The Sixth Line of Defense

by Shiva Winters

  * * *

  Waking up in the morning proved to be difficult, there were no scratchy military blankets, no sounds of the city streets, no alarm clocks, nothing that really made it impossible to simply roll over and fall back to sleep. It was perhaps the most peaceful awakening that Shiva could ever remember in all the years since her first conscious thought, which only served to make it more surreal as she shifted in the bed to discover that large luxurious bedroom filled with things of serene beauty. Those sights made it even harder to stir up the vague memories of her late night arrival and the few lingering images of the unseen landscape that now surrounded her. Eventually the memory did return and she was soon extracting herself from under the silk sheets in search of clothes and a much wanted shower. Even as she emerged clean and dressed for the day there wasn't any real sound to disturb the comfortable sense of silence that had been unknown in the few short years of experience she had gained from being on the outside. It was not until she descended to the first floor of that amazing house that she caught the first clues that she wasn't quite alone in that palatial building. Drawn towards the kitchen by the soft sounds of distant voices, Shiva couldn't bring herself to simply make her presence known in the face of an unknown voice.

  "I don't know.. it sounds like a big risk. I mean.. Series 6? There were only supposed to be five.." The unknown voice was stating, sounding worried and uncertain.

  "Series 5 is restricted exclusively to military service and even then there are only a few of them active at any one time. Of the 21 of her series active all of them are civilians, 20 of them are all off-world. After the first three incidents his budget was cut by 85%, and even their own internal documents for the four subjects selected for the Earth reclamation program were listed as being 'high risk'. It seems almost obvious to me that the Senate or the military is trying to sabotage their own efforts here on Earth." Seila murmured back to her sounding more than annoyed and all but certain of what she was saying.

  "How long have you been at this?" The other woman asked with concern.

  "Since yesterday afternoon when the documents arrived." The Dean told her in return.

  "Seila.."

  "Oh, hush, I am not so old that missing one night's sleep is going to put me into an early grave." Seila countered sounding good natured in that moment. "I needed to know, and the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Devin is right, that this girl has been sabotaged at every turn. Bad decision after bad decision, and the girl I tucked into bed last night was not a monster.. misunderstood, scared of herself and what she could do, but not a monster by any means."

  "All right." The other woman relented. "When do I get to meet her?"

  "I told her to sleep herself out, but let me go check on her." The next moment the swinging kitchen door popped open and nearly struck Shiva where she was standing in its' shadows as Seila launched from the room on a course for the stairs. Not entirely sure she could bring herself to admit that she had been spying Shiva watched the older woman cross a short distance down the hallway before something stopped her, and she turned with a smile to find Shiva lingering uncertainly in her wake.

  "I'm sorry.." Shiva whispered embarrassed and guilty and even more so now regretting the decision to wear a skirt that morning. It was something she had never done even before she had been brought to Earth and an outfit worn only rarely since that time, and on that strangest of all morning it felt awkward and strange as she was watched by the smiling stranger who would play a role in her future. Smiling just a little brighter Seila approached to a short uncomfortable distance and ducked down in front of her to tug on the hem of the skirt as if she knew it was some small source of discomfort for Shiva.

  "Were I in your position I feel all but certain I would have done the same thing." Seila told her with a small smile. "Come on." She half ordered taking Shiva's hand to lead her into one of the nearby rooms. The older woman settled down in one of the empty waiting chairs and drew Shiva down to perch on one of her knees making her feeling even more uncomfortable and nervous at the unexpected gesture. "I think Hornton knew how I would react to you." Seila commented softly as she reached up to brush a few stray lilac strands of hair away from Shiva's face, who looked up uncertainly at the smiling woman's face. "Still plan on going through with your promise?"

  "Yes." Shiva agreed quickly and quietly.

  "I want you to try staying in the dormitories with the other students, but you'll come to me first thing if you think there is even a potential for a problem." Seila told her rubbing her arm gently, trying to encourage her away from the surge of nervousness she felt at the idea. "I want as few people as possible to know about your special circumstances, but if you even suspect that it isn't working, you'll come back here to live with me, all right?" Shiva nodded quickly finding that a far better idea, and just enough of an incentive to get her to agree but only under those conditions.

  "Sounds logical.." Shiva agreed pushing aside her dislike to at least try to appease Seila.

  "Good, now.. let's get this over with. Cami is a bit naive and a tad too young, but she has a good head on her shoulders and I feel certain she will be able to find someone who won't be intolerable for you to live with." Seila told her as Shiva shifted to her feet. Seila took her hand once again and drew her back across the short distance to push through the kitchen door. The woman who turned to look up at their arrival was indeed young, perhaps no more than a decade older than Shiva herself, and her expression was one of deep all encompassing surprise as she took a very long look at Shiva. "I realize that you were expecting some hulking amazon Cami, but truly it is very rude to stare." Shiva couldn't help but smile with her amusement as she was lead over to one of the waiting stools. "Would you like some breakfast?"

  "Yes, please." Shiva replied as she picked up some few of the pages still scattered around the counter top.

  "Reviewing your old class schedule?" Cami asked, clearly trying to be funny and severely missing her mark, much to Shiva's deep annoyance. In fact that top page was indeed the long brutal list of all the training courses she had undergone before the Series 6 project had been brought to an abrupt end.

  "Fact checking.." Shiva murmured darkly, unamused in the extreme. "Seila.. I'm pretty sure that they didn't make me go through Advanced Torture Tactics." She added across the room, Seila undoubtedly guessed the point of that comment and hid her smile from the horrified and stone sober younger woman.

  "I'll bring that up with Devin and see if he can correct that mistake." Seila agreed with well hidden amusement. "Though he might be a bit upset that you got the chance to look at your file."

  "Seila, doesn't it strike you as odd that my existence is classified, but I don't have the authorization to know anything about myself?" Shiva asked the older woman almost playfully.

  "Which is why I haven't stopped you." She whispered back with a smile as she caressed Shiva's hair in passing. "How often do you have the nightmares, he warned me about?" Shiva's expression fell, not wishing to talk about that then, later, or any time in the future. However as much as she might have wished Devin had kept her confidence and not said a word to anyone, she also knew that Seila was asking about this for a very good reason. Even if she would have wanted to keep her mouth shut, she never ever wanted to have anyone else hurt because of the bad dreams that would likely never go away.

  "Every couple of months, unless I see something.. or if.." Shiva answered awkwardly.

  "Hopefully, you'll see that you are past such things now. I trust you to pick the right someone Cami, be sure to be discrete when you warn whomever you pick." Seila stated rolling over Shiva's words before the young woman could be completely banished from her previous good mood. "The dangers of waking her up if she's having a nightmare, grabbing, sharp aggressive movements, raising your voice, any other problems sweety?" Once again startled by the gentle nickname, Shiva shook her head silently after some th
ought.

  "I believe I already have the perfect someone in mind." Cami assured them with a smile. "I'm guessing you overheard some of what we were saying?" She asked with an uncertain and worried expression.

  "I didn't hear.. anything you need to apologize for." Shiva told her quickly. "But I wanted to thank you for what you said Seila."

  "Actually, I hoped that you hadn't overhead me say any of that.." Seila murmured with a bit of disappointment in her eyes. "I wanted to maintain some sense of authority just in case you did decide to misbehave."

  "If I misbehave.. you won't catch me, and if something.. goes wrong, you won't ever see me again, one way or another." Shiva told her with a darkness in her eyes.

  "Fair enough." Seila agreed with a sense of laughter dancing just beneath the surface. "Devin's comments about your brutal streak of honesty are starting to make more sense now." She added with a chuckle. "But let's do our best to make sure things don't come to that, all right?"

  "I don't have to read all of this to know what's at stake." Shiva agreed with just a hint of a smile.

  "You lived it." Seila agreed surprising Shiva once again as the older woman leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "Devin's a lot more clever than I ever really gave him credit for.." She added with a chuckle at some hidden thought before she changed the subject and started to talk school business with Cami, leaving Shiva to eat her breakfast in silence.

  "Would you like a tour of the grounds?" Cami asked of her even as Seila took her empty plate away.

  "I don't want to bother anyone.." Shiva murmured uncertainly.

  "It's all right, I have just enough time before my next class, and I am sure you can find your way back here when you get bored." Cami quickly assured as if eager for the opportunity as she slid to her feet. When Shiva moved to her feet, Cami was there waiting to offer her hand. Not entirely certain about this, Shiva nevertheless accepted the offer and questioning when this trend had begun since it seemed to be happening a lot lately.

  "It will take another day or so for your academic records to catch up with you, so take your time about looking around." Seila assured her with a smile, as Cami drew her towards the kitchen door.

  "Just as long as you promise not to back out when they do get here." Shiva agreed with a small smile, Seila's smile grew as she nodded in return as she watched them depart.

  "She wouldn't do that." Cami assured her as they followed an unfamiliar hallway along the length of the house. They left through a beautiful glass sun porch and moved out past a stone patio and the small perfectly manicured gardens of the side yard. A thick hedge wall marked the border between the Dean's house and the school grounds, and a wrought iron gate allowed them to pass that vague sort of border between the two. Shiva was far too wrapped up in looking around to really listen to Cami's enamored lectures on the histories of the illustrious school, its' famous alumni, or just about anything else. The shadowy expanse of grassy fields spread out between the brick walkways that criss-crossed the groomed orchards of beautiful old trees that spread out in every direction was more actual 'nature' than she had seen in two whole years and something utterly beautiful to see for the first time. The lampposts glimpsed from the roadway the previous night were dark as they stood at the borders between the paths and lawns that filled in the middle ground. The last of the summer winds carried the still distant sounds of the huge fountain across the serene landscape as they moved at an unhurried pace towards the main areas of the school. Cami seemed to have drifted off into a world of her own as she recounted stories of her own education at the school and added on the more official histories to her wandering thoughts. Shiva listened on occasion as more big beautiful buildings began to move closer, with their classic architecture and well maintained appearance. Cami began to add insights into their functions and purposes in among the tangle of less needed insights into why and when they had been built.

  Much as the grounds had been, the entire school was far too beautiful and quiet to really be ignored as statues of the founders and gardened plazas spread out around them, resting within sight of the gorgeous and well aged buildings. There was just a hint of the great many students and teachers who spent their days there, but there was no sign of litter, no graffiti, nothing to indicate that this place was anything like the many places Shiva had spent most of her most recent years. Despite Seila's warnings, despite her own uncertainties, it was almost possible for Shiva to imagine living a peaceful existence in this kind of place. There had been many times when such a small dream had seemed far fetched, and to be confronted with such a place where such a hard to obtain a thing might actually be possible, made her tour almost hard to take in as they passed quietly beneath the shade of the trees.

  "The bell is about to ring.." Cami commented down to her after nearly an hour of quiet wandering as they came within sight of a truly grand courtyard around which several of the larger buildings were gathered. "Unless you feel ready to get caught up in the stampede you might want to retreat a bit and wait for things to quiet down." She added with just a hint of laughter in her voice as she squeezed Shiva's hand encouragingly. With a smile and nod for the older woman, Shiva watched her move off towards her next class before she took that bit of advice and launched upward in powerful telekinetic shove. In a matter of a heartbeat Shiva caught a second floor ledge with one foot and used it to launch even higher crossing the remaining three floors to catch the edge of the roof and swing up to that height where she could settle safely out sight. The large brass bells housed in the distance chapel tower began to toll sending a wave of sound across the far distant reaches of the immense school grounds. Within two dozen heartbeats as the first echoes began to fade into the distant hillsides, the first girls began to appear below as the chaotic swirl of people moved towards their next classes.

  It felt odd to see this scene repeated in such a different format, all the other schools had been single continuous buildings built on a massive scale connecting all the wide spread classrooms together by wide maze like tunnels. To see people her own age able to enter such an amazing landscape in the middle of the day seemed strange. Though Cami had explained that many of the buildings were connected by underground tunnels for the times when the weather turned for the worse, on that cool calm early autumn day few seemed to think those tunnels an option as there was soon an army of girls ranging from small children to near adults moving in chaotic swirling patterns below her perch. The school uniforms were pretty enough to attract the eye though the skirts seemed a tad too short for Shiva's personal comfort, but the rules did not seem so strict that variation and a touch of individualism was not clear even from her gargoyle like perch above the courtyards. Though it was easy to catch signs of many of the same social dynamics that she had observed at the other schools, it seemed very odd to look down and not see any boys in the mix save for the occasional professors that joined in the chaos below. Even those few signs of bullying and other less noble dynamics seemed far more benign and contrasted by the lack of testosterone. By the time the massive shifting was over and the school was again settling down in quiet at the sound of the bells, Shiva was almost looking forward to learning more in depth what it would be like to join that tangle of people.

  Already out of sight and in a position to travel by less conventional means, Shiva decided to take a far less guided tour of the school along the paths no one else nearby would be able to follow, leaping between roofs and nearly flying through the tree tops. Getting a far more clear lay of the land by this means, she easily crossed the considerable distances of the school and was soon down near the edges of the large blue lake that separated that school from another school on the far side, the Academy's 'sister' school for young men or so Cami had told her. It was the sound of activity at that far distant point that lured her out of the trees and down to ground level when her curiosity got better of her. There was a large wooden building nearby and large clearing where a sizable group of
girls were gathering. It was easy to guess by their changed uniforms that she had wandered up to the edges of self-defense class teaching one of the many forms of karate. Interested enough to linger in the shadowy fringes for a time, Shiva didn't hear the approach of some unknown figure until his large presence impinged on her senses.

  "I don't let anyone observe my advanced class without permission." He rumbled from behind her. Disliking the fact that his silent footsteps had allowed him to sneak up on her and disliking his attitude even more, Shiva glared at him as she turned to walk away. It was a motion that was caught out of the corner of her eye, a momentary flash of his effort to try and stop her. Instinct took over and with a speed far greater than his own, Shiva snatched that hand away from grabbing her. With a strength he might not be able to match, Shiva heaved his large form around, twisting the arm in her grip behind his back as she slammed him forward into the trunk of a nearby tree.

  "Telling someone to leave and then trying to grab them sends a mixed message, you might want to be more clear next time." Shiva growled at him, no longer in the mood to be compliant or nice about it. He grunted unable to break her grip or find the leverage needed to counter his pinned movements. Shiva almost decided to hurt him before calmer instincts took hold and giving him one final shove forward and herself the seconds needed to get out of his reach. He spun towards her as she backed away, glaring as he met her eyes, but when enough distance separated them she spun away and disappeared into the shadows.

  Her good mood now ruined beyond repair and certainly feeling less than ready to face anyone else, Shiva wandered closer to the walled borders of the school, as much interested in seeing what kind of security lay between her and outside as anything else. Her long circling course wasted time and took her out to the far edge of the school grounds and the promised lake in the distance. Curiosity and a desire for her solitude to last a little longer, Shiva quickly and quietly crossed those blue waters and wandered over the larger footprint of the boy's academy taking in the full layout of the local area before sneaking back across the borders to move past the dormitories and cottages that served the teacher's on her way back to Seila's house.

  "Shiva?" Spotted almost as she reached the fringes of the outdoor patio, Seila's call came just as she reached a point where she could see the teacher who had tried to grab her. Knowing she was already in trouble, Shiva half froze with uncertainty as Seila moved to cross the distance between them.

  "Sorry.." The word came bubbling up to the surface almost as the older woman moved to duck down in front of her, much to her surprise Seila chuckled.

  "It's all right, Dominic told me that he tried to grab your arm.. he was just surprised is all. And that's okay, I haven't had a chance to warn the faculty about what they shouldn't do around you." She murmured back reaching out to rest her hands on Shiva's hips. "Were you done looking around?"

  "I think being around people is only going to get me into trouble today." Shiva whispered back to her, unable to really find something to say other than the truth.

  "All right, how about you go to my office and find something to read while you curl up someplace nice and relax for a while?" Eager to find any excuse to escape that situation, Shiva nodded quickly, Seila smiled and rubbed her sides before nodding her in towards the house. It was easy enough to locate the 'office' and it was even easier to see why Seila had been working out of her kitchen through much of the night since the space had been overrun by bookshelves and overwhelmed by books. So many books in fact that they had even begun to accumulate in piles on the floor and stacked high on the few pieces of furniture not necessary for sitting. It was easy enough to find unknown titles that could be used to pass the time as she settled down on the floor to read. Sometime later, there was the sound of soft footsteps that warned of an approaching figure through the slight vibration of the floor boards.

  "Still looking?" Seila asked with a smile as she appeared in the thin aisle between the shelves of the overcrowded room.

  "Kinda.." Shiva felt relaxed enough to give her a small smile in return.

  "Would you mind taking a test for me?" Seila asked gently.

  "Sure." Shiva set the book to the side and slid easily to her feet, as if some kind of trend had been started without her knowledge she took Shiva's hand to lead her out of the office and through the house to another room. There was another older woman already there sitting in the shifting light of the large windows reading as they entered. She smiled at their approach as Shiva was lead across the calm, well decorated space to yet another desk and the computer that had been set up there.

  "This is just to help us place you in the right classes. So don't worry if you don't know the answer to something." Seila told her as she made sure Shiva knew how to work the programs already loaded up and waiting for her. Once sure Shiva would be able to manage it on her own, she slipped away and Shiva got to work on the comprehensive test and through it's slow rise in difficulty. It was fairly easily to ignore the watching eyes of the room's other occupant as she worked her way through the test. After about two hours the last question was done and with a sigh, Shiva slipped to her feet, stretched, and wandered away.

  "The bathroom is the second door on the left." The woman murmured as Shiva moved to pass back out into the hall.

  "I'm fine, thanks." Shiva stated in return as she left the room on a return course to the library. She soon settled back to former position and the book that had been set aside. She was almost at the last few pages when Seila reappeared with a brighter smile than before.

  "All done?" Seila asked gently as she ducked down nearby.

  "She could have just asked me that herself." Shiva told her pointedly.

  "Didn't fool you, did we?" Shiva shook her head with a small smile. "Well don't stay locked up in here all afternoon, it won't be long before it's too cold to enjoy the touch of the sun."

  "I just wanted to finish this book before I found something more entertaining and moved out there." Shiva agreed letting herself relax just a little more under the older woman's amused smile.

  "Dinner won't be for a few more hours if you wanted to get something to snack on before then, you know where the kitchen is I am sure." Seila suggested to her gently before she moved off to whatever she was doing that day. Just as she promised, Shiva quickly finished the last few pages of the first book before she shifted to her feet to return it to the stack where she found it. It was a bit harder to find something not filled with facts but it wasn't too long before she was able to move outside to settle beneath the flowering trellis and the bench swing it had to offer. Focused less on memorization and more on enjoyment Shiva was reading through the book and settled comfortable on the padded bench swing outside when the sounds of voices caught her ears. She was just in the right position to see Cami and a few of the other teachers moving off towards the school proper.

  "It must be strange to be the focus of all this attention." This voice was accompanied by the mild impact of his weight against the back of the swing was even less welcome than before. Once again his approach had been silent and the fact that he was hovering far too close made her intensely aware of how little she wanted for more of his company. Glaring across the short distance as his arms came to lean over against the swing, halting the gentle swaying that Shiva had enjoyed until that moment, she decided to ignore him as she returned to the pages spread out in front of her.

  "What makes you think that?" Shiva growled back at him when it became clear he wouldn't simply take the hint and make himself scarce completely on his own.

  "I'd know how I would feel if our positions were reversed." He commented back to her.

  "Than clearly sir, you and I have lead far different lives." Shiva murmured back to him as her resentment and dislike started to grow by small increments. That feeling peaked in an instant as another half seen motion caught out of the corner of her eye. Feeling far less forgiving this time, Shiva's lightning fast mov
ement snapped her hand hand around three of his fingers. Yanking him forward and twisting hard, he was very quickly incapacitated as his arm was over-extended and his joints locked in position as he tried to keep her from twisting those digits right off of his hand. "Are you learning impaired or something?! Or just unable to recognize a point when someone already tried hard to make it clear to you?!" Shiva demanded of him angry enough to risk getting into more serious trouble. He tried to keep his pained noises quiet as he tried hard to look at her face with his body twisted out of position. Just barely able to back off from her instinct to do him some kind of damage, Shiva shoved his arm away as she pushed hard out of the bench sending it backwards to collide with his chest as she moved some distance away to settle in the shadow of a nearby tree.

  "Men obsess over what they can't have, sweety." Seila stated from nearby, how long she had been standing near the back door was unclear, but she was clearly displeased with one of them. "I warned you to not try and touch her Dominic." She added as her dislike was given more focus.

  "You're right.." He murmured darkly. "I'm sorry Shiva."

  "And if you were here to suggest that she join your judo team.." She gave him a truly dark look that made Shiva glad that Seila seemed to like her. He had the good sense to excuse himself right then and make a quick escape from the scene. With a sigh Seila crossed the distance and slid down next to Shiva drawing her slowly to lean against the older woman. It was warmer than the cooling air of the afternoon and oddly comforting so Shiva had a hard time trying to object to the unexpected gesture as the book was left forgotten for the moment. "Don't judge him too harshly, sweety. He is a warm kind hearted man who cares as much about his students as he cares for his job, and he is very good at taking excellent care of both. It may just take him a little while to understand that you are not someone who responses to kindness through physical contact from just anyone." Seila told her softly after a long comforting kind of silence. "It would of course serve no one for you to be on his after school team or for you to take his class. It would only raise too many questions with your classmates, and he is probably the only one who could give you a real work out."

  "It far more likely end up with him being seriously hurt." Shiva murmured back to her in return.

  "This is true." Seila agreed with a warm chuckle. "Right now my department heads are about ready to riot over you, the average person finishes that test in 5 hours. I have the feelings that you'll end up in our advanced courses, though I think it might be hard for us to challenge you for very long."

  "Maybe.." Shiva murmured letting her eyes drift closed. "I think Hornton is making me wait for a few years to establish a public record for me before I am allowed to do much of anything. As boring as it gets doing the same things over and over, I can usually find ways of entertaining myself without disturbing anyone else."

  "I am glad that it won't cause trouble, because short of giving you a private teacher, I don't see how they will be able to keep up with you without leaving everyone else behind. Devin told me that you would be able to keep up with any of my other students, I see now that he has also has a gift for understatement." Seila chuckled as she hugged the younger woman closer to her side, Shiva sighed feeling at peace for the first time that day. "I think you could probably pass graduate level courses at the best universities."

  "Probably." Shiva agreed with a bright smile.

  "Well, that's the future, right now let's concentrate on this semester, and see what comes from it." Seila murmured down to her.

  "If you say so." Shiva mumbled feeling no real need to enunciate her words.

  "I do say so." She chuckled gently as she rubbed Shiva's side. "Dinner will be ready soon, though I am not sure if Devin will be back to join us. After that think you would want to meet a few of the girls?"

  "Are you screening roommates then?" Shiva asked waking up enough to speak the words clearly.

  "Better cautious now, than regretful later. And I don't want your room mate to end up resenting you for invading a room that they would have had to themselves until now." Seila told her with a soft chuckle, leaning over to rest her cheek against the top of Shiva's head.

  "Is that even possible?" Shiva asked doubtfully.

  "Cami assures me it is.." Seila murmured back to her. ".. and I have never had a good reason to doubt her."

  "If you think it's for the best, I'll go meet them." Shiva agreed reluctantly. "But can we just stay like this for a while?" She asked reluctantly and not even entirely certain why she would ask that.

  "Gladly." Seila agreed warmly hugging her just a bit tighter to her side.