Duty

by P. S. Power

  The only difference was that, when attractive women did that, even the ones who were drunk, each of them smiled. Two of them even put a hand out, as if to touch him. Most of the time he’d worked at the club, being hit by a woman like that had him instantly blamed for it. The best results tended to be sullen requests to be excused.

  It was enough that Serro noticed it, by the time he got to her.

  “Well, you seem to be in a good mood tonight! Some kind of new drug? You seem pretty steady on your feet, so far, if it is.”

  He nearly grinned at her, then did it. After all, hiding his positive emotions wasn’t really going to help him learn to adapt to being like everyone else.

  “I had some magical work done. Not that I asked for it. Tim Baker took me aside yesterday and made some changes. Did you know that most people don’t want to kill themselves first thing on waking up each day? I always thought I was just surly and unpleasant due to a personal failure. Working from normal like this is… Easy. So far, anyway.”

  There was a nod then. A serious thing, if that could be told thorough the makeup amulet. The decently tall Austran woman chuckled a bit. It was kind of hard to hear, over the din.

  “I’ve heard that one, yes. Well, good. Now, you were hanging around with the Revered One of Austra? That’s different. I wouldn’t have thought that you’d meet up, in the normal course of things.”

  Albert could see that as being more or less reasonable to think.

  “I know. It’s mainly just doing the work I have been, I think. Helping out with things as they come up. It’s kind of a job now. I mean, I still work here, but handling things that come up where people need help. For the Ancients. Anyway, I came to beg you and Jeffery for help. So, you know, please?” He was willing to clasp his hands and go all the way down to his knees if it was needed. His new position was probably going to guarantee he’d be doing that kind of thing for real, at least on occasion.

  Serro, simply smiled. Her red lips stretching enough to show she meant it or wanted him to think she did. That part was interesting. When she spoke, it was clear that she felt busy. Distracted, even.

  “Sure? What do you need me to do?”

  “I’ve sort of put together a party. Here. After we close in the morning? Tomorrow, not in two hours. I asked some High Servants to come work as servers and all that. That could fall through, naturally. We need a band if possible. A lot of Ancients, Revered Ones, will be coming. Some other people as well.” He stopped for a moment, the music getting extra loud, which caused everyone to cheer, making talking a point not worth trying to force into being at the moment. When it quieted down, he told her the rest of it. Parts of it, anyway.

  “So… I kind of invited Niles Pence to the get together. Baron Pence.”

  The tallish woman, who was only about four inches taller than he was, made a face. One visible through the mask she constantly wore.

  “The drunk Noble, from when you were a kid?”

  “Right. The one that bashed into me. So… I decided to move past that, if I can. He did apologize and seem to mean it. First though, today, I’m headed over to his house, to make sure we can find it tomorrow. He doesn’t have a transport box there, yet. Dare Canton… He’s another friend of mine, he’s going to go with me for that. He has a ship, so is going to teach me how to fly it.”

  There was a soft whistle then, from his boss.

  “Nice. That sounds big then, if you’re having that Baron in. The fact that you also just said that you invited a bunch of Revered Ones and Prince Dareg isn’t tiny, either. I suppose you asked the Premier of Austra and Queen Tiera as well, next?”

  Albert blushed, even if he didn't really know why. It wasn’t over Queen Tiera coming, he was almost certain.

  “I didn’t ask the Premier of Austra. We’ve never met… Should I? Maybe to the next party? If this one isn’t a total disaster, I mean. I did ask the High Day Leader of Tellerand, Tiera, of course… Not the leader of Afrak though. Soam might be making a showing.” It was all true, even if it sounded like he was bragging or name dropping.

  Serro just snorted at him. It was meant to be rude, he was nearly certain.

  “You can’t ask half the world leaders like that. Even if it’s just about personal friends. So, yes, get with the Premier, whoever heads up Afrak and Antarctica as well. Vagus, too, if you haven’t already?”

  “No, that one is good, I think. I’ll call to check, just to make sure. Their Ancient is planning to come, but I don’t know who their ruler is. So, you’ll help? I’m just thinking normal food and drinks and a band. That’s what I told everyone to expect, and what they’re getting. It’s just a casual thing, right?”

  Rather than ask him, politely, to leave and never come back, she just shrugged. It had to have taken heroic control, on her part.

  “Essentially a double shift? We can do that. Let me ask who’s willing to stay and help. Or come in for it. It’s good to see this, you know that?”

  She looked at him directly, which he understood.

  She meant him. Standing there, not impaired by drugs. Not trying to slowly kill himself, so that no one could stop him. Doing things. Even if his part was pretty small, so far. Holding a party, even going to see Baron Pence, to try and collect a little information.

  Impulsively, he hugged her.

  “It was all your doing. Wasn’t it? Getting me to actually go out into the world and try to do something useful.” That felt right, and the woman didn’t deny it.

  “All of it? Even most? No. I’d like to think that I managed to be helpful in places. Suggesting you use the healing amulet and all that. It’s what us mentors do, after all.” She pretended to look away then, her focus still on him. At first. Then she let go of him, patting his back in the universal signal of time to let go of the hug. “Crud. I have to go and talk to someone, now. Can you get with Jeffery on this? I’ll need help getting a band in time. This sounds big enough to bother with. Maybe we could get someone big in?”

  She walked away, moving quickly, her pink and white dress flowing behind her just enough to show that she wasn’t wearing slacks. Who she was aiming to meet didn’t show up to him, since she vanished into the crowd of people.

  Jeffery, as was his norm, was behind the bar. Making drinks and setting up other things for people to imbibe in. On a few occasions, he went to the unit on the wall and came back with food, or even things like mugs of hot chocolate. He flowed, making things happen easily enough that it all looked natural and preplanned.

  When his friend looked up, there was a wave to acknowledge him being there.

  “Al! Do you need anything? A bottle or some accella?” The look that came from the man was focused. Slightly more intense than usual. As if he was worried about something.

  Like the people back at their dwelling.

  “Help with a party, here, tomorrow after work? Serro already agreed for her part, so this might even work. We need a band. Someone good, if possible? I get to introduce you both to some of my new friends, so that’s exciting. I bet you all get along really well. I… Also invited Baron Pence. I’m heading over to his place in a few hours, you know, to try and let go of everything?”

  He felt a lot better already. That was due to the changes made to him, he didn’t doubt.

  Jeffery just nodded.

  “I can go with you, if you want? I know that… Well, you’ve mentioned the name a few times. Also some dreams of what happened, with him in it. He could have people there, to fight, when you go, or just to drive you away, now that he’s had time to consider things.”

  Albert honestly knew that. He wasn’t that worried.

  “He might. If he thinks an attack is coming, well, he can just be surprised. Dare is going with me, so that should be enough. I mean, if anyone tried to attack me, we can just leave, right?”

  His roomie closed one eye at him.

  “Hmm. Probably. Still, I should go as well. Get in on the free trip, if nothing else. If your friend Dare is all right
with that? I mean, I don’t want to cramp your style, if you have something going on that way.”

  That was pure teasing, even if Dare Canton was great looking. Jeffery didn’t know that, but he did know that Albert wasn’t into men that way. Truly, he’d barely been into women, for most of his life. It had seemed like too much effort to be more than friends with anyone. He’d managed it a few times, but then, shortly after moving to the Moon, he’d kind of stopped, to focus on his drinking issues.

  That wasn’t totally true, of course. Albert had tried, at first, to do all the normal things that men did in life. Get a job, meet a woman or two. It had been a struggle, to be honest. Everything was taken care of for you in Second City. You got food by dumping some rocks or dust into a magical device and selecting what you wanted. Everyone was assigned a place to live, and if you didn’t like it, you were allowed to change to something else or even improve the place you were staying, without anyone having a problem with it. As long as you didn’t let all the air out. That one thing was the big rule of the place. There were other, smaller ones, but the fact was, you simply didn’t have to try very hard to stay alive on the Moon.

  On the surface that sounded great. Honestly, Albert knew that it was incredible. On Earth, in places, people starved, even if they were willing to work hard, just because there wasn’t a place for them. They struggled and at times couldn’t make it, due to not being very intelligent or lacking something inside that kept them going.

  Now that he felt better, thanks to a wizard changing the essence of what he was, Al could see that he’d been directly in that last category, his entire life. Even in the last weeks as he’d fought to help other people, which had done a lot toward giving him purpose in life, it had been at least several times harder for him than it should have.

  In short, if he’d been forced to make his way in Noram, or even a place like Austra, he probably wouldn’t have made it. What he would have done, even back home, would have been to grab up a cutter from someplace and run the magical blade across his neck. Probably years before.

  Instead he’d gone slowly and been propped up by other people. By Jeffery, mainly. Serro as well. That last one was odd, of course. He’d never really dealt with her outside of the club. A few calls on the handheld, to discuss work, but that was all. Still, the woman in her funny makeup had always managed to help him out. When other people had been let go from the club for not doing their jobs right, Albert had been coddled and pulled into doing the right thing. More than once the woman should have cut him loose.

  Jeffery should have as well.

  Albert liked to think that he wasn’t a horrible person to live with. He more or less picked up after himself and didn’t make life too noisy or hard to deal with. Except that wasn’t the whole truth and never had been. Oh, he wasn’t a slob. Not even when drunk. That was due to the fact that he used magic for everything, instead of some natural talent at being tidy or cleanly.

  He truly did his part, being loud and obnoxious, of course. All drunk people did. At least the ones that he knew and there were a whole lot of them in his world. Even the nice ones, who were friendly and got their work done while deep in their cups were a bit unpredictable and tended toward being a little bit louder than was polite, in most places.

  Jeff never complained about it when he did that sort of thing. The only time he was even close to scolding had been when Albert failed to get up in time for work. No one had even whined about him constantly being late.

  Without those two, he would have probably just turned his shield off and found a way to stop being. Which, of course, was another lie. Albert understood that about himself. There wouldn’t have been any probably to the matter at all. It was part of why he’d moved to the Moon and stopped talking to his family. The real and only reason behind it.

  So that when he turned up dead, they wouldn’t have to clean up his body.

  True, he’d also been avoiding them because of their unreasonable expectations toward him. Like he find something to do with his life that was valuable to the world, and just possibly, get married and have children. That had been far too much for him to handle at the time, so the natural plan, instead of trying and failing, was to not try at all. To run and hide from his old, broken and crippled life. His parents asking if he was thinking of marriage wasn’t the true reason he’d hidden from them and his siblings.

  All things that now, after his changes, he didn’t have to bother with any longer.

  “None of which gets you out of going to Barony Pence today. If nothing else you should learn to fly a Jump Ship. That’s huge. Almost no one gets to do that kind of thing.”

  Jeffery, who was standing not three feet from him, by the sound dampeners of the bar, simply nodded.

  “I can get out of here a bit early for that. I don’t know if it’s fair to force your friend to teach me how to fly, but I bet seeing it done will be interesting. If he’s all right with me going along, too?”

  Holding up a hand, the right one, Albert walked out of the club, using the front entrance. There were people standing outside, most of them dressed up for an evening out. Even with impressive amounts of makeup, coming largely from amulets, most seemed a bit hard worn by the night’s endeavors. All the hard drinking, drug use and illicit sex. A couple across the hallway were pressed up against the stone wall, moaning and grunting rhythmically. No one else was paying attention, so he didn't either, just moving down the way a bit.

  Then he found Dare’s name in his frequent contact list and wondered if the man was in class. Thankfully he wasn’t, at the moment.

  “Albert! I need to go to my history lesson, then I’ll be ready for our trip. You remember where to go for that?”

  He actually did, so indicated he should be able to find the Weapons Square with a nod.

  “Hey… Not to be a pain, but I mentioned to Jeffery that I was going to possibly be seeing Baron Pence today, so he suggested he come along, for moral support. I don’t know if that’s all right. He wanted me to ask first, just in case.”

  Dareg let his head tilt to the right, a fast move that was almost a twitch, then he frowned. Except that the expression was considering, not upset about the change in plans.

  “That should be fine. We’re just going to have a look around and make certain we can get to the correct place. It isn’t like there will be open air slave pens next to the landing zone or anything. I can show him how to fly too, then he can steal your ship. Or borrow it, if you want to be that nice about it. Most aren’t, for some reason.” He grinned, then waved to someone not visible on the screen. “I should go now. See you in… Call it an hour and a half?”

  “See you then! Thanks. For letting Jeff come along. I know it’s stupid, but I’m actually feeling a bit nervous about all of this. Meeting up with the man that hit me and all that.”

  The one that left him crippled, for life. At least he’d thought that at the time. Everyone around him had. For over a year and a half, that had been all he was. The burden that would never leave. Which wasn’t that far away from what he’d actually become, as an adult. At least until a few weeks before, when he’d started helping people.

  Even that was just happenstance intervening in his life. After all, what were the odds that High Servant Commander Johan would be calling that handheld, just as he was there to pick the call up? Millions to one, at the very least. Then, when he saw that there was no High Servant, sworn to aid those in need on the other end of the communication, Johan had asked him to see to being useful. To take on a hard thing, for people doing something even harder. Not knowing that he would do anything at all, other than say no.

  That it had worked out was good, but was clearly far from normal.

  The whole thing after that was odd, as well. For instance, him being claimed by the Ancients. Then changed like he was. They didn’t offer that kind of thing to just anyone. It had been on the Austran Net, enough times for him to have gotten the idea. You couldn’t beg or buy becoming immortal. You had
to be selected, with good works or special skills being a major condition of that taking place.

  Which probably meant that Tim Baker was lying to him about being made immortal. Except that now, with his other new abilities, Al would know if that were the case.

  Dare winked at him, playfully. It was a bit flirtatious to be strictly comfortable.

  “I can see that. It’s not a problem. I’ll see you both in a while, then. At the Weapons Square in Printer.” He touched the screen his large finger becoming vast as it moved close to the stone the handheld was on.

  Then, turning back, he moved into the noisy club, a woman he didn't know stopping him by placing a hand on his chest. She was dressed up in deep blue, with silver hair hanging down, and matching silver eyes. She had to look up at him, being only about five feet tall.

  “Excuse, please? Am, this one, looking for person, one only.”

  A week before, Albert wouldn’t have understood what was being said in the heavy accent. Now, by paying attention, he thought he did, which was interesting to notice about himself.

  “Do you have a name for them?”

  The woman pulled her hand back, smiled and nodded. Then she pulled out a small electrical device. The kind they used in Austra, or one similar to it. Probably fleet technology, given that the woman was one of the Forten. That or had disguised herself as one of that sort very well.

  The name that flashed up on the unit was meaningless to him, being in a script that he didn’t understand at all. Since Austran Standard used the same letters and often the same spellings for words, it meant it wasn’t that. A thing the woman seemed intelligent enough to know.

  At least she sounded things out for him.

  “Manly Derret? Correct, have I that saying?”

  Albert felt a sudden smile twitch across his lips. After all, odds were that this woman was looking for High Servant Derret. At least if there were ties between the Forten and a mixed group of people from there. High Servants, Space Fleet and probably a smattering of others. People who were kidnapping men, women and children, to be turned into slaves.