We Are Not Prey

by Taki Drake

  Pawlik finishes up his explanation by saying, “I believe that it would be a very good thing to start building up the inner keep structure. I am sorry Ruth, but you are going to have a pretty big job to tackle on this. Very little has been done to control or maintain the inner keep since my mother died over 40 years ago.” Ruth smiles mischievously at him and responds, “Sounds like an exciting challenge.”

  The four of them continued to talk idly, and Jenna and Margot explain more about the intelligent weapons. Ruth is entranced by the concept and wonders if she can be introduced to the two weapons. The two women are not sure whether such an introduction is possible, but they’re willing to try. First, Jenna presents Jack and then Margot introduces Bill. To their surprise, Ruth easily enters into their communications bond with the weapons and starts talking to the AIs within the guns. This is a shocking moment for the two former Marines. Somehow having Ruth able to speak with the imbedded AIs makes their weapons more sentient beings than tools. Hearing the excitement expressed by the ITE guns at meeting a new person actually raised a wave of sympathy in both women.

  Ruth looked critically over at the two women and said, “Well, if you’re going to be members of my staff we will have to do something about getting you appropriately tricked out.”

  Both women looked very concerned and stared at each other, then at Pawlik, and finally back at Ruth. They open and close their mouths several times before Jenna manages to croak, “We hope you are not going to force us to wear frilly things!”

  Laughing, Ruth promised them that they will like what they get. She glanced at Pawlik in inquiry, and he invited the two women to join their party at the table. Sgt. Gray shook hands with both women before wandering over to the bar to order more food and drink. In a short period of time, the bartender brought over a tray holding finger foods, a pitcher of ale and one of wine. Ruth excused herself, stood up and took two steps away from the table. A soft blue light enveloped the Mages body in a column that stretched from floor to ceiling. The Marines in the bar watched carefully but did not seem to be upset or frightened. The two women took a deep breath and acted nonchalantly. After a few minutes of no further activity, everyone continued to eat. Everyone, except for Pawlik, who continues to watch Ruth.

  After about 20 minutes inside, Ruth stepped out of the visual enclosure and walked over to the bartender. Leaning over the bar, she asked him quietly if there is a pair of rooms that they can rent for the next week. He asked her if they’re going to stay in the rooms and the Mage said that one of the rooms may be used as a sleeping or meeting room, but the other will end up acting as storage for some supplies that she has purchased.

  He agrees that she may have the rooms, but when she tries to pay for them, he tells her that she has already paid for it by bringing the sergeant’s weapon home. The look of sadness that rises on Ruth’s face makes the bartender forget everything for the moment except the fact that she hurts. He lays a gentle hand on her forearm and tells her that the Sarge would have been proud to see what she is doing.

  Ruth regains her smile even though her eyes remain shadowed by remembered loss. He hands her the keys and tells her where the rooms are, which for some reason amuses her. Nodding her thanks, she reminds him to take food to the auditing team table and to put it on her bill. She passes her hand over the charge plate, which dings merrily. Glancing at the total, both organic and inorganic eyes widen at the size of the payment. Ruth tells him that that is prepayment for any of the Marines or former Marines that need a safe place over the next few months.

  Returning to the shining column, Ruth steps back in. After another 10 minutes, the colors swirled once more before the column disappears and she returns to the table. She addressed the two women, “Jenna and Margot, there is a room upstairs that now has your possible wardrobes. The wardrobe includes a new home for Jack and Bill, the intelligent weapon entities. How about if you go up and see what you want and if you approve.” She hands them the passkey that the bartender had just given her, wearing a peculiar smirk.

  They looked at each other in surprise since she has not left the bar but acts as if new items are suddenly available. But both obediently put their drinks down, excused themselves, and head up the stairs. A few minutes later, resounding from the second floor, the entire bar resonated with the cry of ‘Holy Fucking Shit!’ Every Marine in the bar straightened in surprise and looked around alertly.

  They were still on a ready status a few minutes later when there was a clatter on the steps, and Margot came charging down. She was holding an armful of high-tech weapons. Long-range weapons, short range weapons. She looked happier than anybody in the bar could ever remember seeing her. Stumbling over her words, she asked, “Which ones can I have?”

  Ruth answered with a grin, “You may have whichever ones you want.”

  “What limits?”

  “No limits.”

  The ecstatic woman did a strange sort of happy dance crooning to the guns in her arms. Finally, the curiosity was more than one table of Marines could stand, and they crowded around her examining the weapons. Sgt. Gray was no different than the others and quickly joined the group clustered around the gyrating Margot.

  More clattering was heard, and Jenna made her own entrance. She was also holding a variety of weapons, but she had taken the time to dress appropriately. Gone were the casual clothes that she wore into the bar, traded in for a combination of body armor and uniform. She looked like every combat Marine’s wet dream. High-tech, experimental and sexy as hell. Dangerous, powerful, and mean looking. There was a resounding groan from every Marine throat in the bar, as the remainder of the patrons surged around the two women. The excitement was extreme and the sound level deafening. Pawlik looked over at Ruth and mouthed, “Evil woman!” Smiling, Ruth nodded her head in agreement.

  Jenna emerged from the crowd long enough to fling her arms around Ruth and abruptly hugged her. Startled, Ruth asked, “What was that for?”

  Jenna replied, “That is from Jack. He loves his new home!” She drew an obviously new weapon from her waist and offered the gun to Ruth. The Mage laid her hand on the gun, only to hear the AI burbling at her. “More power, more ability, communications better, better! Better everything. Thank you, Thank you thx!!!” The AI was almost incoherent with joy and something that seemed like pleasure.

  After a bit of show and tell, investigation and discussion, the two new guards brought up subjects that Ruth thought needed to be discussed privately. Excusing herself from the table with Pawlik, she climbed the stairs with Jenna and Margot to resolve their questions and plan out the weapons needed for the inner keep guards.

  There was lots of discussion going on among the other Marines. Small groups talked with each other intently, while there is a slow movement of people between groups. One Marine eventually approached Pawlik and asked if they would be hiring anybody for the outer keep force. Pawlik said that not only would they be hiring for the outer keep, but they had a challenge of building a force to man their ships. He announced that there were employment opportunities for both ship and Marine forces, as well as scouts and other auxiliary personnel. When Pawlik added that the Lady Mage will be choosing the weaponry, the discussion in the bar reached new levels.

  Meanwhile, upstairs Ruth, Jenna, and Margot were in a detailed discussion about the standard armament and garb for inner keep guards and bodyguards. Footwear and weapons were major subjects. One of the main problems expressed by both of the guards was how they were going to store everything that they either needed or wanted. As deployed troops, supply and logistics were handled by dedicated personnel. Moving out of the military into home guards made some of those accustomed support features not automatic.

  Ruth listened while Margot and Jenna argued back and forth about which weapons they would be able to carry easily. Finally, her face lit up, and she interrupted the two, “So what you’re telling me is that the issue is how you carry things around and how heavy they are. Right?” At nods from both women, Ruth
stared intently at her cupped hands. Blue tendrils of light started to crawl down her right arm to meet orange tendrils that similarly traveled on her left. It appeared as if something was being woven in the center of her palms. When it had grown to about a forearm’s height, Ruth reached out both hands, covered in the multicolored woven light.

  She lightly touched the left side of both women’s armor and then the right. A small flash of light occurred, accompanied by the sound of a tiny bell ringing. Taking a deep breath, Ruth picked up the large combat rifle that Margot had been fondling and started to push it into the area where she had transferred the light on the right side of Margot’s armor. Margot began to protest but stifled that when the gun seemed to disappear into the seam of her armor.

  Both women stood there slack-jawed as the meter-long gun appeared to go into the line. Jenna placed a trembling hand onto Margot’s side. She could not feel anything. Ruth just smiled and gestured to Margot to touch her own side. When the woman reached down to where her gun had been placed, her eyes widened, and she drew in a sharp breath. She then reached into her armor and pulled out the gun.

  Jenna immediately grabbed two of her favorites among the weapons and pushed them one after another into the lines that Ruth had drawn on her armor. Pulling the weapons in and out repeatedly from the dimensional pockets reassured the women that it was not a one-time occurrence. At that point, the room became a site of Bedlam with both Jenna and Margot cramming a huge variety of items into their two pockets.

  Looking up and seeing Ruth’s expression of amusement, Jenna asked the Mage what she found so funny. Ruth just laughed and said that for most of her adult life she had worried about how much she could fit in her purse and the spell would have removed not only the fear but the weight of a packed bag.

  The women continued to bond over the fashion and weapon combination before Ruth started looking a little uncomfortable. “I need to go back down the stairs, I think right now.”

  “Why?” Jenna asked.

  “I’m not sure but something is happening, and I have a bad feeling.”

  Returning to the main barroom, Ruth was surprised to see that Pawlik was absent. When she asked the bartender where Pawlik has gone, she was told that a former crewmember of Pawlik’s had come into the bar and requested his assistance with something. Ruth nodded her head but remained somewhat disturbed by a feeling of approaching danger. She went back to the table and settled down to wait.

  Low whistles of appreciation greeted the entry of the two new inner keep guards. They are dressed in matching high-tech armor and carry the fabulous new AI guns. The women showed their pride in their new position and changed situation in their walk and stance.

  While most of the room crowded around the two women, an older man rose and determinedly walked over to Ruth. He introduced himself as Gerian and asked if all of the inner keep guards were required to be women. The Mage looked at him for a moment and finally answered, “No, I am not terribly gender-biased, but why are you interested in an inner keep position?”

  “I am a widower, Lady Mage and I have three fairly young children. It seems to me that taking a position as a guard of the inner keep might allow me to be a more present and better father.”

  Ruth examined his face carefully. She slowly said, “Gerian, in order to hire someone for the inner keep I need to examine their inner self. This may be invasive, but I promise you it will do no damage to you or yours. Will you allow me to do this examination?” For a moment the man looked indecisive, but that lasted for only a brief time before he tightened his face resolution and nodded his assent.

  Ruth gazed deeply into the man’s eyes, and he felt exposed. The Mage can see in his mind that he is being truthful and honest and is both grieving the loss of his wife and determined to parent the children. Ruth hired him on the spot. Calling Margot over, she asked the woman to take their new recruit upstairs and get him outfitted.

  As Gerian and Margot left, a small group at a nearby table stood up and came over to talk to Ruth. They asked her about the outer keep guards and the ships that needed to be outfitted and crewed. A general discussion on necessary logistics and other challenges ensued, but she deferred any specifics to when Pawlik returned and could speak with them.

  Ruth reiterated that she would be outfitting the Marine force on the ships and the outer keep guards to the same level of weaponry and protection as the inner keep guards. The men walked back to their own table and were soon joined by others that wanted to hear the results of the discussion.

  Pawlik remained gone, and both Ruth and Sgt. Gray were becoming increasingly distressed. And worried.

  Margot and Gerian came down the stairs. He was grinning from ear to ear and equipped in a similar manner to Margot and Jenna. The exception was the large bore long-range energy weapon that he was carrying and petting possessively. There was a collective ‘shiny-ooh-guns!’ reaction from the Marines in the bar. They clustered around him inspecting the gun and exclaiming about the fact that they had only heard about it but had never seen one. To the last man and woman, they wanted to see it in action.

  Ruth told them, “If you want to see it fired, you will have to come out to Borachland. That weapon is too powerful to shoot inside city walls, but on the estate, we can set up a range that is suitable for demonstration.” Her comments caused another ripple of quiet discussion.

  Gerian grinned at his friends and told them that the weapon was not the best part of the whole kit. He took the gun and appeared to slide it along his hip. As he did this, the gun simply disappeared. He opened his hand to show them that it was empty. One of the people closest to him reached over and patted his shoulder down to his knee looking for a hidden weapon. He could not find one.

  Gerian’s grin broadened as he reached toward his hip, and pulled the gun out again. There was general amazement and excited discussion, requiring Gerian to repeatedly place the weapon in his pocket and pull it out.

  Ruth suddenly bent forward in pain. There was an intense ache in her gut and her head hurt. It didn’t appear to be her body that was damaged. Instead, she felt a connection that was supplying the sensation. Her guards snapped immediately to alert looking for the source of the problem, but she strained to tell them that she believed that something is happening to Pawlik. Instantly, the bar mobilized into battle order.

  Ruth gritted out a request for Jenna to stay at the bar. If there were other Marines that wished to join the inner keep, Jenna could do provisional hiring. Ruth stood up and headed for the door at a trot, as Margot and Gerian hurried to keep up with her. It was as if Ruth followed an invisible cord that tied her to Pawlik. Racing along the trail for approximately a block and a half, she stepped into an alley.

  They came upon a frozen snapshot of battle. Pawlik was groggily attempting to get to his feet. Standing in front of him was a grinning man dressed like a well-to-do street thug or minor crime lord. There were four other people in the alleyway. One of them was obviously dead, lying on the ground with his head blown open, splatters of brain scattered around. The dead man was dressed in a partial crewmember uniform and looked to be a decade or two older than Pawlik. The remaining two men stood to the side of the thug and were heavily armed.

  The thug was boasting to Pawlik. “I was told that you were an easy touch which is entirely correct. A sob story from an old crewmate makes a great persuader. Who knew that it would be so simple to get elevated to the peerage simply by taking out a naïve and out-of-shape nob. I will even get to own all of your pretty possessions. I might have to give a few up to my benefactor, but it is worth it!”

  Pawlik had begun to get to his feet but was slammed back down by a blow from the back end of a weapon. Groaning in pain, Pawlik gritted out, “Whatever lies you told old Parcal, there was no reason to kill him.”

  The thug responded, “I had no further use for him and besides he apparently had some scruples. Men with scruples are better off dead instead of causing me problems.”

  Continuing, the t
hug said, “I’m really going to enjoy killing a member of the holier-than-thou ruling class. What good now is your family and history, your scruples and ethics and morals? Hopefully, they keep you warm in the grave.” The boasting bully waved his hand toward Pawlik and said, “Kill him now and let’s get out of here.” The henchmen raised their weapons in unison and to fire directly at Pawlik, only to meet a protective shield that bounced their weapons’ beams back into their faces. The reflection caused a wave of destruction that repeatedly bounced between the wall protecting Pawlik and the shield that Ruth had raised in front of her party.

  Gaping in astonishment, the thug turned and looked at Ruth. She was standing tall without her cape and shimmering with white tendrils. They were running up and down the outside of her arms and legs, as she brought her hands together in front of her with a combing motion. There was a small mound of a viscous red light piled in her hands, and her eyes were flashing an intense sapphire blue. The thug backed up in terror.

  “Leave me alone lady if you know what’s good for you! If you don’t, you will be sorry. Just ask your boy toy Lord over there. Neither one of you has more juice than my patron. He’s the head of the Council and anyone that crosses him dies.”

  Ruth said not a word but started to flash a strobe of colored lights in a rapidly increasing tempo.

  Stumbling to his feet, Pawlik begged Ruth for restraint, “My Lady, please, please calm down. He is not worth hurting yourself.”

  Fighting against double vision and impaired balance, Pawlik attempted to reach Ruth to Anchor her. He fell several times, struggling to his feet again and again. Each time he fell, the lights flashed faster and faster. Finally, Ruth was unable to hold back and threw the small mound of red fluid at the thug. As the light hit the man, he flung his arms open in a silent scream. A column of light extending 20 feet into the air appeared surrounding him. It’s was if he was contained in a glass column filled with iridescent fire. Although no sound could be heard, the rictus of his face showed the agony he was enduring. One of Ruth’s guards made a choking sound and asked, “What is happening to him?”