by Taki Drake
Ruth stared at the column of light and said, “Justice. He is enduring all of the pain and sufferings that he has ever caused another human being. When he has endured that he will cease to exist.” Turning away from the column, Ruth reached out to Pawlik, brushing the injuries on his face and inspecting his wounds. He leaned in closer to her and murmured, “I am so sorry. I didn’t think, and I did something very foolish.”
“It came from your heart, and I can appreciate that but next time at least take a damn guard!”
Pawlik fell once again. He was too weak to lift himself up and had to be assisted to his feet. Margot helped him up, but while her hands were occupied, there was a sound behind Ruth. The Mage spun, bringing her hands up protectively while Gerian put his body in front of her.
It is the Auditor Guild team. They are accompanied by their guards, and the senior auditor is in front. Rick looked around the alleyway, touching briefly on the column of light with its writhing captive, before announcing that the combat was complete. He further stated that she was entitled to the possessions and other assets of the thug and that the Auditor Guild has witnessed the loser’s dying confession. They would notify her of the change in her asset levels when their audit was complete.
Ruth cracked a smile, looked at Rick and murmured that she assumed there would be no alternate punctuation in those findings. He looked at her seriously but with a slight twinkle in his eye, and assured her that it would all follow standard form.
With flashing lights and screaming sirens, the city police arrived on scene. The site of the attack rapidly became crowded as more police appeared and started to question people. The law enforcement officers’ aggressive posture softened as soon as they recognized Pawlik. The presence of the Auditor Guild group further inhibited the swarm of personnel. The lead patrolman looked at Ruth and turned pale with fright. They assured everyone that there will be no problem and respectfully requested that the auditors’ recording be made available for their records. As the senior auditor, Rick agreed to provide the appropriate recording within the next 24 hours, as long as the proper forms were filled out.
The battered party returned to the bar after Ruth asked the policeman in charge to take care of the body of Pawlik’s old crewmember. She further requested information on the cost of a funeral and offered to pay for it.
Back at the bar, they found a bit of a disruption. The rest of the auditor team was there and very agitated. Rushing over to Rick, they clustered closely around him and showed him information on things that they obviously did not want anyone else to hear. Rick glanced over at the Marines in the bar with concern and regret in his eyes and told Ruth that unfortunately, they needed to leave. He beamed her his contact information in case she needed any questions answered. Speaking softly, he said, “I would highly recommend that perhaps you leave the city in the very near and immediate future. Until the next time, Lady Mage, farewell.”
Gathering his team and contract guards to him with a gesture, Rick led the Auditor Guild group out of the bar and out of Ruth’s sight.
Chapter 15 – Force X
Pawlik was checked out by a Marine medic. Other than a mild concussion, he had no major injuries, although Sgt. Gray was quietly and emphatically discussing intelligence shortfalls, strategic stupidity, and a host of other issues with his Lord and master. The medic concealed a grin, occasionally nodding agreement with the sergeant’s diatribe.
Pawlik noticed Ruth looking increasingly perturbed. “What is wrong, my dear? I promise not to be so foolish in the future.”
Ruth responded, “I am filled with foreboding. This disquieted feeling won’t go away, and I can’t pin it down. I have no idea what the issue is. All I’m getting is that it would be good to lay in more weapons and armor, although I am not sure why.”
At this point, some of the veterans in the bar asked if Pawlik was hiring. He once again stated that they were indeed signing people up for the three different forces and that a formal hiring fair would be held at his home sometime in the next five days. The current plan was that it would be scheduled for the day after the Death Gift Meeting for the crew that was lost.
Ruth interrupted him, and said, “I believe that a clearly stated offer of employment should be made to any Marine or former Marine, Navy personnel or other non-active military that would like to switch employment.” Pawlik was unsure of why she said this but accepted her lead and seconded her comment to the room.
The bartender chose to get involved at this point and suggested entering that offer on a small group of notification sites. Both Ruth and Pawlik agreed with the bartender’s idea, and the offer was posted. Integrated into the post was information that those that required replacement weapons for their AI entities would receive that type of gun as part of their equipment. This caused a definite surge of excitement in the bar.
Margot enlightened Ruth and Pawlik to the source of the turmoil. She explained that when a Marine mustered out, that those officers that had been issued AI weapons were in a bit of limbo. Since AI weapons bonded to their human partner, they could not be separated since, under existing regulations, it fell into a gray area for confiscation. If the rules changed, the AI weapons could be reset which would effectively kill the AI, scrubbing its personality but retaining its capability.
“What an absolutely barbaric situation!” Ruth exclaimed, “That is nothing less than murder!” None of the Marines in the bar disagreed with her.
Six AI weapon holders in the bar all decided to enroll in Pawlik’s forces. They were escorted upstairs by one of the other new guards. Ruth had arranged for a third and fourth room so that the equipment and uniforms could be sorted out by service. That allowed the uniforms and equipment for the outer keep forces to be placed in one room and the ship Marine forces uniform and kit stored in the last. Ruth had another brief session in the column, acquiring additional weapons and armor from the secret sources that she tapped before.
When the six came down the stairs, two were in the outer keep uniform and the remainder in the ship forces kit. Their friends gathered around them, checking out their equipment and the armor. One combat veteran exclaimed loudly that the armor was heads above anything that their service had ever supplied. Some of the remaining patrons expressed regret that they were still in active service. Ruth told them that if that situation changed they were welcome to come over to the Mage Corps.
A discussion about the logistics of manning up an entirely new military force started. Ruth knew that it would be something that was absolutely needed but had little comprehension of the ramifications and details that had to be handled in order to make that a reality. Sgt. Gray and a few of the Marines that had wandered over from nearby tables were concerned about whether they could legally create something that amounted to their own Army, Navy, Marine and Scout forces. The discussion had assumed a tighter focus on the legal aspects when Ruth stopped them cold. She tapped her coronet and reminded them that Mages were allowed to do whatever the hell they wanted. So her decision that she needed the service was all that was required.
Pawlik took over the discussion at this point and raised issues on how they were going to find quality personnel for their table of command. He admitted that no one in his steading was experienced in logistics or the duties of a quartermaster at the scale that would be required. He also had no one who was used to the broad personnel responsibilities that would be needed to staff and manage multiple ships.
The people that were currently in the bar ranged from Marine privates to commanders. None of them had high-level strategic or organizational command experience. They were the doers rather than the tellers. However, many of them had strong opinions on which officers in their service were competent and which ones were less so. Sgt. Gray was busy capturing names of both groups from the barroom patrons. As people made suggestions on who they knew who could possibly fill those roles, the sergeant carefully wrote them down. Many of those officers were still on active duty, but Ruth insisted that their name
s be recorded.
The discussion was extremely productive since it helped Pawlik and Ruth develop a plan for general exploratory communications and approaches. Pawlik also said that he planned on speaking to his friend, the Secretary of the Navy, as soon as possible. This seemed like the best solution to the overall group and provided a level of relief to Pawlik and the remainder of the potential corps. Ruth rose to her feet, held her glass up in the air, and said in a clarion voice, “I give you the Mage Corps. May its Flame endure!” The room exploded once more with cheers and additional toasts.
All of a sudden Ruth’s eyes swirled in coruscating light, and she stiffened in concentration. Pawlik rose halfway to his feet and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
Ruth shuddered slightly as her eyes returned to their normal appearance. “The Council is moving against the spaceforce now!”
Pawlik tensed up and inquired, “Is the Dragon Flame under attack?”
“No, it is the Arkken spaceforce that is being destroyed. The Council has just disbanded the Navy. They have totally hamstrung the Navy commander. A secret alliance on the committee managed to carry the vote to decommission the force and move its assets to merchant marine control.”
Everyone had heard the exchange between Ruth and Pawlik. The bar filled with murmurs and shouts of concern and questions. No one challenged Ruth’s ability to know what was going on, and the questions were in more shock and disbelief. “How could they do this?” “What’s wrong with them?”
An urgent shout from the bartender brought the room to informal attention. The man yelled four names. As people stared at him in confusion, he added two words, “Action tree!”
The four Marines named each pulled out their communicators and began to call their assigned targets. Understanding what they are trying to do, Ruth gestured, and sound bubbles settled gently around each of the four so that the noises in the bar and the conversations of the callers did not mix.
Pawlik looked inquiringly at the bartender, who explained that the Marine notification tree has just been kicked into execution so that all active and former Marines were informed of the danger. He recommended that all personnel accept the offer of employment in the Mage Corps to help protect them, but he was concerned about the fate of their intelligent weapons. There were only 48 weapons that were created for their forces. All of the 48 were still functional. More than half of them were in the possession of inactive and former Marine officers. The others were held by active duty personnel, and those artificial entities were possibly even in more danger of capture than the ones bonded with inactive soldiers.
One of the officers in the bar came up to where the bartender and Pawlik were talking. Introducing himself as Commander Severn, he suggested that part of the strategy might be to gain control over the intelligent weapons. He was holding his protectively and looked very worried. Before this latest incident, he had been trying to decide whether to re-up his enlistment, but the circumstances had pushed him into choosing to resign his commission and accept employment in the Mage Corps. That way he could protect his AI companion, Levitt, who had saved his life many times. Suiting actions to words, he used the bartender’s terminal to complete his resignation in just a few seconds. Turning toward Pawlik, he said in a firm voice, “I’m applying for your service.”
Pawlik accepted his employment and took him upstairs personally to get him armed.
Over in the corner, at the back of her table, Ruth was momentarily alone. She cupped her hands in front of her and concentrated intensely. Her eyes flashed a deep glowing green, and a mound of powdery green material started to build in the bowl of her cupped hands. Once the mound was about 6 inches tall, dark red fire ran from her feet up to her shoulders and out onto her arms, jumping from her hands into the powder. There was a flash of intense light. When the echoing spots cleared from everyone’s vision, a pile of highly faceted green gems could be seen. Jenna, officially now her inner-keep guard captain, asked what they were. Ruth answered that they were transfer jewels so that the AIs could move their personality, programming, and experiences into the gem and have a safe place for a copy to exist. She thought it was a reasonable safeguard and more portable than another weapon.
The earlier discussions around the possible fates of the AIs, the risk of the destruction of their personality, and the betrayal of the bond they had with their chosen Marines had deeply bothered Ruth. She had been searching in her mind for a way of protecting them, considering them an enslaved race. Thinking about computer practices on Earth, she had come up with the idea of building an off-site storage for the AI personality. With the complexity and resource requirements needed for that large of a computing base, she had constructed the spell to create an extensive crystalline storage structure and quantum computing environment housed in a dimensional pocket. The gems were simply the entryway to the pocket that Ruth had constructed. It would allow the AIs an expansive environment in which to grow and develop.
The gems were also very portable, so if they needed to get them to remote locations, Ruth was confident that she would be able to transport them accurately and safely.
One of the officers in the bar offered to be the first test subject. He said his AI weapon was interested in the idea and was willing to be the experiment. Ruth handed the man one of the green gems and told him that all he should have to do was to hold the jewel against a particular place on the weapon. He looked at Ruth and said, “I am applying for employment and enlistment in the Mage Corps subject to the disbandment of the Arkken service.” After Ruth’s nod of acceptance, he held the gem up to the indicated spot on his weapon. His head jerked back in reaction, as reverberating cries of amazement and joy echoed through his head, and into Ruth’s as well when his AI found a new and luxurious home in the gem.
The officer, who had introduced himself as Captain Peter Silene, said that he felt honor bound not to accept their employment quite yet because it was not the time for his reenlistment decision. However, if the forces were disbanded and someone tried to take his weapon, he now could scrub the entire gun’s memory without permanently killing his friend. Ruth agreed with both his strategy and concerns, asking him if he would consider accepting a small gift. Although he was a little leery, he agreed. After all, what was a small gift to a Mage might have a very different impact on a front-line Marine.
Ruth reached over and touched the side of his neck. He felt nothing but the touch of her hand. When she told him to move the gem to where she had touched him, and he did, the jewel slipped out of view. Opening his eyes widely in concern, the man asked, “Where did it go?”
The response from Ruth was, “Reach up as if you are reaching into a pocket. You will feel the edge of the gem. Simply grab it and pull it out.”
Looking faintly disbelieving, the marine did as she had instructed. His surprise when the gem actually was in his hand would have been laughable if the relief in his face hadn’t been so heartfelt. He quickly put the gem in and pulled it out several times. One of the other Marines came over and tried to feel where the jewel had gone but was unable to feel any difference in the skin.
Ruth smiled in amusement as the stunned man wandered around the room showing each of the tables of Marines how it worked. She considered this another ‘oooh shiny’ moment for the barroom inhabitants.
After the wandering demonstration had shown the safety of the gem pocket, three other active duty officers requested the same gift of both the storage gem and the invisible pocket. In each case, the AI from the weapon was thrilled about its new home. The thought that at least a few more of the AIs had been protected eased Ruth’s mind.
The action tree had been completed, and all Marine officers with AI weapons had been notified. One of them was non-mobile, but all others were on their way to the bar. Only combat officers had AI arms, and they all knew how to deploy quickly. None of the existing command staff had an AI weapon, so the absence of that personnel in the notification tree structure did not concern those in the b
ar. That was about to change.
There was a stir in the bar as a weary and distraught looking Secretary of the Navy walked in. He came directly over to Pawlik’s table and asked if he might sit down. Pawlik helped the exhausted man to sit and asked him, “How bad is it?”
Lauren replied, “It is as bad as it can get. Effectively at midnight, which is in one hour, the Arkken Navy will cease to exist. I have explained why this is not a good idea and thought that I had enough allies on the Council to block this supremely stupid action. Unfortunately, their promises proved either to be false or their votes were taken away from me.”
Without a word, the bartender brought over a dusty bottle and a bowl of stew with hot bread. Lauren at first refused to eat, but then realized how hungry he was and tucked in. He told Pawlik that he thought Pawlik was in danger and, with a nod toward Ruth, that his companion was also.
Taking a few more bites of food, Lauren looked up again and did a double take. He had finally noticed the coronet on Ruth’s brow. His spoon froze in midair, dripping stew back into the bowl as he realized that she was indeed a Mage. Looking back and forth between Pawlik to Ruth, his eyes skittered around the rest of the bar, seeming to notice for the first time the unknown uniforms on familiar people. Ruth observed that the bartender was intensely watching Lauren’s face, a sardonic smile plastered on his own.
Lauren asked, “What is going on?”
