There was a hole now... Theodore could feel the hole and he fired a second arrow up through the wounded craft and it struck home. The left belly gunner wasn't going to be moving again.
To Bill's credit he was very practical as he grinned and shouted over the noise some random expletives before finishing off with “do that again!”
Theodore would have loved to oblige but as a second wave of calm washed over him, a calm his father had always stressed was his friend in combat, he suddenly felt very sick to his stomach. The color in the world seemed to fade for a second or two... or three... As he fought to get the nausea under control he was able to scramble for cover just as the gunship made a very rough emergency landing.
Bill took up position to eviscerate anyone exiting the craft as the door opened. His murderous glee was cut short when the door fell open: his pulse rifle jammed on the first round. “Electronics just barfed! Murphy is kicking my butt today. Toss me your carbine!”
Theodore looked around but couldn't find it, “Um, I dropped it?”
The exchange was cut short as one of the occupants of the gunship bolted with his gun a blazing. Well, would have been blazing; the first round jammed, just like Bill's.
Bill wasted no time bringing his grenade gun into play. Firing only riot rounds, it would still go far to solving the standoff. The round fired and landed right next to its intended victim only to bounce and roll away. “EMP burst or something!” he groused as he pulled a handgun and expertly struck down his target in the open. Two more targets later and Bill's handgun was empty. As he desperately loaded his spare magazine he caught Theodore's eyes.
Theodore grinned as he invoked a Live Steel rapier and tossed it to Bill. “Shall we finish this?” he asked as he invoked another set for himself.
Bill grinned and they made a plan of it. Using Bill's meager handgun for covering fire the pair quickly closed on the downed gunship and made short work of those left inside.
Theodore kicked back and tried to relax in the field as the locals tried to sort out everything that had happened. A pair of gunships under proper management had landed beside the downed craft and everyone was busy gawking at the carnage.
“His first shot took out the gun,” began Bill to the others. “It ripped itself apart with its own momentum. He then fired a second shot up the hole it made.”
“We had a multi-megajoule EMP burst shortly after that second shot. Did it hit something in the powercell and short it out? Only thing I can think of with that much power... The gunship's power reserves are completely flatlined.”
“Hey, that's up to you guys to figure out,” grinned Bill. “All I know was my pulse rifle wiffed out and the first round got lodged in the barrel. Fusing on the grenades went, too. Good old chemical-kinetic handgun still worked fine...”
Theodore tuned them out as he tried to put what had just happened behind him. The field was lovely, he didn't remember it being this pretty before. A long rolling field of gorgeous Violet Meadow March flowers. Just like back home...
43
“Why did you have us run into a field?” asked Theodore as they sat in the canteen. “Didn't offer cover at all!”
Tim nodded, “Well, the goal was to have you be seen heading there, and then move you over to the large gardens further south. It seems you were spotted a bit earlier than we hoped. We were trying to make sure that if they opened up with the main guns that there wouldn't be a whole lot of people about.”
Theodore could definitely get behind the last point. A brief mental image of the craft strafing the dorms sent shivers down his spine. “How did they spot us? They have people watching?”
Tim frowned, “Yes. Yes, unfortunately. Four that we can confirm. All from the Earth Forever group. Nasty hateful bunch. Good side of that is they were ratted out by some of their own. It seems that when xenophobia and mental images of someone saving a young family collide, sometimes people make the better choice.”
“A further credit to those that turned in the group: they declined the reward offered,” smiled Bill.
Theodore permitted himself a brief smile at that; it was always good when people chose to finally look beyond their own bigotry. “It was tense out there, but Bill and I got by...”
“I have not seen anything that cool since watching the vids of Edward Rose stand down a 2x25mm Satyr Systems auto-cannon,” beamed Tim. “But that was about soaking the rounds, not fighting back!”
“Well, I didn't have to soak any of those, thank you very much. I just wanted them to go away,” replied Theodore as he nursed his lemonade. “I'm sure I'll get to hear all sorts of wild stories from him when I marry Meagan,” Theodore laughed. “Although quite honestly, the few times I've met him, he's not much brought up those early years when he served alongside the Shukurae. He's much happier talking about all the wonderful livewires in his house!”
“Mr. Rose was barely a year older than you when he did that, and he was a Silver. I now appreciate what your father said about Silvers not being that special and anyone can become truly incredible with Live Steel,” grinned Tim.
Theodore laughed and grinned, “I've trained long and hard with my father.”
Bill's eyebrows furrowed, “Okay, I read that part of the report: what is a Silver and what makes that different from a High Silver?”
Theodore grinned, “Silvers are the generic name for male Taiks that can change the color of their fur. They also tend to be fast learners with Live Steel, hence my father's comments, and they can also do this weird 'growl' thing. This growl... well... it's hard to explain but they can pass concepts, whole conversations in one very creepy sounding roar. It seems only Silvers, Aurorans and Dawns can understand the growl. Quite strange.”
“Ask one question, get two more,” grumbled Bill. “And what is an Auroran or Dawn?”
Theodore laughed, “Sorry, you are getting a whole lot of obscure Highland culture all at once. Aurorans are solid white female Taiks, hair and fur both white. Fairly rare. They get their name from the first solid white Taik about five hundred years ago, a girl called...”
“Aurora?” grinned Bill.
“Exactly,” smiled Theodore. “Dawns are screaming rare; they've only showed up this last generation. They are solid black females. Meagan has a sister who is a Dawn. There are less than ten of them known and all in the last thirty years or so. They also...” Theodore wasn't sure how to put it politely, “they have wings. Wings they can summon and dismiss in a cloud of blue sparks just like Live Steel.”
“Compared to what I saw you do yesterday, wings are a hiccup!” laughed Bill. “So that leaves High Silvers. I take it they can change colors, too?”
Theodore let out a nervous laugh, “There's not a lot really known about High Silvers... they just seem to sleep, eat, drink and breathe Live Steel. Rather than change colors, they just sort of fade out of view... they... wow... In combat, there is this thing they can do called a 'Forest Wall.' Somehow they can harness the stress and strain caused by things moving back and forth between realms with Live Steel and set off a shock-wave. This shock-wave creates an EMP like burst comparable to a small thermonuclear blast, but the physical manifestation is far more bizarre.”
“It makes trees?” guessed Bill.
“Lots and lots of them! A small forest just seems to erupt out of the ground. You have concrete roads and buildings? Not for long! Grass, bushes and trees just tear the place up. Walking down an industrial street and then whoosh! Five seconds later you are walking in a forest with trees twenty meters over your head!”
“The best documented case of that you'll find is from the Radimar government some twenty-odd years ago,” interjected Tim.
“That, I will have to look up!” remarked Bill with some awe.
“You do realize, Theodore,” began Tim with a broad grin, “That two of your uncle-in-laws, or however that is put, are High Silvers.”
Theodore's fur spiked, “No way!”
Tim nodded, “The other clan Silverglad
e boys, Penn Merryfield and Llewellyn Stratford are both High Silvers.”
Theodore was blown away, “I've... well....” He finally just laughed, “How about that! There is nothing there to give them away. They are both just rather calm family men.” He grinned as he looked at Tim, “You find all this out researching my fiancées?”
Tim grinned, “Connecting the dots, yes. But I served one rotation with the Shukurae already. Highlanders are a bit of a cult thing among them and those two brothers stuck out well in their modern collective psyche.”
Theodore just laughed, “Makes me glad I'm marrying a Rose girl and not a Stratford or Merryfield girl!”
“'Glad I'm marrying,'” Bill shuddered. “You won't hear those words coming from me!”
44
“Boredom getting to you?” teased Theodore.
Bill just shook his head, “Nope. In my spare time, I get to go down and glare at the Earth Forever bozos and try and figure out who the actual threats are and who the hollow braggarts are.” He just laughed, “I think they like me less than you now.”
“Well, you are sticking up for me. That must really put their tail in a knot. I do thank you, you and your whole team for what they are doing,” replied Theodore earnestly.
“You're welcome,” grinned Bill. “We do have one ulcer coming up, of course.”
“Midterms?”
“Midterms and you going to visit Anna.”
“That big of a risk?”
“That much paperwork! We're cleared to work in their system, but that doesn't mean the locals aren't grumpy about us!”
Tim smiled as he sat down next to the two in the canteen, “Ready for a real ulcer?”
Bill looked at him confused, “Petty complaints aside, I thought things were pretty well squared away.”
“Meagan Rose is coming to visit Anna at the same time.”
“Well, that will be great fun!” brightened Theodore. “I didn't know they were going to be able to arrange that.” He beamed, much to the annoyance of Bill. “It'll be great having them both around. Oh!” Theodore gritted his teeth, “Is there some problem with Thomas Westmore?”
Tim shook his head and grinned, “Not that I'm aware of. I'm just worried about Meagan getting there safely.”
Theodore cringed at the obvious concern, “Um, is she traveling with family by any chance? Her father?”
“Not her father, but her older brother is showing up just long enough to drop her off and pick her up. You know anything about him? Ross, I think.”
Theodore nodded. “Ross. He's a big lad... okay, not as big as Bill!” laughed Theodore. “He's married now. Um, my dad says he parries wide when using his off hand but otherwise has very good things to say about his martial skills. Granted, that was three years ago... Um! If you listen to my Second Mother Emily, there is some gossip about the Second Mother in their family marrying 'in a hurry!'”
“So, do you think if push comes to shove that Ross can protect Meagan?”
“Oh, definitely! Maybe not with as much style or attitude as if it was his own House, but he'd still make things horribly unpleasant in order to protect his little sister.”
“Good, good. The way things are scheduled now, we'll get there half a day before Meagan. That means we can meet them at the port and change off custody.”
“It sounds like you have everything under control.”
Tim laughed, “Sounds that way, doesn't it? Ask me again in eight days!”
45
Theodore's smile could probably be seen from orbit as he scooped up Anna and spun her around. She giggled delightfully as he playfully nuzzled the top of her head. They were making a bit of a scene going through the customs checkpoint, but neither of them cared.
“Nine whole weeks!” groused Anna. “Seemed much longer than that!” as she hugged him warmly.
Janice Westmore just beamed at the pair. The only one that seemed out of sorts was Bill Burges as he blushed horribly. “Um, can that wait you two? We've got paperwork to finish.”
“Hey, you said you had it all taken care of,” grinned Theodore.
“I didn't know you were going to make a scene of it...” groused Bill.
“A young man and his fiancée? Of course they were going to make a scene!” laughed Tim.
“Why is this paperwork still not clearing?” groused Bill.
“Did you remove Peter from the list? He arrived yesterday...”
Tim left Bill to deal with the paperwork while he approached the beaming form of Janice Westmore. “Dr. Westmore, Commander Tim Richardson, 231st Open Escort of the Unified Treaty Diplomatic Security Service.”
“Delighted to meet you,” she grinned as she shook his hand. “Do just call me Janice. I do apologize for my husband not being here.”
“I understand, ma'am. We'll do our best not to be... overbearing, but when they are out and about, we will be in plain sight.”
“I understand and do greatly appreciate the effort and risk you people are taking.”
“Part of our job, ma'am!”
“Did I understand correctly that things had drastically calmed down at the university?”
“That is correct, the Federal Police made huge progress under Agent Tamilton and we've not had an incident in over six weeks.”
“I understand that the last incident was quite dramatic!”
“Yes, oh yes!” laughed Tim. “Our biggest concern now is while the Bella-Shoana are crippled back there, they are still quite active here. Our hope is that with everything else that has happened that they realize any other actions are just petty revenge and petty revenge is bad for their bottom line.”
Janice grimaced, “Here is hoping that greed is stronger than revenge.”
Tim nodded, “We aren't exactly dealing with humanity’s finest...”
She grinned, “I understand, just do what you can for those two!”
“Soon to be three.”
Janice's shocked look all but leapt off her face before she broke out laughing, “Right! Meagan! Tomorrow!” She turned a bright red to the amusement of all.
Theodore's biological clock was off by four hours, but the thought of being 'stuck' eating lunch twice in one day was a footnote to an otherwise happy reunion. Anna was as bubbly as ever, almost as if there had been no break at all! Janice was delighted to be with them and was speaking almost exclusively in the Highland Old Tongue to the amusement of Theodore. The DSS team escorted them down to transport hub and they were soon rocketing across the city on a high speed monorail. Anna had places to show Theodore and their schedule was tight.
“Oughtn't we wait for Meagan before we set out on sightseeing?” asked Theodore.
“Mom and I sorted out the places where we think Meagan would have a better chance of enjoying things, bit of a language barrier. The city is huge; there is no way we could see everything in this one short week anyway!”
Theodore just laughed and hugged Anna. She had a plan and he was happy to just ride along and enjoy her company no matter where they went. They were catching their fair share of looks and stares, but after everything that had happened, Theodore just let it roll off his fur. Theodore had to laugh a little bit at poor Bill, he was catching almost as much attention and the local language was not in his comfort zone. Theodore looked around and couldn't find any of the others in the unit.
Bill grinned as he watched Theodore looking around, “The word you are looking for is 'incognito.' As opposed to me, I'm the shining distraction.”
“And quite the distraction!” grinned Anna. “Have you been following what those girls have been saying about you?”
Bill rolled his eyes, “Didn't catch a word of it...”
They stopped to eat lunch at a wonderful outdoor café across from the largest print library Theodore had ever seen.
“Um, that building is insanely large,” offered Theodore as he let Anna order lunch for him.
“Almost 4000 hectares of floor space,” grinned Janice over her tea.
“It has its own weather patterns,” laughed Anna.
“That's bigger than the university campus,” he laughed. “Do you walk the floors or do they bring you books?”
“Either. There are usually three copies of every book. One for archive that is stored off site. One for reading and one available for checkout. Red spine for reading, blue spine for checkout.”
“So there's another off site branch, too?”
“Yes, indeed!”
Theodore laughed as his food arrived, “Deep fried and covered in gravy! That sounds familiar!” He reached across the table and kissed Anna much to the shock of the already curious café patrons.
“Let'm gawk!” grinned Anna. “Do that again!”
Theodore obliged the grinning Anna while Janice just laughed at the bright red form of Bill Burges.
The group made an afternoon of one tiny, tiny section of the library and soon caught the monorail back across town towards the Westmore residence.
“If Thomas says anything, anything at all, that offends you, please let me know,” offered Janice. “He's promised to be on his best behavior, but...”
Theodore frowned, “I'm sorry for the stress I'm causing your marriage, ma'am.”
Janice laughed and beeped him playfully on the nose, “No! You are not causing any problems. He's the one causing problems. Besides, right now I have a different reason to be grumpy at you...” she grinned broadly.
Theodore's mind raced, “Oh! Sorry, Janice!”
“That's better,” she beamed.
“You could call her 'Mom,'” teased Anna.
“Wait until summer, dear,” grinned Janice, “and then gladly!”
Tim swapped places with Bill as they exited the monorail station and started the short walk home. It was a pleasant evening, bright with a fresh air to it.
Theodore Page 19
