by P. S. Power
Cindy waved at her.
“There’s a low floating function that isn’t too hard to use. What Tor was doing when he came in? If you want to do it and think about where you want to go it will work. We really don’t have time to learn how to use it all. The shields will work automatically though. That and the force lances will have to do, really. They pretty much just push things really hard.”
That had more conversation taking place for a while, about how things were going to be used. Richard put his shield on, tucking it under his clothing. That he changed, using his clothing amulet, picking the plain brown outfit that the things made automatically. Interestingly, everyone else moved to something similar then, showing they all had that kind of magic on them, if nothing else.
It seemed nearly like a uniform, suddenly.
Lydia pretended to look at a watch, which she didn't have on. He did, so marked the time, and played with the buttons on his plastic watch, starting a countdown.
“We need to be on the ground in about an hour. We should go and get the others. I could do it, but I don’t know how to use the box. Well, I get the idea, but I don’t read Standard, yet.” Richard felt the lack of skill but worrying about it at the moment wasn’t a brilliant plan. They all needed to be on task.
Tim Baker stood up then, and waved his large hand.
“I’ll go with you. We should hurry. We can leave from here in… Is fifteen minutes all right, Line Walker Lydia?”
She nodded, her face serious.
“That’s fine. How are we getting there? I can take us through the void, if we can find the right location on the ground. That will take about ten minutes or so. I have to do it one person at a time.” She looked a little embarrassed about that, as if anyone else there could do it faster.
Everyone else just acted like she was giving them an order, so acted that way. Timon just got up and moved toward the door, with Richard following him at a near run.
They didn’t speak until they were through the box, teleporting from the Moon to Earth and actually inside the palace that Tor had near the capital city of Noram. Richard had never gotten a name for it and wasn’t planning to ask just then, since they needed to find Kerry and Denis. That part was actually fairly simple to do. They were both napping on couches in the room directly outside of the space the mages were working in.
Brian Yi was inside the space, visible through the door.
Richard waved for the man to come out, not speaking, since he didn't want to interrupt the men and women working. To that end he bent down and lightly shook Kerry by the shoulder, which had her awake instantly. Den took a bit longer, but there was no shouting or calling out about being woken up way too early. Then, taking Kerry by the hand, since she was the girl there, he led them all out into the front hallway. Far enough away that speaking wasn’t going to be a major distraction to the work going on.
He didn’t let go of the woman’s hand, which, interestingly, wasn’t tugged away. She was looking cute, even with wrinkles from sleep on half her face. She’d had some work done to make her even prettier than she had been before. Not that it mattered that much. The woman had been cute before.
Rich took a breath to get everyone to pay attention.
“We have a mission. Kerry and Denis are up for that. Brian, will you stay here and make certain everything is going all right? It’s pretty much you or me for that and I actually know the plan.”
The words got a single, rather clipped, nod.
“Got it. Do you have an ETA on when you’ll be back here?”
He didn't really. Counting in his head, he finally made a bit of a face.
“Between six hours and a few days. We woke the people being worked on up and you need to sleep soon. I don’t know if it’s possible to do that here.” No one had ever stayed the night there, even if Tor had offered almost every time.
Timon smiled then and called out, which had a man who looked to be in his thirties to walk quickly into the room a few moments later.
They spoke, in Standard, with the other fellow nodding and smiling politely, then leaving.
After a moment, Tim looked back at Richard.
“We’ll have a room and toiletries for each of you, when the work is done. I mentioned that it might be a week or more, just in case. Will you be fine here, Master Yi? I know that your Standard is up to the task but not everyone is comfortable with the idea of visiting on such short notice.” Again, the man seemed nearly embarrassed about the idea.
A thing that Rich didn't understand at all. It was just a difference in cultures, it seemed.
Brian nodded.
“That should be fine. Though, if it’s going to be that long, I expect someone to be in touch with me. I’ll hold things down here.” The man yawned, but grinned about it, patting his hand over his mouth. “Be careful.”
That got Rich to smile.
“I always am. At least in theory. We need to get back ASAP. Come on.” He started out, moving at a near run. Everyone kept up pretty well. As they did it, Tim passed amulets to the two going with them, explaining what each thing did.
Then Richard covered the plan.
“Denis is going to be our primary here. The goal will be to put everyone in a certain area to sleep, if possible. Then Kerry will remove the target from a safe distance. That’s Georges. I don’t know what he looks like. We’ll get that for you first, if we can. Then Lydia is going to move in and secure the sleeping people. That means you can’t hit her while she’s doing it, Den.”
They were in the box already, with Timon working the blue glowing sigils on the back wall. The whole thing was a bit glaring. They came out on the Moon, leaving the box nearly as fast as they’d entered the thing. By his watch, Richard realized that the whole trip had only taken seven minutes, instead of the fifteen allotted. Even if they’d had to travel to a different world in order to get that done. The transport boxes were pretty sharp, that way.
Even better, they didn't have to go down to the bakery or anything before they could go. Everyone except Dareg was standing in front of the box, waiting for them. That particular tall man was moving toward them, from the right, his hands filled with something. When he got there, he wasn’t out of breath at all regardless of how quickly he’d been moving. That wasn’t slowly done… or even a mere world class sprint. It was far faster than what was strictly human. At a guess something close to a hundred miles per hour.
A thing that Richard filed away, since super speed might come in handy on a mission like they were on.
The young-looking man hefted his packages, which clanked a bit.
“Those shackles. There was also an offer from the entire duty shift of the guard here to go with us, if we need the aid. We can’t really bring many more people with us.” He glanced directly at Lydia, not passing the heavy looking chains and thick metal bands to anyone.
The girl seemed to think about things for a moment, before speaking.
“That was kind of them. We’ll keep that in mind, in case things are different on the ground than we think so far. Oh… Sorry. These are Kerry Yoder and her brother, Denis Thompkins. They’re both famous back home. For cooking and um, kind of as players, I guess?”
Timon smiled and bowed in their direction, moving back into the box.
“Entertainment baking. It’s amazing to see. These are my sister Tiera, brother Tor and Baron Ruel Havar. Tiera’s betrothed…” There was a wicked grin at the words, which indicated the fellow was teasing about that. Which got a scowl from Tiera, for some reason.
Cindy, her eyes shifting from left to right spoke then, seeming abstracted and distant, mentally.
“They haven’t set that up yet, even if it’s clearly the obvious end point. We need for Ruel here to send a letter asking about that to Laurie Baker. We can deliver that for you as soon as this job is done, Ruel. It would be silly for Tiera to say no. Not that I checked on that. I’m just being pushy and putting pressure on you, Tiera.”
Richard shook his
head, since it was possible that the teasing could be taken the wrong way, which was poor timing.
“Later though, for all that? Lydia, can you get us into place?”
That turned out to take longer than ten minutes, since they had to have Dareg go in first, find the old mill to the north of Darrow and come back, so that he could show her the way with a touch on the wrist. Then, after she went in with Tor, who went first, Dareg smiled.
“I can take the next person? I have the location.”
Richard grinned.
“You’re a line walker too? That’s rare, isn’t it?”
Tiera laughed at the words, but nodded.
“It doesn’t seem like it today, does it? We live in a world with a tiny handful of people capable of that kind of thing. We just happen to be around half of them at the moment. Tor can do it too. I can probably manage it, using a jump ship. I mean… I created the things, so it seems reasonable. I’ve never tried. I should probably get lessons in it but that hasn’t come up as of yet. I don’t really know the right people to get in on that.”
Richard tilted his head back and forth, as Tor went into the booth with Dareg and vanished, the door not closing at all.
“You know Lydia and she was in the program. I think that the Thomson boys are in it as well. I… do you know them? Clemance and Dumas Thomson?” Tiera was their aunt, which didn't mean she was close enough to ask them for favors.
Interestingly, Richard figured that he was, for something like that. It might have just been him making assumptions, but the truth was that most people were willing to do a lot if they were asked, as long as it didn’t break any real rules or cost them anything.
The woman nodded then, seeming pleased at the subject turning in that direction.
“I do, of course. I just didn’t want to pressure them that way. They’d both stand for me with their instructors but that might make things more difficult for them, not being through the training themselves yet.”
Richard thought for a second, since he had to work out who he knew that might be of help. Tiera Baker was, for the day at least, crew. A thing that was important to him.
“Eve Benson. She’s connected to Troy, the man in charge of that program. They used to date, I think. I need to look her up soon anyway.” At least if their relationship was supposed to be more than a one-night stand.
Eve had been at a party with him, about a month before. She lived in a different reality, so he had an excuse for not calling the next day. That didn’t mean she wasn’t worth getting in touch with again. It was just a bit of extra work, finding a way to get to her world like that, just for a personal visit. Honestly, it should be possible for him to do that kind of thing on his own. At least Kate had finally suggested that might be the case. Tabitha, his cat, had done it, going from the IPB base to Noram for a visit. That was kind of a hint that he could manage it himself, if he tried.
Next to him, the very tall woman, who was nearly identical to Eve Benson, except for the height, grinned.
“I might be able to bring that topic up with Ambassador Benson. I wasn’t aware she was connected that way, though it makes some sense, being she’s also in that rare group. Thank you, Master Drake.” She stopped then since Lydia was back.
“Next?”
The process of getting them all to the right place took about four minutes, with two people working on it. Richard went last, appearing in the middle of a broken-down room. The old mill actually had most of a roof, though one of the wooden walls had fallen down. On that side there was a decently sized river, visible, with a broken water wheel on that side. At least it wasn’t moving.
The floor had holes in it, with the ground being visible below them, not six inches away. A bit of grass grew in places, acting as a homely decoration or perhaps a sign that the mill was well and truly falling into ruin. Everyone stood back, waiting for them to all get there. Early, as it turned out. That just gave them time to cover what was going on, information wise. Or, more to the point, Cindy Mableton did that for them. Her powers were perfect for it and Lydia made a point of keeping on top of that.
Using the skills of others to make up for the ones that she lacked on her own. That was the biggest part of leading any small group, of course.
The plan didn't really change, though it was clear that the men driving in their floating ground craft were getting tired and three of them had to go to the bathroom, according to Cindy. It meant that they might pack it in early for the night, since the man in charge didn’t want to stop if they didn’t have to.
At just before the two-hour mark, two different craft appeared at almost exactly the same time. One of those was small and blue, looking a lot like a truck, except that it didn’t have wheels. It floated in the air, and moved toward them at about a hundred miles per hour. There were four men sitting in the back, with a driver and a person next to him. They all matched, wearing rust red and gray uniforms. Except the inside passenger. That woman was in all black.
Before Richard could really examine them all, a small vehicle came from above them, floating almost straight down. It was gray, matching the clouds in a way that made it almost invisible. When everyone stopped and climbed out, it was clear that at least one of the people was recognizable. Sort of.
Clemance Thomson. The young man looked to be about fourteen, which he actually was. His face was similar to the last time Richard had seen him, except better looking. Enough that he was probably handsome even, instead of rather goofy looking. Then, that part had been a disguise.
Next to him was a giant man, who made the other tall people with them seem small by comparison. He had to be at least nine feet tall. His hair was red and skin a nice tan color. He looked to be too old to be the Prince, though the resemblance was definitely there.
Bowing, Richard tried to include everyone.
“King Richard.” He stopped then, to think about what to say next. That came up in red letters that floated in front of his eyes. Solidly and in a way that would be impossible to ignore. “Countess Printer. Everyone, thank you for coming. Line Walker Lydia has the plan for us. She’s been placed in charge of this operation.”
He held the bow, since he was, according to the Mableton supplied information, being abrupt on a level that would be considered rude, otherwise. As long as he held the bow it meant that he knew he was doing it and was, without saying the words, asking for forgiveness at the same time. A thing that seemed to be understood by the Noram people at the very least.
All of the IPB people, including Timon and Tor, bowed at the same time. Dareg and Tiera didn’t though, for some reason. Or, rather they bowed, but stood up as soon as the king did.
Baron Havar was a bit later than that, but stood well before the rest of them.
“King Richard. Countess… Line Walker Lydia has a plan for us. A rather skillful one. I don’t know what part you or your people will be playing here today.” He seemed concerned about that factor.
Words came up in front of him again, explaining. That reminded him that he needed to get Cindy a present, as soon as possible. Maybe something like jewelry, since women seemed to enjoy things like that. The woman didn't normally wear that kind of thing, so it might have to be something else. She was so useful that he definitely needed to keep her as a friend.
Not standing at all, Lydia spoke.
“I’d like for Countess Printer to stand guard over Denis. He’s doing the takedown of the kidnappers. Putting them to sleep, using direct effect magic. King Richard, if you’ll guard Kerry? She’s going to be using magic to remove the target from his captors.” She was clearly reading something that Cindy had written for her, but nodded and went on, seeming to agree. “Countier Thomson, if you’ll guard me? My job will be moving in to shackle people. Everyone else will stand back. If we can’t control the kidnappers, their job will be making sure that they don’t escape. Even if it means killing us to make happen. If any of us are taken, open fire and make sure they don’t get away. Don’t hesitate.”
The words were spoken in Standard, but Richard got the general idea. It left her and by extension, Clemance Thomson, seeming brave, without really being too much of a risk. To his credit, the young blond man simply nodded.
“Honored. I can do that. You have a shield?”
Everyone did, including the guards that had been brought with Holly Printer in the little blue truck thing. Some of those men were actually tall women, Richard noticed. None as tall as the woman herself. She seemed a bit hard and mannish, but smiled enough to show she wasn’t bitter about it. Grimly, since it was a serious situation at hand.
Lydia led Cindy into explaining the situation and actually draw a copy of the map that the kidnappers were using. That meant they needed to get a scout into the area with a communication device. Without even hesitating, Dareg Canton volunteered to do that. Interestingly, Lydia shook her head.
“Not alone. Ri- Drake, I want you to go in as well. Canton, you should listen to him. He has experience in things like this. You have a way of talking to us?”
Those words had Tor handing Rich his own handheld, with Dareg bringing up a map on his own device, so they knew where to go.
Cindy shrugged.
“You have about two hours before they can possibly be into position. That’s if they don’t stop or have to slow down for cows in the road. It’s four hours before true dark. We need to hit as soon as possible, when they stop. Otherwise they’ll probably abuse Georges for fun.”
Dareg turned to him, moving over.
“I’ll go over how to fly then. It isn’t hard. Come on.” The man grinned at him, as if it was really going to be an issue. It honestly wasn’t. Flying, it turned out, wasn’t hard at all.
Chapter four
