by Chris Hechtl
“Shield?” the foreman looked surprised.
“Yeah, we can cage the belt so if it breaks it'll be contained.” Max used his meaty hands to show them wrapping around an object. “That way if it goes off...”
“It won’t lash out,” the foreman finished face clearing. “But to get the wheels on and off...”
“Right well, we'll have to work out a compromise. But we can work on the ear protection.”
“Eh?” the foreman said, pulling cotton out of his ears. He blew his nose again. “Sorry, didn't hear you.”
“Okay...” Max said laughing. “Looks like you're smarter then you look.”
“Well why'd ya think I wasn't?” the foreman waved to the doors. “A man can get deaf real quick in there. All my people have cotton.”
“Okay,” Max said holding his hands up. “Good. Good. One less thing to worry about then. But we can do a safety seminar.”
“What for?” the foreman asked. “It'll take time...”
Max nodded. “Yeah but how long does it take to train someone from scratch to replace someone injured or killed?” Max asked doggedly.
“Well...” the foreman said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
Max nodded again, this time with a tight lipped smile. “Right. A lot longer than it takes for a couple of hours to get people to become more aware of their surroundings and to take steps to keep themselves from getting hurt. Shields too. That may keep hands and feet out of areas. That kid lost his arm you know.”
The foreman winced. “Okay, we'll try it your way.”
“Right, I've got a syllabus here with me. We can start with simple things, like making sure clothing and hair is not hanging to keep them from being caught.”
The foreman grimaced. “Ah. Yes, we've had a few injured that way. Good point,” the foreman nodded, starting to warm to the idea. “I have them wearing gaijin style clothing now, no laces or other things.”
“Right, common sense. Now...”
<==={}------------>
Perry looked at the wagon train of coal coming in and shook his head at the soot covered men and women around it. “Isn't there anything else they can use? That shit's bad for you.” He shook his head and sighed.
“Do you want to go play with the basilisks to get a load of lumber out?” Ryans asked.
Perry frowned. “Ah...”
Ryans snorted. “Thought not. And there are a lot of people.” He waved to the crowd. Men and women were either unloading or standing in line to get a bucket load or arguing over the price. “And a long, long winter. During the spring and summer the coal mines supply the blacksmiths and foundries. Then they switch in the late summer to supply the people. There's never enough though since they can't dig in the winter.” He grimaced. “We can't get the natural gas up this year and even if we did it wouldn't make a dent right now either. Don't get me started on that lamp oil they use. Wanda's still pitching fits over it and her lab.”
“Ah. So what do the poor sods in the country burn?”
“Exactly,” Ryans replied smiling.
“Huh?” Perry said turning in confusion.
“Sod. They burn dried peat sod. Or dried dung. Or bundles of compressed grasses and leaves. Or that lamp oil stuff, um Phoenix oil. Whatever they can get their hands on, even bales of cotton or dried soiled hay. Since they run to an open floor plan with only a few window in a tiny building, it seems to work.”
“Or not, but I get the picture,” Perry sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was going to need a trim soon.
“Yeah it's a problem. One we've yet to solve. Natural gas and electric will help, but it'll be years before they make a difference,” Ryans sighed. Every time he thought they were making progress it only took looking at the little guy to see it wasn't fast enough. Some things were filtering down to them but the rich were getting the first pickings since they were funding everything or had the money to buy it. A few of the lords and merchants were getting wise; they were buying up surplus and then selling it at a markup. He didn't care about the luxury items but it annoyed him when they started buying up futures in caulk and coal. That the serfs could use or needed.
“Yeah. Well, I'd put in a call for more irons in the fire too.”
“Such as?” Ryans asked curious.
“Such as, oh, insulation. Better building materials. Better buildings for that matter. Most are hovels. And don't get me started on hygiene,” Perry said in disgust. Getting the soldiers sorted out on hygiene had been a chore. Getting the barracks insulated now that winter was approaching was a pain. At least they had a lot of soldiers with some construction skills to help out.
“If you want to go out in ten feet of snow to take a dump all the power to you,” Ryans said smiling. “Drop your drawers in the nearest snow bank and you're liable to freeze your ass off.”
Perry wrinkled his nose. “Cute.”
“Yeah it is. But it's true,” Ryans waved. “Bed pans and indoor plumbing obviously. We're working on it. It takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day you know. We can't change this society over night.” He was just glad they had two functional bathrooms in the castle now. Even if they were in constant use. Max had a potter switching to making porcelain sinks, toilets, and tubs but it wouldn't make much of a difference for people now. A few but not many, He for one hated sitting on the toilet seats they currently had. The first time he had he'd got a splinter in a rather tender unmentionable place.
“Right. Still sucks though,” Perry said shaking his head and walking off.
<==={}------------>
Ryans took in the grim faced cavalry saddling up in front of the stables a few hours later. He turned to Perry. “Something I should know?”
“Raid on a village in county Firth,” Perry said looking around.
“Ah. Okay. And this is the reaction force? How'd we get the intel?” Ryans asked watching a man adjust his girth strap.
“A royal mail rider was going though the village on their delivery route and was nearly killed. The girl was uninjured but her mount took a couple of cross bow bolts to the rear. She got it to the next village and sent a bird back,” Perry said. He waved to indicate the bird house.
Ryans turned to look. A man was standing outside the coops, dressed in robes that were liberally splashed with bird droppings. “Bird man of Alcatraz,” he muttered watching the man use a finger to pet a pterosaur on his arm. The four winged thing seemed to coo, bobbing its hooked bill back and forth and then fluttering its wings. Its wicked clawed rear legs gripped the man's glove tightly.
“They aren't very bright, but they can carry short messages to their roosting places,” Perry explained. “We overlooked them because they can't carry much and can get taken out by wyverns and other predators pretty easily. Less than half ever make it to their intended destination.”
“Ah. Yeah, there's that,” Ryans nodded. He for one had overlooked them because they could be intercepted. “I take it the raiders are still out there? In Firth?”
“No, I sent Lewis out to scout ahead; she picked up their trail and radioed back. We're going to cut them off at the pass,” Perry smiled pulling himself up onto a mount. The beast snorted, blowing snot on the cobble stones then grunted irritably.
“See you in a week. Ha!” Perry said turning the beast and riding to the entrance.
“Good luck!” Ryans called waving.
<==={}------------>
Ginger sighed as she watched the people below. She was leaning on the parapet, enjoying the afternoon breeze. “Bored Sergeant Lewis?” A familiar contralto voice said behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see princess Diedra smiling at her.
“Not really, well, a little.” She grimaced. “Lieutenant Perry has me on leave for the next two days since I did all that flying time finding the raiders. The problem is I don't know what to do with myself. It's not like I can go out and rent a movie or go to a concert. I'd go shopping but I'm not into the stuff your people are into.” She grimaced. “Sorry, I didn't me
an anything by that.” She shrugged. She wished she could have been in on that but she'd been forced to watch as Perry took the raiders down. He was on his way to the nearest lord with them now.
The princess nodded, coming over to stand next to her. “Concert?” she asked, feeling the breeze on her face. She smiled, eyes closed.
“Anyone tell you that you look like Britney Spears?” Ginger asked looking at her profile.
“I've heard that before,” the princess smiled. “Is she royalty?”
“No, but she's treated like it. She's an entertainer.” Ginger shrugged. “Singer, actress, dancer.”
“One of those?” Deidra asked sounding offended. She remembered a video Paterson had showed her once before. “I thought she was a royal from your country!” she said. Ginger chuckled.
“No, we, that is, most of us are from a democracy. The United States, we don't have royalty, though we've got our share of celebrities who are treated as such. Some because they're in politics, some because they're rich and famous, some because they're great business men, and some just because.” She shrugged.
“And this woman is one of those?” Deidra sniffed.
“You could say that. She's a hotty. Like you,” Ginger smiled.
“Ah,” Deidra blushed a little looking away. One of the guards chuckled softly. She gave him a mock reproving look then went back to looking at the people below.
“You said you'd go shopping... For what?” she asked after a moment.
“Oh this and that. Window shopping is fun. I like to do that from time to time. Keeping up with the latest fashions isn't really my thing. I like to go to the shooting range so sometimes I hit the gun shops to see their latest weapons too.” She shrugged.
“Ah,” the Princess nodded. She too enjoyed testing the latest weapons.
“Then there's flying. I've got a glider back home. Wicked little thing. It's actually my family's. Dad and Uncle Rich don't do much flying these days though so I'm the one that uses it the most.” She shrugged.
“Glider?” The princess asked.
“It's a... well it's a long winged craft that can soar like a bird... or whatever that is.” She waved to indicate the flock of pterosaurs on the nearby roof.
“Ah, the Pestakani,” Deidra nodded.
“Yeah...okay, whatever they are,” Ginger grimaced. “I also like to veg, you know, sit around a fire with a good romance book, soft music, and paint my toe nails...” She blushed suddenly.
Deidra laughed. “I've done that with Sue, Charlie, and Wanda. I'll have to remember to invite you next time.” She smiled.
“Hey that'd be fun,” Ginger grinned.
“So tell me more about this woman you mentioned, this Spears...”
Ginger's face fell into a frown then she got an idea. The smile grew. “Well, if you've got a moment, I could show you a couple of her music video's I've got...” She pulled out her tablet and keyed through the files.
“Sure,” the princess said smiling and leaning closer. Ginger played 'I'm not a girl, not yet a woman', making Deidra smile. She didn't fully understand everything the young woman said, but the meaning was clear. And her outfits! She tapped it when it showed her on an outcrop of rock. “Pause it.”
Ginger hit the pause key and looked up. “What's up?” she asked confused.
“Well... I was just wondering if we could get the royal tailors to make something like that. It would be very fetching to wear out of court,” Deidra said, just imagining how many of the old goats she could scandalize with this. Many of the lords were heading back to their homes to stay the winter. A few though were planning to remain, trusting in the Queen's hospitality. It was vexing of course but they needed their support.
“Yeah, I'd say it would. Comfortable too.” Ginger glanced at some of the women below. “You'd be setting a style and turning heads. Get a lot of tongues wagging all over town,” she grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief.
“That's my whole point exactly,” Deidra grinned back. “Though it's one head that I'd like to... how do you say? Turn?”
Ginger chuckled. “Okay, I'm in. Let me get my laptop... I'll check the printer; if no one's around we can print a couple of screen grabs for the tailors...”
<==={}------------>
“Having fun dear?” Ryans asked watching Deidra work out in the courtyard the next morning. She saluted her opponent then stood her wooden sword down and came over. She pulled the wire mask up and shook her hair, then grimaced and pulled the pony tail out. She was wearing white leather padding as armor to protect herself. It covered her vitals and she had pads on her joints.
He smiled and handed her a canteen. She took a sip then nodded. “Cold. I like it.”
He chuckled. “I thought you would.” She took another sip.
“How goes things?” Deidra asked, wiping at her mouth and then using a handkerchief he handed her to wipe at her sweaty brow. He was amused to see she had a sweat band on.
“Those that wanted out are out; we've pared the royal army down to those who want to stay in. We've got most of the army outfitted now; the infantry soldiers are all armed with rifles. We're using the bolt action 1903 Springfield for now since production is a problem. We've sent the older weapons with trainers to the other passes and strategic locations. It'll be interesting to see the raiders faces when they get a whiff of cordite and gunpowder.”
“Not to mention grapeshot,” Deidra said nodding.
“Yeah that too, we're getting questions about more of our Terran clothing, including denim. One of the royal tailors was asking about it this morning,” he said giving her a look.
She gave a start and then covered it. “He was?”
“Yeah, it seems you don't have cotton like Terra does, so he wanted to know if that stuff off the Albia fuzz tree would work in its place,” he answered. “Gotta be a weird looking tree.” He shook his head.
“They are. They grow... high.” She waved to indicate the parapet above them. He turned to look then whistled softly.
“That high huh?”
She nodded. “The farms that grow them can only get to the lower parts of the tree to harvest the fuzz. The uppers either are taken by creatures for nesting material or fly off in the wind.” She shrugged. “A few farmers have... she pointed to a scaffold. “But it's only around large old trees. They can't build them around each and every tree in the orchard.”
“Yeah, that would be a lot of work for a couple of harvests,” Ryans grimaced. “Rakes?”
“Yes. They use poles and rakes,” she smiled. “You figured that out? That quickly?”
“It was logical. Extend the reach of the picker,” Ryans replied nodding as he hugged her to his side. She smiled. Together they turned to watch Zara's sparring match.
He rumbled a soft chuckle as Zara tripped backwards and fell on her butt. Deidra smiled but elbowed him. He ooffed politely.
“So this denim...” she asked before he could get frisky. She knew she would need to distract him or his hands would wander.
“It's used to make jeans. It's a very hardy material. It lasts a long time, wears well, is very comfortable, and can be treated to keep from burning or being damaged in some ways.” Ryans explained.
“I gathered that. Wanda told me a little when we talked about something called... nylon I think she called it? We went off track,” she grimaced.
“Yeah, I can gather. She can get a little scattered because of all the projects on her mind. I'll see if I can get the formula off to what's his name later today. Hopefully he can use some of it.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“What for?” he asked looking down at her.
“Oh, nothing,” she said airily, with a slight smile to her lips. He frowned puzzled but she didn't respond, just continued to watch the match.
<==={}------------>
A few days later the marines working on the hummer whistled. One whistled, and then another looked up, gaped, and then wolf whistled in admiration. Soon the ot
hers were looking and yipping or whistling.
“Hubba hubba! Sexy lady!” Scooter said looking at the vision.
“What the hell’s going on out here?” Max said irritable came out of the garage and wiping grease off his hands. “What are you monkeys whistling about now?” He looked over to the girl; jaw dropped then shook his head and turned on the men. “You damn fool idjets! That's the princess!”
He shook his head as she passed, turning slightly to smile at them. “Mornin' princess,” he said politely. Her smile turned into a grin as she looked over her shoulder then strutted on her way. Two guards followed in her wake. Both men looked amused and a little dazed.
“Now get back to work you jarheads. What's the matter with you? making eyes at the boss' girl! Honestly!” Max waved to the men. Sheepishly they obeyed, but not without lingering looks the way the princess went.
<==={}------------>
Ginger grinned as Deidra passed her. “Work it girl, work it!” she said watching Deidra strut. Deidra looked over her shoulder and gave the pilot a saucy wink. “Go get 'em girl.”
<==={}------------>
“Well golly!” Perry said turning to see the princess approach. Ryans was watching the men drilling and didn't turn at first. Perry closed his open mouth then poked Ryans and cleared his throat. He nodded his chin to him but Ryans was thoroughly distracted.
“What?” Ryans demanded turning. Perry jerked his head to the princess. He caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and turned. His jaw opened as he took in the sight of her.
“Now that's a sight you don't see every day,” Perry murmured. It was true. The princess had obviously seen a Britney video. He couldn't recall which one off the top of his head, but she was drop dead gorgeous. She was dressed in jeans, but the pant legs were split open into bell bottoms. The splits were filled with silk lace cloth dyed a green to match her top.
The green top was cut daringly low for a woman of this culture, and trimmed with matching lace. Her belly was completely exposed. Her hair flowed behind her as the wind started to blow. “Well?” she asked smiling. “What do you think?” she asked, hands on her hips. She even had understated Terran makeup on.
