“Yes, sir!” said TAC Officer Myers as he gave another salute.
Within fifteen minutes, Richard’s uniform was soaked with sweat. The Commandant led the exercises, and while he might be ninety years old, his body was still that of a man in his late twenties. He’d said he could run the cadets into the ground, and he proved it that morning. However, while the training was harder than usual, it lacked something. Richard felt the difference, but he couldn’t put his finger on it until Tam pointed it out to him.
“Cadet 832,” said Tam. “Did you notice the TAC officers aren’t harassing us? They’re running our butts off, but their almost treating us like we’re human.”
Richard nodded his head in acknowledgment. He had to think about it for a minute, but eventually he had to agree. They’re yelling at us, he thought, but no more than our senior sergeants did back in marine recon. Even Myers is being relatively civil. Myers’ non-harassment pressed home the seriousness of the situation even more than the commandant’s speech.
At the end of two hours, they returned to the barracks and cleaned up. After a rushed meal, they loaded onto trucks. Instead of being driven to the Academy proper, they were taken to a section of the post devoted to large rows of metal warehouses. They quickly unloaded the trucks and formed up.
“Cadet 832! Come here,” said TAC Officer Myers. “The rest of you follow TAC Officer Shatstot to the far warehouse where you will be fitted for your battle suits.”
Richard rushed to the front of the formation and snapped to attention in front of TAC Officer Myers. “Sir! Cadet 832 reporting as ordered, sir,” Richard said.
TAC Officer Myers remained silent until the other cadets had been marched away.
“Well, once again, cadet 832, you’re determined to show how special you are, aren’t you?”
Richard said nothing. So much for not harassing us, he thought. Myers is as big a butt as ever.
Richard remained standing at stiff attention. He concentrated on a small mole located at the intersection of his TAC officer’s eyebrows. Richard tried not to breathe or even blink when possible.
Myers is just looking for any excuse to chew me out, he thought.
TAC Officer Myers remained silent for almost a full minute before speaking. “Cadet 832,” he said as if hating to even give Richard the dignity of a number. “You will be reporting directly to Chief Instructor Winslow. She is located in the building directly behind you. If I so much as hear you give her or anyone else any trouble, I will personally rip your head off and crap down the hole. Do you understand?”
“Sir! Yes, sir,” Richard said. But he didn’t understand. What the hell is going on? he wondered.
“Then move!” said TAC Officer Myers. “Or do you expect me to hold your hand for the rest of the day?”
“Sir! Yes, sir,” Richard said flustered. “I mean, sir, no sir. I don’t expect –“
“Move it, cadet!” said TAC Officer Myers.
Richard moved it. He did a quick about face and double-timed to the nearest door of the warehouse. He knocked and then entered. Inside was a large office occupied by Chief Instructor Winslow and three technicians wearing lab coats.
“Cadet 832,” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “We’ve been expecting you. I’ll bet you have a few questions.”
Richard hesitated. The pre-Academy part of him wanted to deny he had any question, but Chief Instructor Winslow’s insistence over the last couple of weeks that the cadets ask questions had him torn over what would be his best action. A neatly folded wizard scout’s battle suit on the desk next to Chief Instructor Winslow overcame his hesitancy. Besides, he was the only cadet in the room other than Chief Instructor Winslow and the three technicians. Obviously, they were there for his benefit.
“Sir!” Richard said, “This cadet does have some questions, sir.”
Chief Instructor Winslow smiled. “I’ll bet you do. We have few of our own. And please don’t shout or say ‘sir’ twice. It’s very annoying.”
“Sir! Yes, err…,” Richard said. “I mean, yes, sir.”
“First off,” said Chief Instructor Winslow, “has anyone gone over your test results from a few weeks ago with you yet?”
“No, sir,” Richard said forcing himself to answer with only one sir.
“Well, they were unusual to say the least,” said the chief instructor.
“Sir?” Richard said.
Chief Instructor Winslow frowned a little and said, “I don’t suppose I’ll ever be able to convince you cadets to call me ma’am instead of sir, will I?”
“No, sir,” Richard said.
Two of the technicians, also females, laughed. “I told you it was a lost cause, Harriet,” said the older of the two female technicians. “You will be a sir as long as you are at the Academy.”
“So it seems,” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “But I digress.” Looking at Richard, she said, “As I was saying, your test scores are unusual. All wizard scouts have an innate ability to use the Power in their reserves to form shields, perform scans, use telekinesis to move objects, and heal. In addition, all wizard scouts have at least a limited ability to sense Power lines and flows. Some wizard scouts can even do partial dimensional shifts. While all wizard scouts have most of these abilities, their Power is attuned for a single ability. For instance, your TAC Officer Shatstot is a specialist in healing, while TAC Officer Myers is a diviner. He specializes in sensing Power. Do you understand so far?”
“Yes, sir,” Richard said. He’d heard most of it before.
“Good,” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “Well, your test scores indicate your Power is attuned equally to everything. It specializes in nothing, because it specializes in everything. As far as we can tell, that’s an Academy first.”
Richard was confused, but he shook his head affirmatively as if everything his chief instructor said was making sense.
“That’s not the most exciting thing,” said the male technician. Richard recognized him as the same gentleman who’d been in charge of his testing three weeks ago.
“Go ahead and tell him, John,” said Chief Instructor Winslow with a smile. “I’m surprised you’ve been able to hold your tongue this long.”
“Yes,” said the old technician. He looked at Richard and said, “It’s very exciting stuff, I can tell you, 832. Power collects in pools. We call them reserves. If a creature happens to be connected to one of these Power reserves, they can manipulate that Power to do things. That’s why wizard scouts, and even magical creatures, are able to perform their abilities. Understand?”
Richard nodded his head.
“Good,” the old man continued. “Now I come to the most exciting part. You’re not connected to a single pool of Power. You’re connected to twin pools.”
“Possibly three pools,” said the younger female technician.
“That hasn’t been proven,” said Chief Instructor Winslow, “so don’t get sidetracked.”
Chief Instructor Winslow drew an oval on the computer screen built into her desk. She then drew a stick figure of a person with a line going to the oval. “This oval is a pool of Power.” She pointed to the stick figure, “This work of art here is you. This line represents your connection to your Power reserve.”
The male technician, John, reached out and drew a smaller oval to the left and a little lower than the first oval. He drew a series of lines from the larger oval to the small one. “And this,” he said pointing to the smaller oval, “is a second pool of Power formed by the overflow from the larger pool. Do you know what this means?”
“It means,” said the younger female excitedly, “that you have an opportunity to keep your primary Power reserve full while using the overflow pool to energize your healing ability.”
“How can I use a second Power reserve if I’m not connected to it, sir?” Richard said. “And, I don’t have any healing abilities.”
John looked at the drawing and said, “Oops!” He then drew a line from the stick figure to the small oval
.
“You haven’t demonstrated any healing abilities,” said Chief Instructor Winslow, “because I’ll bet you haven’t tried. Plus, you’re not trained. We will be changing that in the months ahead.”
“Sir?” Richard said. “Why was I separated from my cohort? We’re supposed to be fitted for our battle suits today. With all due respect, I’d prefer not to miss that.”
“Ah, yes,” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “Salina, maybe you should explain.”
The younger female said, “You were separated from your cohort because you’re not being fitted for a battle suit today.” She pointed to the folded battle suit on the desk. “This suit is yours. It arrived yesterday. And this,” she said picking up the battle helmet, “is Nickelo. More accurately, I should say, the chip embedded inside this battle helmet is Nickelo. He is your battle computer.”
“I’m confused,” Richard said forgetting to even say the word sir.
“So are we,” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “Nickelo is a one-of-a-kind prototype battle computer. He has been assigned to you by order of …, well we don’t know by whom specifically. But, the orders are marked with the Imperial High Command’s seal. They were routed to us from the central computer via a high-security encryption algorithm. All attempts to discover specifics about the orders keep getting a top-secret denial error.”
“Do you have any idea why?” asked John. The old technician looked at Richard expectantly. So did the three females.
“No, sir,” Richard said honestly. He was more than a little concerned. It didn’t pay for a cadet to bring undue attention to himself. Richard said, “What does all this mean for me, sir?”
“It means,” said Chief Instructor Winslow, “that you will be receiving specialist training in all the wizard scout abilities. It also means you will be receiving your battle suit six months earlier than the rest of your cohort. And finally,” she said a little sternly, “it means someone in higher headquarters has you earmarked for something big. They are dropping a lot of credits on you.”
“Don’t all wizard scouts cost a lot to train?” Richard said.
“Yes,” agreed Chief Instructor Winslow, “but you’re already way outside the norm.” She picked up the battle helmet. “Nickelo, the chip inside this helmet, is one of one. He is so advanced that I can’t even begin to estimate how much he costs. The shell of this battle helmet is designed to only work with this one chip. A normal battle helmet costs almost as much as a small cruiser. This battle helmet shell is marked one of fifty-five. I have no idea where the other fifty-four are.” She set the battle helmet down and picked up the battle suit. “This battle suit is designed to work with this style of battle helmet, and only this style. It is marked one of two hundred. Get the picture?”
“No, sir,” Richard said. He didn’t know what else to say. One of his weaknesses was that his brain tended to shut down when he got confused. To overcome this handicap, he liked to plan things out well in advance.
“Well, you’re going to get it,” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “Someone is buying a lot of replacement parts for you. I’d say that means they expect you to take a lot of damage. In my opinion, they’re going way overboard. You’d be dead before you went through ten battle suits much less two hundred.”
“What should I do, sir?” Richard said. He just wanted to mind his own business. He didn’t want anyone singling him out.
“Do?” said Chief Instructor Winslow. “What can you do? You’re a soldier. You’ll do as you’re ordered and make the best of it.”
“But for now,” said the older female technician, “it’s time you got acquainted with your battle computer. Nickelo, this is cadet 832. Cadet 832, this is Nickelo.”
With that introduction, Chief Instructor Winslow and the three technicians rose from their chairs and headed towards a door in the far wall.
“What am I supposed to do?” Richard said. “Should I rejoin my cohort?”
“Ask your battle computer,” said Chief Instructor Winslow as she walked out the door with the technicians. “He’s in charge now.”
Chapter 10 – Nickelo
_________________
Richard stood in the room looking at the battle helmet. He didn’t know a lot about battle computers, but he’d watched several entertainment videos which suggested a wizard scout and their battle helmet formed a bond closer than anything he could imagine.
Although he felt silly, Richard said, “So, you’re Nickelo?”
A voice answered from the direction of the battle helmet. It was his voice. “And you’re Richard. Or Rick to your friends. I assume I can call you Rick.”
“That’s my voice,” Richard said as he drew a little closer to the battle helmet.
“Wow. How astute you are,” Nickelo said still using Richard’s voice. “I can see my wizard scout is the pick of the litter.”
Richard had a feeling he was being insulted, but he let it slide. “Where is the speaker at?” he said. The surface of the battle helmet was dull black. It was neither smooth nor rough. From observing his TAC officers, Richard knew the battle helmet could change shape depending on whether it was being worn or stored on the wizard scout’s hip. He looked at it closely, but he saw nothing which would indicate speakers or any other kind of external equipment on the helmet.
“The speakers,” Nickelo said, “are embedded in the helmet just like all its other sensors and probes. I’m using your voice because you will need to use the speakers to communicate with others when your suit is fully sealed.”
“Oh,” Richard said.
“My, you’re inquisitive,” said the voice. “Just a fountain of curiosity, aren’t you?”
This time Richard was certain he was being insulted.
“Why don’t you try the helmet on?” said Nickelo.
“Are you sure that’s allowed?” Richard said. “I thought everything had to be fitted perfectly. I don’t want to break anything.”
“Oh, this battle helmet is pretty tough,” said Nickelo. “And, we have fifty-four replacements if you get too careless with this one. But it will be fine. This helmet was manufactured specifically for you. No fitting is necessary.”
Richard was leery, but he removed his cap and hesitantly picked up the battle helmet. It felt neither cool nor warm. It was a little heavier than he expected. As he lowered it to his head, the helmet changed shape to fit perfectly with the contours of his head. He felt a prickly sensation wherever the helmet touched his bare skin. Except for the prickly feeling, the helmet was fairly comfortable. The front of the battle helmet came down to his eyebrows and curved around to cover his ears and the sides of his neck.”
Now, isn’t that better? came a thought in Richard’s head.
Richard froze. “Was that you?” he said.
You don’t have to speak, said the voice in his head. Just think. And yes, this is me. My friends call me Nick.
The idea of computers having friends was so absurd that Richard’s curiosity overcame his shock of someone talking in his head.
Do you have many friends? Richard said mentally.
No, said the voice. Just you, Rick.
We just met, Richard said using thoughts only. How can we be friends? You don’t know anything about me.
Nonsense. I know a lot about you, Rick. I’m a computer, remember? I know everything in the tele-network’s databanks about you. Or at least I did. I’m not connected to the tele-network at the moment. But, I still know a lot of your history and progress at the Academy.
Oh, Richard said still talking mentally. So, is this how wizard scouts talk to their battle computers?
Not exactly, said Nickelo. It’s too slow. Once you have your DNA baseline taken, a shared data space will be created inside your mind. When that’s done, we will be able to talk there. You’ll have your private thoughts, and I’ll have my private thoughts, but we’ll be able to share information in our mutual space. It will be a superfast form of communication.
The helmet does
fit perfectly, Richard said in his mind. How did you get my measurements?
Oh, fitting your helmet and battle suit doesn’t mean getting the correct size, Rick. They’ll change shape as necessary to fit you. Within reason, of course, so don’t go on an eating binge.
Richard heard what sounded like a giggle in his head. Do computers laugh? he wondered.
Yes, they do, said Nickelo. At least, I do.
Hey, you’re reading my mind. I thought you said my thoughts would be private.
They will be, said Nickelo, but only after we’ve set up our shared space. Then you’ll be trained how to protect the rest of your mind. And, I can’t read your mind. Heck, why would I want to? But, I can’t help it if you’re saying your thoughts for anyone to hear.
Oh, Richard said a little relieved that eventually he would be able to prevent his battle computer from hearing everything he thought.
But, back to your equipment, said Nickelo. Fitting doesn’t mean sizing. It means getting your Power readings to attune your equipment to you and only you.
So, was I fitted during my testing a few weeks ago? Richard said. I would have thought it would take longer to make something as complicated as a wizard scout’s battle helmet and battle suit.
No answer came for a moment. Finally, Richard heard Nickelo’s reply in his head.
Rick, even a standard set of wizard scout gear takes months to manufacture. This battle helmet and this battle suit are advanced models. They took years to create.
I don’t understand, Richard said.
Neither do I, said Nickelo. I’m missing information, and that’s very disconcerting to me. My connection to the full tele-network is being blocked, so I’m unable to get all the data I need in order to make a complete analysis.
Why can’t you connect to the tele-network? Richard said.
I don’t know, Rick. And I have a name. It’s a little insulting that you are avoiding it. I have feelings too, you know.
Actually, Richard didn’t know. He’d never been much of a computer geek.
Sorry, er… Nick, Richard said apologetically. I’m just confused. If it took years to make this equipment, and it is attuned specifically for me, wouldn’t that mean I had to be fitted years ago? And by the way, the helmet feels a little prickly. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels strange.
Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant Page 8
