by Taki Drake
The Mage had already informed his security people that they needed to keep her security team informed and vice versa. Ruth was pretty sure that she wouldn’t have to repeat those instructions. Everybody had learned hard lessons in the last few days, including her.
After seeing Pawlik off, Ruth sat down at the table with Alan, Jenna, and Margot. They were all curious as to what she was planning on doing, and the Mage was quite willing to explain.
“I think we need to break the multiple problems down into manageable pieces. While Pawlik is gathering information and starting political type activities to deal with some of the groups attacking us, I’m going to deal with ones that we can together.
The issue with the females in the aristocracy shutting us out may seem trivial, but it’s not. It is a problem that no one can address for me, and it has the additional pressure of a deadline.”
Jenna asked, “But how are you going to get a gown in a couple of days? That seems impossible!”
“I could produce one by magic, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. Instead, we are going to go shopping someplace else, and the young woman that was brave enough to try to protect Mary is going to make me a dress.”
“We are going shopping?!”
Looking over at Margot and seeing her confused expression, Ruth smirked and answered Jenna cheerfully, “Yes. We are going to go shopping on an exciting Alliance world. We will buy fabulous fabric and accessories, items that the aristocrats of this world have no way of getting.”
“I like it! That is totally cruel and very appropriate,” laughed Jenna.
“Yes, it is cruel, but they deserve it. Rather than putting us at a disadvantage, we will make the point that the nobles of this minor world are provincial and unfashionable. This will put them in their place and inflict the plotters with jealousy. Only the sort of person that would be petty enough to do what they have done should be insulted.”
Ruth smiled, and both of her bodyguards laughed. With an evil grin, the Mage added, “And the best thing is that they will have absolutely no way of protesting that I have behaved inappropriately. They should experience losing a round in their own game. Don’t you agree?”
“How will we know where to shop, Ruth? I’m making the assumption that you still want Jenna and me to provide security even if we royally screwed up yesterday. I promise it won’t happen again!”
“Margot, everyone makes errors. Just don’t make the big mistake again of thinking that military action holds every solution again. I promise not to think that magic solves all problems if you do not get stuck in a rut where the only answer is to shoot something with a bigger gun.”
The Mage pulled out her comm-unit and entered in a long contact string. When the channel was opened, a faintly familiar voice answered, saying, “Mage Ruth! What a pleasant surprise. I’m hoping this means that you’re ready for more equipment. We have some exciting new armor features and a newer, more versatile version of the last round of weapons that you purchased.”
“Hello, Victin. Right now, I am shopping for slightly different things than your usual merchandise. We will make another big weapons purchase soon, but not today. Although, come to think of it, one of our military guys would love to ask questions about what you have.”
“No problem, Mage Ruth. How can I help?”
“Most of what I’m looking for today are recommendations on where I can find a different type of weapon and armor. In this case, it’s for social events. Do you know where the absolute best place to buy fabric and associated items can be found?
Victin responded with amusement, “My wife is always showing me expensive things featured in the news flashes. I certainly can make some recommendations. Unfortunately, none of them are on Shofu Prime. However, we have a branch in Theia, a major city on New Vesta. I could have the branch manager there, my cousin Anthon, provide you with transportation and a guide if you’d like.”
Ruth responded, “Wonderful! I would like to bring a group there and do some power shopping. Could you find out from the branch manager if today would be possible?”
“Today? Are you already in route?”
“No, I was planning on taking care of transport the same way that I took care of acquiring our initial shipment from you.”
There was a long, shocked silence from the weapons dealer. Ruth could see his face on the screen of the comm-unit and realized that the man was frozen in disbelief. Finally, he asked with a slight tremor to his words, “You can transport living beings over that great a distance?”
It was Ruth’s turn to be surprised. When she had looked for the armor and weapons for the forces that she and Pawlik had first recruited, she conceived away of moving on from the merchant to the Force X Bar. Not knowing any better, she didn’t realize that what she had done was supposed to be difficult, let alone impossible. From Victin’s response, she now saw there might be another unanticipated problem.
Thinking quickly, the Mage responded, “Yes. Of course, I would expect you to keep that confidential. So my next question to you is this, can you keep the operational security tight if we arrive at your branch office or is that going to be a problem?”
Victin was silent for a moment, and Ruth could see his face clearly enough to know that he was thinking about what needed to be done. Obviously coming to some sort of decision, the weapons dealer looked at her and nodded decisively, saying, “I have a suggestion, and would like to know what you think.”
The man waited until he saw Ruth gesture for him to continue.
“My first choice would be that you come here to pick me up so that we can continue our trip from here to the branch office. The second choice would be for me to travel to join you, and we go together to the branch office. Either way, any information leakage would make it seem like we had a new transporter rather than expose you.”
It was Ruth’s turn to think, and she considered the pros and cons for just a moment before answering. “Victin, I’m going to put you on hold for just a moment and do a quick consult with several people. Provisionally, I think that your ideas sound good.
“However, as you know, I’m not very military-minded, and I need to make sure that both our military and security forces have a chance to voice objections.”
“I understand that and thank you for understanding what I’m trying to do. I would be happy to wait. If it’s all right with you, I will check on the availability of my people on New Vesta while you check with yours.”
Chapter 33 – Complications
Force X Bar, Arkken Port
Ruth locked down the comm channel so no sound or vision would transmit. Turning to the three people at the table with her, Ruth asked, “Well? What do you think?”
No one answered her. All three of the people at the table were staring at her with the same shock that Victin had experienced. Repeating herself, Ruth asked, “Well? What do you think?”
The room was so quiet that the sound of the bartender’s movement behind Ruth was audible as Luca came up and put a drink down in front of the Major. Moving around to Jenna and Margo, Luka set a similar beverage in front of each of the shellshocked women.
There was another drink on the tray, but Luka made no effort to place it in front of the Mage. After many years of tending bar, the man was highly skilled at reading expressions and clearly understood from her look that something she said or did had to have been the source of the shock and the others.
“Ruth, it appears that you’ve broken our friends. I’m not sure one drink is enough to counter the weird feelings they might be having. Is there something I should know about, or do you want me to stay away and clear the taproom?”
The Mage shrugged her shoulders, and said, “Luka, I’m not too sure why they are so shocked. Did we or did we not get a huge pile of armor and weapons into the spare room upstairs the first time that I came to your fine establishment?”
The bartender grinned and said, “That explains the fact that it looks like you just hit them each in the hea
d with an enormous hammer. They were so smitten with the armor and weapons that I don’t think they realized how you got all the wonderful toys here.”
“They never figured it out?”
“Obviously, not. I take it that you didn’t think it important to remind them about that capability.”
Ruth let out a disgusted sigh and said, “How am I supposed to know that they didn’t pay attention? Should I have to remind them to do their homework? I’m not the security person. I’m not a military expert. I’m simply the Mage.”
Setting the glass down in front of Ruth, Luka said, “ I think this might be good for you. Cranky mages are not comfortable to be around. They tend to be injurious to everyone’s health.”
The tension of the table eased as Ruth laughed and tipped her glass to Luka. She giggled again when she looked at the three seated with her and saw that each of them had downed their entire drink.
“Luka, you might as well sit down at the table and be part of this discussion since it appears I need to have someone interpret for me.”
Alan had found his voice finally. Still looking pale, the Major leaned across the table toward the Mage. Lowering his vocal volume, the former Marine asked quietly, “You have the ability to transport a living being?!”
“Duh! A brilliant deduction.”
In a large gasp, Jenna and Margo both spoke up, tumbling their words over each other, “The armor and weapons we saw was over two containers worth!” “You poofed that in?” “No one has that ability! People would kill you for that.”
There was a pregnant pause full of a terrible realization, and Margo said, “That means that you could have gotten to Mary immediately!”
Silence dropped over the people at the table like a thick blanket of lessons learned leavened with guilt. Allowing the message to sink in for a brief moment, Ruth said calmly, “That is what I meant when I told you we need to work as a team.”
Just then Patry brought another tray of drinks over to the table, immediately retreating back behind the bar. Luka leaned slightly forward before saying, “What brought this subject up? Is there a need for more transport?”
Alan and Jenna filled him in. While the bartender smiled during the narrative, Ruth could tell that he was worried. The former Master Sergeant said, “I think that Victin’s suggestion is a good one. He already knows that you can transport things and he has a reputation for keeping secrets. In his business, it’s essential.”
Alan looked unconvinced, asking, “I’m not sure that this is the best solution. Are you sure that you need to do this?”
Ruth responded, “Thank you for resisting ordering me to do something. I could see it in your face that you desperately wanted to. I have already determined that something has to be done. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
Excepting the Major’s reluctant acceptance, Ruth continued, “There’s more going on here than a straightforward military action. We have to fight political battles also.”
Ruth could see any of the four at the table with her would’ve liked to argue, but no one could disagree with her conclusions. Nor could they suggest a better alternative. Reactivating the comm channel, Ruth saw that Victin was waiting.
“Thank you for waiting, Victin. I think I would like to go with the idea of us hopping over to you and then continuing on to your branch. That is, of course, assuming that Anthon can accommodate us.”
“Excellent, Mage Ruth. I verified that the facilities of our branch offices are available to you. Additionally, clear access to the same room that we used before when transporting items has been arranged. I’m assuming of course that you remember where that is.”
Ruth laughed, saying, “I certainly do, and thank you. It will take a few minutes to get prepared to leave. I’ll ping you just before we leave. See you soon.”
Even before the Mage put her comm-unit down, all four the people at the table were talking. Startled, Ruth let them figure out on their own which one was going to win to be heard first. Somehow, she was not surprised when the Major succeeded in overwriting everyone else’s tumble speech.
“Ma’am, I think we have to take more people. You will not be protected or secure without a bigger detail.
Margot agreed, adding, “I think we should take three more people. What happens if there’s a problem over there? Nobody can get to us easily or quickly.”
“Alan, I appreciate the thought, but I will have both Jenna and Margo with me. We will also have Victin with us and most probably people from the branch office. That is enough security since we just have to protect against crimes of opportunity.”
The bartender asked, “Crimes of opportunity? I don’t understand.”
Ruth answered, “None of our enemies from here will be able to follow us. No one on the planet we are going to knows anything about us. We will have local people there to help protect us, and we will be in and out in a span of hours.”
The Mage concealed a grin, as her companions leaned back in unison with close to identical thoughtful expressions. She could see them twisting and turning what she had said, testing her logic to see if it held up. One by one, they signed their acceptance, until only Alan appeared to be still thinking.
Finally, the former Marine commander stated, “I can see your points, ma’am. However, I would really like to accompany you. With Arturis and me around, it will give you another shooter if necessary and someone that can lay some groundwork with the weapons makers.”
“That actually sounds like a good idea. Just don’t be surprised if we use your chair as a pack animal. It does hover, right?”
Surprising even himself, the Major roared with laughter, as he nodded. No one besides the Mage and the Major knew that Arturis had pushed an image into both of their minds of the chair laboring under the burden of luridly-colored shopping bags.
Luka pushed back from the table, saying, “Then I expect you’re going to be leaving quickly. Is there anything that you need before you go?”
“We believe in just a few minutes. I waiting for the last member of our party.”
Margot slapped the front of her forehead, muttering, “Of course. Linie was coming from the ship to go with us. Let me check on the ETA.” After a brief consultation via her comm-unit, the guard captain reported the young woman would be just a few minutes more.
While her companions were busy with last-minute preparations, Ruth gave Pawlik a quick call. She wanted to check and see if there was anything he wanted her to pick up for him and also bring them up to date on the plan.
While not totally happy with how far she was going to be away from him, the Anchor only asked that his Mage avoid any massive exercise of her talent. Reassuring him that she would be careful, the woman stowed her comm-unit and relaxed to patiently wait.
<< The chair is quite capable, Mage Ruth. Alan has not explored all of the things that he could do with its assistance because he has been so depressed about being confined and prevented from acting freely. >>
<< Hopefully, both you and he can explore possibilities together. >>
<< I would like that, and I’m pretty sure that Coly would be thrilled. >>
<
<< That is the name of the Tegral resident in the “smart chair.” >>
<< What? There is another AI in the chair? Does Alan know? >>
There was a pause as Arturis thought. During the next few seconds, the Mage was conscious of a faint whisper, a mental sound, it was just below her ability to hear. The murmuring stopped, and Arturis said, <
Before the Ruth could respond anymore, the sound of the landing shuttle announced the arrival of their last party member. There was a bustle of activity as a slight young woman with whiskey-colored curls entered, escorted by two large men.
Responding to the near panic that shown through her eyes, the Mage stood up and greeted her warmly, “Linie, there is no way that I can thank you for he
lping my friend Mary. I understand that you’re willing to also rescue me from a problem.”
Whatever the woman-child had expected, it was not someone pleased to see her. Responding to the apparent approval in Ruth’s words and posture, Linie said, “Someone needed to help her. Nobody else would do it, so I did. It looks like she’s going to be fine, in case you didn’t hear.”
“Yes, I did hear, and thank you again. Are you ready to go shopping?”
“If you think I can help, yes. But, I don’t know any place that will sell to you or me anyplace in the city.”
“That is why we were going to a different city.”
Chapter 34 – Whirlwind
Viltri, Shofu Prime
It was a whirlwind experience, unlike anything the Kherisians had experienced before. None of them had ever seen the Mage behave in this way. Her children could’ve told stories of how their mother was capable of sweeping them along whatever path she had selected, but none of them would have believed it. It was too different from the controlled way the Mage customarily acted.
Jenna’s head was spinning from the speed that Ruth had gotten them all into the same chamber in the Force X Bar that contained the unassigned armor and weapons. Grouping the travelers around her in the center of the floor, the older woman took a deep breath and clapped her hands together.
Blinding light formed multicolor tendrils that exploded from the Mage’s hands and formed a cage around their party. The tendrils grew thicker until they merged together in an enclosing sphere of light. The power of the illumination increased until everyone was covering their eyes.
Alan could feel Arturis humming in a deep low tone and thought a softer, higher note came from his chair. Both Jenna and Margot were too stunned by the magic executing around them to notice that both Jack and Bill were also resonating.
Ruth was singing to her sphere of magic, producing a multipart cord that merged in the musical contribution from the Tegrals. Weaving in and out of the fabric of Ruth’s spell, the AIs shared the Mage’s emotions and sensory input, expanding their understanding of their mobile partners in a way that nothing short of a full merge could do.
