ Nobuyuki replied.

‘Good thing Mel isn’t here,’ Mitsuko added as blood began to pool beside the fallen body.

‘Why–’ Melissa began. ‘No, don’t tell me. I’m better off not knowing.’

‘Let’s keep moving,’ Nobuyuki said. ‘The body isn’t obvious, but someone will find it eventually.’ Turning, he started away in the direction of the mercenaries’ tents.

~~~

Nava was listening to the chatter on her radio with half an ear. Most of her attention was on her surroundings and her targets. And her counters. She had two of them and they were keeping track of spell durations. A three-minute counter told her when Active Recovery and Armour needed recasting. A thirty-minute timer told her how long her Invisibility had to run. With all three spells active, she was fairly impervious to whatever the troops threw at her, even if they could work out where she was.

The camp was in utter chaos. Officers were trying to rally troops, but they were facing an unknown enemy who appeared to be able to hit them from all sides with massive firepower. It was an uphill struggle. People were firing at shadows and, more often than not, injuring their fellow fanatics.

She prepared another Fire Blast and launched at a point between two tents. She had been somewhat miffed to discover she did not quite have the capacity for a rank fifty Fire Blast, but her estimate of the explosive force she was generating came to about seven and a half kilos of TNT. Set off among tents which were not fireproof, the results were spectacular. Set off among people, the effects were deadly and more than a little horrific.

‘There! She’s there!’

Nava turned. Maybe twenty metres away, a man was pointing at her: one of the mercenaries. He seemed to be part of a squad; there were nine others with him and they were all carrying versions of the Belgique AR-705 assault rifle which had integral spell carbines. Ten magicians, eight male, two female, and all trained in combat. They represented a more significant threat than the Befreit troops.

Lifting her right hand, Nava aimed at the man who was pointing and launched another Magic Burst. He was wearing a hard clamshell chest plate, but that did not stop the penetrator from passing through. Light blossomed, killing him instantly as his internal organs dissolved. The two men beside him died as their faces were peeled back to the skull beneath. Others took less damage, but the burns would hurt.

Bullets streamed back at Nava. The AR-705 fired 5.45 mm bullets meant to kill unarmoured targets. Six of them hit and flattened against Nava’s Armour spell. Nothing penetrated. She cast again. Both of the women died along with another of the men. Another man passed out, probably from the pain of the burns. That was not going to be good enough for Nava; they all needed to die even if their counterfire was entirely ineffectual. She let loose another Magic Burst.

A grenade bounced across the grass on Nava’s left. Someone had thrown it from behind her, aiming at a target they had only a general area for, based on where the mercs were shooting. It landed some eight metres away, a fragmentation grenade from the design. She dropped sideways, rolling away from the explosion which happened a second later. The blast buffeted her magic barrier, not harming her in the least, and she sent another Magic Burst at the mercs just to make sure, before turning toward the grenadier.

He was, as she had suspected, getting ready to throw another grenade. He was one of the Befreit troops, wearing nothing in the way of armour because he had rushed out, unprepared, to look for whatever was attacking. He stood no chance at all and she watched as his chest vanished into the blast of quintessence.

Two seconds later, his grenade exploded, but by that time Nava was on her way and looking for her next target.

~~~

‘I am going to say we should take this one,’ Rochester said. The one in question was a contragrav transport about the size of a minibus. It was unarmoured, but it had plenty of seats and looked serviceable.

‘Why that one?’ Melissa asked.

‘The door’s open.’

‘That makes things easier. Are you sure you can hack the controls?’

‘Mel…’ Rochester sounded a little affronted.

‘Okay, okay. Better get started. We’ve got about fifteen minutes before the Invisibility spells wear off. I’ll keep watch.’

‘Getting started.’

~~~

‘Go.’

Nobuyuki’s voice came over the radio and Mitsuko fired. Fifteen metres away, a man’s head parted company with his body as her Slice spell, launched from her carbine, bisected his neck. She had, technically, killed people before. She had thrown a Fire Blast into a group of Befreit terrorists knowing that one of them was readying a grenade. It was hard to tell whether her spell or the following explosion had done more damage, but the men had been dead either way. This was different. This time she had been able to see the harm she had done and the inevitable result. She allowed herself a second to consider that before moving.

Courtney did not allow herself the same consideration. She had taken out the other guard on the tent. A little further away, Nobuyuki was dispatching two guards, by hand, solo, but… ninja. Ninja sorcerer, in fact. Courtney was on her feet and bolting for the tent flap almost before her target’s body was hitting the ground. It had taken them five minutes to carefully crawl into firing position and now Courtney could not wait to see who was inside. When she got inside, she came to a sudden stop.

The man inside spoke. ‘What do you want n– Who… Who the hell are you?’ Kyle was looking out of one eye; the right one was purple and swollen closed. There were bruises along his jaw and cheekbones. Blood was clogging one nostril and his nose was out of shape, suggesting a break. Being naked from the waist up, the bruises across his stomach were obvious and large. Reaching up, Courtney unlocked her helmet and lifted it off her head. ‘Courtney? What are you– Am I hallucinating? Wait… That’s Nava?’ He nodded his head backward in the general direction of where the explosions could be heard every so often. He could do little else because he was cuffed to a pole in the middle of the tent.

Courtney bit back a sob. ‘Yes. Yes, that’s Nava. Who else?’

‘It’s true,’ Mitsuko said, following Courtney into the tent. ‘The cavalry has arrived.’ Pause. ‘Maybe that should be the artillery.’ Her eyes scanned over Kyle and she forced herself to sound business-like. ‘Courtney, you can unlock those cuffs, right? I’m sure Kyle would like to be out of them.’

‘Right,’ Courtney said, circling around to Kyle’s back.

‘I have Kory,’ Nobuyuki said over the radio. ‘He can walk, but that’s about it. They’ve been injecting him with Down.’

‘Damn,’ Mitsuko muttered. ‘Have they been using Down on you, Kyle?’

‘Uh, yeah, I think that’s what it was,’ Kyle replied. ‘I feel like I’m drunk. Except without the pleasant, uh, aspects. Is that you, Suki?’

‘The same,’ Mitsuko replied, frowning. Down was a drug given to magicians to suppress their ability to cast spells. Effectively, it caused confusion which made it harder to cast; usually, someone injected with the stuff was entirely unable to work a spell for several hours. The confusion also made interrogation easier, which was why it was the control method of choice when you needed to question a magician. If you just wanted to stop them casting, you gave them a sedative or put them in a suppression field.

There was a click and Kyle moved his arms from behind him, rubbing at his wrists.

‘Can you stand?’ Courtney asked.

‘If you’ve got a way out of here,’ Kyle replied, ‘I’ll crawl there if I have to.’ Having said that, he climbed to his feet a little laboriously. ‘I can stand. How are we getting out?’

‘Mel and Chess are securing our transport,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘We’re stealing one of their contragravs.’

‘Mel and…’ Kyle shook his head. ‘Gang’s all here, huh?’

‘They volunteered,’ Courtney replied. ‘They volunteered to come save a friend.’

‘What about Kory? Uh, First Lieutenant Kory Greyling, I mean.’

‘Nobuyuki’s taking care of him. Let’s go before someone realises Nava is just the distraction.’

Somewhere in the near distance, something exploded. ‘That’s just a distraction?’ Kyle asked.

Mitsuko shrugged. ‘Well, you know Nava. Once she gets started…’

~~~

Nava’s senses followed her enhanced Magic Burst through a phalanx of troops to the man at the back who was about to fire a man-portable missile in her direction. Roughly in her direction. Maybe she should have let him do it and watched the carnage. Instead, she hit him in the chest just as he fired. Her target and a few people around him vanished almost entirely. The missile was caught in the blast and its engine sputtered and died about ten metres from its launcher. And then it exploded. Messy.

From the radio chatter, the others had located Kyle and Kory, but it was going to take a while to get them to the vehicle. Maybe fifteen minutes or so. Nava allowed herself an inward smile, not allowing it out even though no one could have possibly seen it. She had another fifteen to twenty minutes to work with before she was going to have to retreat. How many of them could she take out in that sort of time? Only one way to find out…

~~~

‘Done,’ Rochester said. ‘With only a ketcom portable interface and wireless comms.’

‘You’re a genius, Chess,’ Melissa said.

‘I wouldn’t say that…’ Rochester preened a little anyway. ‘Actually, the security on this thing is pitiful. If you didn’t know what you were doing, I’d imagine it would present a challenge, but I do know what I’m doing.’

‘Misspent youth? You never did say why you learned to crack computer systems.’

‘It was a reaction to bullying. You know the theory that bullies are cowards and they’ll back down if you fight back?’

‘I’ve heard it said.’

‘Well, me fighting back with my fists was never going to work. I found that securing blackmail material by hacking into their personal computer systems worked just as well. Possibly better.’

‘That’s nasty. I’m a little impressed. I’d never have thought of that. Then again, I was never bullied.’

‘Never?’

Melissa shook her head, though she was still invisible and he could not see it. ‘I just avoided anything which might cause me to be. I think some of the girls in my class wanted to bully the shy girl, but the shy girl would vanish before they got the chance. I’ve never been good at confrontation.’

‘Isn’t confrontation precisely what we’re doing here?’

‘Hm. Maybe I’ve got better…’

~~~

It was slow-going. Neither Kyle nor Kory could move at anything more than a brisk walk. There was the added complication of remaining hidden as they made their way around the edge of the valley.

Nobuyuki was in the lead, with Courtney and Mitsuko helping the two injured men behind him. There were frequent pauses as they waited for soldiers to move away. It seemed as though the Befreit commander was starting to gain more control over his troops. The better ones were starting to search the camp for signs of further intrusion.

Periodically, another ball of flame or sphere of light would be visible in what appeared to be random points through the camp but concentrating on the north side. ‘That’s our new recruit?’ Kory asked. ‘Nava Greyling? She’s taking on an army singlehanded and I think she’s winning.’ He was not exactly a seasoned Greyling himself. Mitsuko figured he was in his mid- to late-twenties. His body appeared to mostly consist of lithe muscle, and he was probably pretty attractive under the bruises. His hair was the kind of blue-black you only saw in commercials and his eyes were an interesting blue-green colour which probably looked great under better circumstances. Now he was clinging to Mitsuko rather tightly and limping a little on his left leg.

‘That’s Nava,’ Mitsuko said, ‘our one-woman army. I admit, I’ve never seen her take on this many troops before, but… Uh, don’t say anything like that to her face. She doesn’t really like being thought of as a killing machine.’

‘If we get out of here, I’ll call her a goddess.’

Mitsuko smirked inside her helmet. What she said was, ‘Hands off, she’s my goddess.’

Hausman City.

The workstation Rhianna had her ketcom plugged into chimed and she walked over to check her results. Tapping at a file icon on the screen, she watched it expand into a window containing a message she had copied out of Oberstleutnant Stefan Sieger’s mailbox. After a second, she smiled.

She reflected that a smile was probably not the correct response for what she was seeing. This was the sixth message she had decrypted using a program the Greylings had commissioned and had the exclusive use of. It could crack about seventy-five percent of known encryption methodologies inside of an hour. It had another couple of methods it could beat in a few hours to a couple of days. Then again, when you used weak-ass cyphers like this, it took minutes. The messages Stefan had left in a folder called, of all things, ‘Tax Documents’ were all related to his ongoing collaboration with Befreit Beherbergen.

She had already been through the militia’s records of the missile strike. It was possible that Stefan would claim there was a very unfortunate typo in his message giving the order to fire at thirteen hundred, but Rhianna was not sure how you could mistakenly type 13 when you meant 21. It had also been an order to change the time when there was no reason to change the time. And there was no mention of friendly combatants possibly being in the target area.

Stefan Sieger House was in it up to his neck and he had panicked.

A message receipt indicator popped up in the corner of her screen and she tapped it to see what the Yosozume wanted. It turned out they wanted nothing, but they had observed an unusual change in the terrain in an area a few kilometres from the town Stefan had said contained the Befreit base. It seemed that a valley had suddenly appeared where there had not been much of one before. A valley with a camp in it. There were also indications of an artillery bombardment landing in the encampment, though the ship had not been able to detect any nearby weapons.

‘So, that’s where you’ve got to,’ she said as she scanned over the pictures the Yosozume had sent down. She shook her head, grinning. ‘That’s really unsubtle, Nava. Really impressive, but really unsubtle.’

Graugebiete Region.

‘We’re maybe five minutes away from Mel and Chess, Nava.’

Mitsuko’s voice sounded over the radio and Nava considered pouting. ‘Acknowledged,’ she said. Turning, she dropped a Magic Burst into a group of soldiers before turning and starting for the vehicle parking area.

She figured she had killed off around thirty percent of the Befreit troops. They were getting organised, finally, but they had lost a lot of people and morale was not high. On top of that, their command structure was a mess, their camouflage illusion was gone, their encampment had no power or communications, and the core of their mercenary support was dead. Given another hour or two, she figured she could wipe them out entirely, but the mission was to get Kyle and Kory out. She was just going to have to ignore her instincts for now. Well, she could take out a few more of them while she made her retreat…

Nava raised one of her pistols, aiming at the next concentrated grouping of soldiers.

~~~

‘They’re here,’ Melissa said. Invisibility had worn off both her and Rochester, so they were hunkered down in their stolen contragrav, watching for where they thought Nobuyuki would turn up with the others. And there he was, slinking between vehicles of various types.

Stepping out of their van, Melissa waved him over, just in case he was not sure where they were. Something caught her attention in the corner of her vision, and she turned her head to look toward the back of the valley. She figured it was one of Nava’s explosions, but it had seemed too high and… And something trailing pale smoke was rocketing toward them from the only watchtower still standing, the one right at the back of the valley. A missile. Someone had fired at missile. At her!

On reflection, she came to the conclusion that she should have panicked. She should have stood there, staring at the oncoming missile with her mouth open until it blew her to pieces. Instead, the training Nava had drilled into her for the last year and a half took over. Without even raising a hand, she focused on the air a hundred metres from her and a plane of semi-transparent energy appeared, six metres wide by four high, hanging in the air in what appeared to be an entirely unnatural manner. The missile was capable of over Mach one point three, but it had a kilometre and a half to travel. It had covered a bit more than two-thirds of that distance before Melissa got her Force Wall up and it was not even capable of dodging. It slammed into the plane of energy and exploded. The blast wave barely made the grass shift around Melissa’s feet.

~~~

Nava saw the missile passing overhead and her heart sank. For a fraction of a second. One of Melissa’s Force Walls appeared in the air just in time to block the missile’s path. A dumb missile, no avoidance electronics. Useful under the circumstances.

Turning, Nava lifted an SAH-301 and aimed at the watchtower which, on reflection, she should have nailed before now. It had not seemed important. Pushing her mind into the right shape for an enhanced Magic Burst, she launched it out toward the tower, some eight hundred metres away. She had a brief impression of a man reloading a rocket launcher before her senses snapped back to her body and she watched the quintessence explosion expand to consume the top of the tower. That would be no further trouble.

Swapping Flight into the slot left by the improvised spell, she lifted into the air and accelerated over the camp toward the vehicle park.

~~~

Melissa was dimly aware of the watchtower’s platform vanishing into a ball of light, but she was still a little too surprised at her own reaction to know what that meant. Then Nobuyuki was speaking to her.

‘Inside,’ he said. Melissa looked at him. ‘Inside, Mel. Quickly.’

‘R-right.’ Melissa climbed back into the van, moving aside to make way for Nobuyuki and then Courtney half-carrying Kyle, and Mitsuko half-carrying Kory. ‘Oh,’ Melissa said in a slightly moaning tone. ‘C-could you take them to the back of the b-bus? I know it’s dried blood, but… Uh, there are some bench seats back there they can lie down on.’

‘Good excuse,’ Mitsuko said. ‘That was a neat trick you pulled there. With the missile.’

‘It was,’ Nobuyuki said, ‘quite masterful. You’re a schoolgirl, you had seconds to react, and you did exactly the right thing, successfully.’

Under her helmet, Melissa went scarlet. ‘I j-just reacted the way Nava taught me.’

‘You certainly earned your pay for this trip,’ Mitsuko said.

‘Wait. We’re getting paid?’ Melissa shook her head. ‘Stupid thing to… Where is Nava anyway? She took out that watchtower, but–’

Nava appeared as she stepped up into the van. ‘I’m here,’ she said, somewhat redundantly, ‘and I suggest we get out of here before the angry villagers arrive with the pitchforks and torches.’

Straightening from laying Kyle down on one of the seats, Courtney looked toward the front of the van. ‘On it,’ she said, starting their way. ‘Close the door.’

‘Not yet,’ Nava said. She stepped into the doorway, grabbing a bar set there to help people step up. ‘There’s some possibility they may try to shoot us down when we take off. So, I’m going to be ready to shoot back, and Melissa is going to be ready to put a wall between us and anything they may launch.’

‘I am?’ Melissa asked. ‘Oh, yes, I certainly am.’

Pulling off her helmet and replacing Rochester at the pilot’s console, Courtney checked the controls and then put her hand on the throttle. Below them, the contragravity system whined as it was given power. ‘Buckle up, folks,’ Courtney said. ‘We are going home!’

Hausman City.

‘Are you seeing this?’ Nava asked Nobuyuki over a closed channel. Her ketcom had alerted her to an incoming message, so she had put her helmet on to read it. It had been… interesting.

‘Not an entirely unexpected turn of events,’ Nobuyuki replied. ‘Admittedly, the person involved was not something I could speculate on, but that there was a mole in the militia seemed quite obvious.’

‘Huh. Yeah. I suppose you’re right. And considering that missile strike, there were a limited number of people it could be. It had to be someone with authority.’

‘And this does explain why the clan has had so much trouble dealing with Befreit.’

‘Yeah… We’ll be landing in a couple of minutes.’ They could both hear Courtney talking to Hausman City’s traffic control.

‘Expect trouble.’

Nava gave a shrug, reaching up to unseal her helmet. ‘I was trained to expect trouble in my sleep.’

The trouble was, in fact, waiting for them as they touched down on a landing pad outside Militia Headquarters. Stefan was there with a squad of soldiers. His subordinates had assault weapons and bulletproof vests. Stefan had only a pistol, but then he looked like the type to avoid getting his own hands dirty. From the look of him, he was affecting an authoritative, confident demeanour, but Nava thought he looked nervous. The early-evening sun was glistening on the sweat on his brow.

‘I’ll handle this,’ Nava said. ‘The rest of you stay in the van.’

‘Nava?’ Mitsuko asked.

‘It’s not a problem. Not really. Nobuyuki will explain. Close the door behind me, Courtney.’ She hit the button to open the van’s main door and stepped out to face Stefan’s squad. The door slid shut behind her with a soft hiss. ‘Oberstleutnant,’ she said, ‘how nice of you to come out to meet us.’ She was not wearing her helmet and the evening breeze lifted her white hair into a streamer. She looked relaxed, which she was.

‘Second Lieutenant Nava Greyling Sonkei,’ Stefan said, ‘I am placing you under arrest for–’

‘Please don’t give me the made-up charges,’ Nava said. ‘Whatever it is you’ve come up with, it won’t stand up to a minute of investigation, so why bother? Were you hoping we’d give you an excuse to open fire and you could actually get out of this?’

Stefan’s jaw tightened. ‘Unteroffizier Sebastian Schenck, if the subject resists arrest further, you will shoot her.’

A man who had sergeant written all over him looked at Stefan with a slightly incredulous expression. ‘Sir, she hasn’t–’

‘You have your orders, Unteroffizier!’

‘I don’t think they’re going to be willing to follow someone who’s betrayed his clan,’ Nava said. ‘Rhianna dug up all the data we need to prove it.’

‘This woman has collaborated with the enemy!’ Stefan barked. He was definitely losing his cool. ‘We have evidence of her treasonous acts. Don’t believe her lies. She is the traitor! You will–’

‘Years of making sure the militia never got close to bringing Free Beherbergen down,’ Nava went on calmly. ‘We have all the emails. Never leave emails lying around when they could incriminate you. Not even if they’re encrypted.’

‘Espionage! You’ve conducted an illegal search of–’

‘Rhianna will be putting it before your clan’s leader right now. Leave this too long and your men will get orders to arrest you. You’re done for, Oberstleutnant. Not that they’ll let you keep that rank. Dishonourable discharge is going to be the least of your worries. As I was saying, you’re done for, Stefan Sieger.’

‘Sir?’ Sebastian said, unsure of where to point his rifle.

‘I’ll do you a favour,’ Nava said. She could see Stefan reaching boiling point. Any second now. ‘I’m going to give you three choices.’

Stefan’s pistol was in his hand and coming up to aim. Nava watched it. Aim was not the right word; he straightened his arm so he could see roughly where the bullet was meant to go, but he did not take the time to actually use the sights. Still, at maybe three metres, there was not much chance he would miss. The bullet hit Nava’s side just under her ribs and would not have been a lethal wound even if her suit had not stopped it completely.

Nava raised her hand. ‘You could’ve let me finish the speech.’ Then she put a Magic Bullet through his right eye.

Yosozume Armed Courier, Beherbergen system, 236/8/10.

‘They say he’s going to live,’ Rhianna said as she walked beside Nava through the ship. ‘There may be brain damage and he’ll need to have his eye replaced if he wants binocular vision, but he’ll live to stand trial.’

Moving around on the Yosozume as it powered away from Beherbergen was a lot easier than it had been on the way to the planet. Out of deference for the two ‘wounded’ they were carrying, and because they were not in a hurry, they were accelerating at only one gravity. They were, apparently, going to take two jumps to do the interstellar section of the journey as well. It would take about two days to get home. Neither Kyle nor Kory were physically wounded now, thanks to Nava hitting them with Active Recovery on the way to Hausman City. Their mental wounds were another matter, but that was why they were returning to Shinden rather than seeing out their time on Beherbergen.

‘I should have shot him again,’ Nava replied.

‘It’s better this way,’ Rhianna countered. ‘He’ll be stripped of his rank and position. His family have probably already disowned him. He’ll be locked up for years and then cast out of the clan. The humiliation will be enormous.’

‘Better for whom? Seems like I’ll have someone trying to kill me when he’s eventually released.’

‘One, I doubt he’ll be able to afford a ticket to Shinden. Two, so what? You took on a regiment of troops and walked away without a scratch.’

‘I’m not actually indestructible, Rhianna. Catch me off-guard and–’

‘There are times when you’re off-guard?’

Nava let that one go. ‘I suppose I just prefer my enemies dead.’

‘And there are some twelve hundred Free Beherbergen troops who can attest to that. Well, twenty-eight hundred that can attest. The twelve hundred won’t be saying anything ever again. The militia were sending in troops to capture as many of them as they could. Free Beherbergen’s back is thoroughly broken. They’ll probably lose around half of their number. The mercenaries with them are more of a concern. You didn’t get any idea of where they were from, did you?’

‘Not really. They weren’t wearing any insignia I could see. Maybe the militia will figure it out after they’ve been through the camp.’

‘Maybe.’

The conversation stopped as they reached a ladder and started to climb. The sound of laughter was coming from above. Nava climbed through the hatch to find the rest of the rescue team, and those they had rescued, celebrating in one of the lounges. Kyle and Kory seemed to be in good spirits, but there was something distinctly shadowy around Kyle’s eyes. Kory’s too, to some extent, but he was a Greyling and maybe a little more mentally resilient.

Courtney spotted the two newcomers and raised her glass. Nava was guessing it contained alcohol. ‘We’re all here. The celebration can begin properly. I want to thank everyone properly for getting me my boyfriend back. In one piece too.’

Nava watched as Kyle looked away for a second and then turned back, smiling. She was not sure how many pieces Kyle was in, but he was definitely a little divided.

Epilogue

Admiral Aurora Trenton Advanced Training Centre, Alliance City, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 236/8/12.

It was about half past three in the morning when the shuttle landed at the training centre. There was a hospital there where Kyle and Kory would be undergoing a few checks before they started mandatory sick leave.

Despite the early hour, Fawn was waiting for them, dressed in her uniform and looking very official. Well, until she smiled after the salute. ‘Second Lieutenant Nava Greyling,’ she said, ‘I’m glad to see your mission was successful.’

Nava saluted and gave her a nod. ‘Thank you, First Lieutenant. We got together and wrote up a report on it while we were in transit. It’s probably in your mailbox by now. Might I suggest that any questions wait until after the medical checks?’

‘Your recommendation is noted and acceptable.’ Fawn relaxed. ‘The short report I got this morning suggested that you kicked a lot of ass.’

‘She was pretty amazing,’ Courtney said. She affected a deadpan tone similar to Nava’s: ‘“Oh, I’ll just distract them by killing them all.” Then she did.’

‘Not all of them,’ Nava said. ‘I think I’d have needed another couple of hours to kill all of them.’

‘She’s a walking artillery barrage.’

‘Huh.’ Fawn grinned and turned to Kory. ‘First Lieutenant Kory Greyling, how are you feeling?’

‘Physically fine,’ Kory replied. ‘I admit I may not be quite over the experience, however. I will be fit to give my mission report when–’

‘We’ll talk about that tomorrow. You’re staying here until the doctors have seen you. Second Lieutenant Kyle Maynard, once you’re checked out, you’ll be free to take your sick leave wherever you wish. I… suggested to command that you might be better off recuperating with your girlfriend than on a base.’

‘We’ll go to the mansion,’ Mitsuko said. ‘There’s plenty of space, both in the sense of beds to sleep in and country to walk in. We’ll all go. Might as well spend some of the summer holiday recreationally.’

‘That sounds like a plan,’ Courtney said. ‘You in, Kyle?’

‘Yeah,’ Kyle said. ‘That would be great. So long as your parents won’t mind, Suki.’

‘They’ll be fine with it,’ Mitsuko replied. Neither she nor Nava were entirely sure that Kyle really was.

The Trenton Mansion, 236/8/14.

The sun was veritably hammering down on the patio. Nava had coated Mitsuko in enough sunblock that it was likely she could stand next to a leaky reactor without harm. Courtney and Melissa were doing their best not to roast and drinking a lot to avoid dehydration. Nava was… Nava. Rochester had gone back to school to be with Hoshi, but they were both coming out to the mansion in the next couple of days for a break. And Kyle…

He looked tired. There was a bit of sleep loss about Courtney too, but Kyle looked like he had slept very little the night before. Or the night before that, for that matter. There were shadows under his eyes. He tried to look relaxed and happy, but he was not really pulling it off that well. And because Kyle was not doing too well, Courtney was worried. And because she did not want to make Kyle worse, she was trying not to look or sound too worried…

‘I think we should go for a walk after lunch,’ Courtney said. ‘The woods around here are great when it’s this hot. More shade.’

‘Probably a good idea,’ Mitsuko said. ‘If I spend much longer here, I’ll turn into a cinder.’

‘Then why,’ Nava asked, ‘are you lying there?’

‘It’s summer. You’re supposed to sunbathe in summer.’

‘Not to the point where you need radiation treatment. Some shade is probably a good idea.’

~~~

Kyle’s eyes were on the ground as he walked through the dappled shade of one of the forested parts of the mansion’s grounds. His mind was occupied with thoughts of his home planet and what had been done to him there. He barely even noticed he had fallen a little behind until his eyes fell upon Nava’s feet clad in a pair of flat-heeled sandals.

‘Oh, uh, Nava. I… I didn’t notice you were all getting ahead of me.’

‘I gathered. I asked Courtney to let me come wake you up. She thinks I’m going to impart some piece of wisdom on you that’ll snap you out of your funk.’

‘Are you?’

Nava gave a small shrug. ‘I have no idea. It’s not easy. Getting over something like that takes time, a bit of a positive attitude, some luck… Being used to mistreatment helps, but you don’t have that.’

‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ he asked, his tone holding some acid, ‘when have you been tortured?’

‘Well, it was called “interrogation resistance training,” but torture is as good a word as any for it. I was… eight. Eight-ish. In a way, it was worse because they weren’t trying to find out information or whatever. They just hurt us until we couldn’t take it any more. Took a while, because we were kind of used to being treated like objects by then. Took longer to stop having nightmares. One of the girls, Hana, was retired because she never did recover from it.’

‘Retired. Huh.’

‘She vanished one night, and we never saw her again. We were told she was weak. Actually, they were just bastards.’

‘Doesn’t give me much hope then. If someone like you can end up permanently crippled by something like this…’

‘Hana didn’t have a Courtney. We tried to help, but they didn’t exactly let us offer emotional support.’ Nava paused, considering. ‘You’ll never be totally over it. It’s not something you can totally get over. Not something you should get over. Not if you’re human.’

‘Did you manage it?’

‘Sort of.’ Nava turned, starting back toward the other girls. ‘I think I kind of recovered. After I slaughtered more or less everyone on the project. I’m sorry. I probably killed them for you, but maybe that can be enough. Eventually.’

Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, 236/8/20.

Taryn closed the document she had been sent and leaned back in her chair. It was a report on the recent events on Beherbergen. Apparently, Befreit Beherbergen had been planning some sort of major operation against the House clan and had kidnapped a couple of ASF officers to get information out of them. That had been a mistake. One of the officers had been a Greyling.

The report had stated that a small team sent by the Greylings had rescued the officers and pretty much decimated the Befreit forces. The Firmin clan had managed to find out who was on the team the Greylings had sent and that Nava Greyling had done almost all the killing. She had, almost singlehanded, taken out a little under thirty percent of a force of four thousand. They were backwoods hicks with pretentions, but they had not even slowed her down.

‘Oh, Nava,’ Taryn said to her apartment ceiling, ‘you are a rival worth having.’ She grinned, the grin widening into an almost exultant smile. ‘This is going to be a challenge worth facing. This is going to be awesome!’

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing Traveller. I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing City of Heroes. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Recently I took the big step of quitting my day job and taking up full-time writing. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

For More Information

Take a look at the Witches and Ray-guns blog: http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com

Links to book vendors and other information can be found there, along with a view on what I’m up to and when it might happen.

Other Books by this Author

The Thaumatology Series

Thaumatology 101

Demon’s Moon

Legacy

Dragon’s Blood

Disturbia

Hammer of Witches

Eagle’s Shadow

Ancient

Dragonfall

The Other Side of Hell

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

Vengeance

Anthologies in the Thaumatology Universe

Tales from High Towers’ Study

Tales from the Dubh Linn

The Aneka Jansen Books

Steel Beneath The Skin

The Cold Steel Mind

Steel Heart

The Winter War

The Greatest Heights of Honour

The Lowest Depths of Shame

Hope

The Ultrahuman Books

Ugly

Shadows

Hunting Mink

Frostburn

Guardian

True Dark

Liberty

Royal Flush

The Unobtainium Books

Kate on a Hot Tin Roof

The Reality Hack Books

Reality Hack

The Fox Meridian Books

Fox Hunt

Inescapable

DeathWeb

Criminal Minds

Emergence

The Ghost in the Doll

Eden Burning

Dominance

The Hellas Find

Dancing with The Devil

The Princeps Venator Books

Hunter’s Kiss

Be My Valentine

Blood Magic

The Gunwitch Books

Gunwitch: Rebirth

The Children of Zanar Series

The Zanari Inheritance

The Misfits Series

Misfit Magic

Misfit Witchcraft

The Sondra Blake Series

The Vanity Case

The Shil the Huntress Books

The Eyes of the Huntress

The Twilight Empress Trilogy

The Iron Princess

The Last Emperor – coming when it’s ready

The Death’s Handmaiden Series

Death’s Handmaiden

Bitter Wind

Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions

Other

The Girl Who Dreamed of a Different World

Sign of the Dragon – coming soon

Table of Contents

Part One: The Chūnibyō in Class 14D

Part Two: Dirty Fighting

Part Three: Quis Custodiet

Part Four: One-Woman Army

Epilogue

Part One: The Chūnibyō in Class 14D