Jack looked the village over as the new residents picked out the places they wanted
to live. Mister Warner grabbed a house next to the town center. He looked at it with
a nod.
Ropel had picked a place close to where the ground had been turned into rows of
vegetables for them to eat in the coming months. He had a view of the south gate
from his porch.
The others had scattered away from the center to look around, but Dorotea and Elena
had grabbed a place close to the new inn. Maybe she intended to run it if they got
visitors to the village.
Jack hoped things worked out for them after the disaster of the last few days.
“Are you sure you want to stay down here?,” Jack asked his friend. “I can still fix
you up a place in the city if you wanted to stay here permanently.”
“It’s been a while since I have moved, Jack,” said Mister Warner. “Helping out has
reminded me why I took the job in the first place.”
“Probably what the Society intended in the first place,” said Jack.
“I’ll have to go back and shut my shop down, and sell everything,” said Mister
Warner. “I don’t have anyone to leave it to.”
“All right,” said Jack. “I put the gate down in the town hall.”
He pointed at the clock tower above the village.
“As soon as I get back to Hawk Ridge, I will put the other end down at the Hangar,”
said Jack. “It will be outside of the city proper and no one will see you guys coming
up north.”
“All right,” said Mister Warner. “If I get any more quests, do you want them
archived?”
“Yes,” said Jack. “Josie will probably want to go through everything so we can
improve our rating.”
“Hold on,” said Mister Warner. He touched his watch and became Marvello. He
produced a three page report, and then copied it. He let the persona go. “This one’s
yours.”
“Keep an eye out,” said Jack. “I don’t want to come back and find out one of these
yahoos killed you for your watch.”
“Especially since Zu said it only works for me,” said Mister Warner. “That would
make things that much more worthless.”
“I’m heading up north,” said Jack. “I fixed your phone to use the Enterprise to relay
phone calls to us if you need us. I don’t know how June is going to work out, but if
she does I doubt they will send her down here to be your apprentice.”
“You can never tell what they are going to do,” said Mister Warner. “I didn’t think
they would give June a test run.”
“Neither did I,” said Jack. He grinned. “I have to go. Josie probably is worried that
I set the whole Southland on fire by now.”
“If you need to talk, I will be here for a while,” said Mister Warner. “Then I have to
handle my concerns and come back. I don’t know what was in that drink you gave
me, but I know I feel younger.”
“I don’t know if it will last on Earth,” said Jack. He shrugged. “It was the best
I could do for you without moving time back. I have to go say my goodbyes and
then take off. Remember to call if you get into big enough trouble, take care of
yourself, and take some time to smell the roses.”
“Hercule Poirot didn’t take the time to smell the roses,” sniffed Mister Warner.
“Poirot wound up killing someone he suspected of murder because he couldn’t prove
the guy did it,” said Jack. “Don’t use that as your example, okay?”
“He should have taken more vacations away from other people,” admitted Mister
Warner.
“Get settled in,” said Jack. “I’ll send Josie and June down to look the place over.
They might think it’s quaint.”
“I will see what I can do with the orchards and fields you planted,” said Mister
Warner. “We don’t have enough people to need such a big harvest.”
“Sell the surplus to your neighbors,” said Jack. “The only other thing I have to
tell you is that we are at war with some human traffickers. We marked them with
tattoos of names. I sent one of their spotters down this way with his daughter
so Josie wouldn’t kill him. His name is Ken.”
“Why did you do that,” asked Mister Warner.
“They poisoned his kid to keep him under control,” said Jack. “The hex marked him
because he knew he was doing wrong and did it anyway instead of sacrificing his
kid.”
“Sounds like an ethical problem that I don’t want to get near,” said Mister Warner.
“I’ll keep an eye out.”
“I just wanted to warn you in case they came down here and took some of the
women,” said Jack. “They were supplying Shemmaria with test subjects until
we shut things down.”
“I’ll keep my eye out,” said Mister Warner. His eyes wore a sharper frown. “Go on.
Your beloved is waiting for you.”
Jack grinned. He opened his mouth to say something else. Mister Warner cut him off.
“I know we’re all invited to the wedding,” said Mister Warner. He flapped his hand.
“Shoo. I have to think about where I want to put my books and things.”
Jack walked away. He hummed to himself as he went. He just had to make sure Ropel
and Dot knew how to use the stargate, maybe check on Elena, then he could have
the Enterprise beam him up and he could head north to his new home.
He found Ropel and Dot talking to another two guys that he hadn’t dealt with other
than fixing them up. They were concentrated on the fields that had been planted.
“I am about to head out,” he said. “You guys set?”
“We are discussing grow times,” said Ropel. “It will be a few months before we get
edible supplies and the winter will be coming on.”
“Your plants seem to be growing twice as fast as normal, and we are trying to
estimate how long we have until we can harvest them,” said one of the appointed
groundskeepers.
“We think we can speed up the process,” said the other groundskeeper. “We don’t
know if that will hurt things.”
“I didn’t really considered the seasons when I planted,” said Jack. “I think you should
concentrate on one plant and see if you can make that grow without exploding.
Maybe one of the fruit trees also. If those work out, you can try to expand outwards.”
“That’s what we are trying to decide on,” said Ropel. “You’re leaving?”
“Yep,” said Jack. “You guys seem to have things nailed down, and Mister Warner
says I’m getting in his way. I have the end of the gate down in the city hall. I
am going to put the other one down in a piece of wilderness I took over about a few
minutes ride from Hawk Ridge up north. I have a space hidden there, and set
up a fear ring to keep people away from it so you should be safe from people
up there until you move out of the ring.”
“I still say you are a mad man to give us these gifts,” said Dot. She grimaced at him.
“There are things in this world, Dot, that I can’t change,” said Jack. He impersonated
a ringmaster for a moment with a wave of his arm. “I can’t bring dead people back to
life, I can’t tell the government not to tax a man’s work, and I can’t alter the direction
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
of the sun. But there are some things, I can. I can help someone get back on their feet.
I can stop a bully. I can chase monsters and hack them apart. Don’t think of it as
madness. Think of it as charity, and a small bit of compassion.”
“Madman,” said Dot. She smiled. “Your Elaine is probably just as mad to put up with
you.”
“She is keeping me from doing things that people wouldn’t like,” said Jack. He
extended his hand to Ropel. Then he shook hands with the other two. When he
extended his hand to Dot, she hugged him for a second.
“Thank you,” she said.
“It’s not a problem,” Jack said. “Mister Warner can call me if you guys need
something. I will be glad to come down and light someone up if he can’t handle it.”
“Good luck, champion of the Faceless,” said Ropel. “Our home is always open to
you.”
“You guys are invited to the wedding when we set the date,” said Jack. He grinned.
“I have to say goodbye to Elena, and then I have to go. Good luck, guys.”
Jack wondered away. He changed into Vision for a second and scanned the village
for the little girl and her phantom dog. He smiled when he found them in the orchard.
He turned into the Falcon and flew over to land under a tree. He turned off the
persona.
“Jack!,” said Elena. She waved her hand at him. The dog ran around her legs. “I’m
teaching Yoff some tricks.”
“I came to say goodbye,” said Jack. “I have to head home and help my partner fix
things back in the city. I didn’t want you to think that I would forget about you and
your dog.”
“You’re leaving us?,” asked Elena.
“For a bit,” said Jack. “I have a few responsibilities as much as I don’t really want
them. I have to take care of those things just like I have to watch out for you and the
others now.”
“Thank you for everything you have done,” said Elena. “This Yoff is the greatest gift
anyone has ever given me.”
“It’s all right,” said Jack. He grinned at her. “Look out for everyone, look out for Dot.
Mister Warner will be here to help protect you, but he can’t do everything by himself.
Eventually he is going to need an assistant, maybe someone with a fearless canine
companion.”
“Are you fearless, Yoff?,” asked Elena.
The badger dog looked up at her with a grin.
“I think that you are,” said Elena. She rubbed the dog between the ears.
Jack grinned.
“I have to get back to work,” said Jack. “You’re a good kid, Elena. I’ll bring Josie’s
sisters down so you have someone to hang out with when I have a day.”
“Will they like me?,” asked Elena.
“I don’t know,” said Jack. “Will you like them without meeting them? They don’t
have a wonder dog. I can tell you that.”
“Thank you, Jack,” said Elena. She hugged him. “Thank you for helping us, and thank
you for Yoff.”
Yoff threw himself on Jack’s lower leg.
Jack spun them both around in his arms before putting them back down.
“Just remember with great power comes great responsibility and you will do all
right,” said Jack. “I will be around sooner or later. On the other hand, my sister Juni
might have to apprentice to Mister Warner. You’ll have someone who needs a lot
of looking after if that happens.”
“I will do what I can,” said Elena. Yoff barked in agreement.
“Excellent,” said Jack. “I have to go. And you should think about hitting the hay and
getting ready for tomorrow.”
“Yoff and I are on the north wall when the sun goes down,” said Elena. “We have
to keep watch until we are relieved.”
“Then you better head over to your position,” said Jack. He squinted at the sky.
“I know,” said Elena. “Let’s go, Yoff.”
“Don’t fall asleep,” said Jack as she turned and headed away from him.
“Time to go,” Jack told himself. He activated his com band. “Enterprise? One to beam
up.”
A cloud of blue sparks dropped him in Transport Room One. He stepped off the pad.
He wondered how everyone else was doing as he headed up to the bridge. As long
as the Enterprise was on voice control, he could technically fly it from anywhere on
the ship. He preferred the bridge for the big screen so he could see what he was
doing.
He expected Josie to have everything locked down on her end. He still had to write
out something to show he had helped with the quest. He thought about what he
had done with the villagers. They had needed the help. Even with Mister Warner
helping them, they needed the extra assistance that he couldn’t provide without
dropping some, or all, of his other responsibilities.
The watch, and the Enterprise, let him do a lot of things. It didn’t let him split off
different versions of himself like Madrox to keep an eye out for people everywhere
he helped someone.
He needed to test the Multiple Man persona when he wasn’t running around putting
out other fires.
Peter David’s take had been interesting at first, but looking back, giving Madrox’s
clones different personalities, so that one ran away because it didn’t want to be
absorbed seemed counter to how the power had worked at first and just more of
David trying to add personality flaws to the characters he was writing.
Jack settled into his chair on the bridge and decided that he had got old without
realizing it.
“Enterprise, take us to orbit over Hawk Ridge,” said Jack. “I have to put the other
stargate down at the Hangar, and then check in with Josie.”
“Affirmative,” said the Enterprise.
The screen showed an empty sky as the ship sailed across the continent. It moored
itself high above Hawk Ridge. A beep told Jack he was on station.
At least they had two places to retreat to if they had to leave Hawk Ridge.
“I’m going down,” said Jack. “Remain on standby, call if there is a problem with
operations. Josie’s bird is still in her chair so she should be able to board instantly
from wherever she is.”
“Affirmative,” said the machine.
“I think if Josie and Elaine have their hospital set up, the next steps will be moving
people out of the transporter one by one, and putting them on the ground,” said Jack.
“I will let you know when we come up with a time table for all that.”
“Affirmative,” said the Enterprise.
“Keep an eye on the village for me,” said Jack. “If they need help, I want to be
able to swing by and drop a torpedo on someone.”
“Affirmative,” said the machine.
“I’m off,” said Jack. “I can’t just stay up here and avoid responsibility all my life.
Josie would come looking for me.”
Jack left the bridge and went down to the cargo bay. He opened the doors and
stepped out, falling fast, just like his arrival in this new world. He activated Gravity
after a few moments and floated gently down to the Hangar’s cleared space. He
frowned at the archery target dummy on one side, and the wooden punching stand on
the other side of the space.
They were still inside the ring of fear. No one was going to come up and see the
dummies unless they spotted them at a distance and wondered what was going on.
The surrounding trees should block some of that off from the road.
Jack decided to put the stargate down in a space inside the Hangar. If the villagers
had to retreat, then they would have a roof over their heads when they arrived.
He also had to put down a stargate line from Jane’s House to the Hospital. He could
put a stargate for them too, but he would have to put two gates at the Hospital, and
two gates at Jane’s house.
Did he want that?
He appreciated the dial up procedure now that he was looking at the problem. It also
gave him a solution.
He entered the Hangar. He found a wall he could put the stargate on. He used
Magik to fashion it out of the left over iron rods from the Hangar shaping, and made
sure it was empowered and placed. He activated the ring and marked the event
horizon. Then he stepped through and was back in the village. He waved at Ropel
before stepping back through to the Hangar.
Everybody would have access to the Hangar, and the Hole in the Wall. He decided
to put a lock on the Hole in the Wall’s gate from this side. Once he was done with
that, he stepped through to his living room.
Now all he had to do was set up the gates for the hospital, and set up the Hole in
Wall’s pad to go to the different gates. Those other gates could not lead back to the
Hole in the Wall.
He should put a lock on the gates at the village, and the Hangar. He would talk to
Ropel about it when he had things set up a little better.
He walked into the dining room. He stood behind Josie and looked at the small spread laid out.
Elaine smiled when she saw him, pausing in what she was saying to their
houseguests. She stood.
“I see everyone got started without me,” said Jack.
“You were taking too long, bro,” said June. “How did things go? Where’s Mister
Warner?”
“He stayed behind,” said Jack. He walked around the table and hugged his beloved.
He didn’t care that Alicia said mush at the sight.
“How did things go, Jack?,” asked Josie. She realized that the table wasn’t big
enough for him to sit with them.
“Pretty excellent as Bill and Ted used to say,” said Jack. He grinned at her.
“I guess that’s tubular then,” said Josie. She ignored the puzzled expressions her
comments gained her. “We’re going to need something to pull the goblin growths out
of our nurses, and then the sleepers at Jane’s.”
“Can I work on that tomorrow?,” said Jack. “Tonight I want to be home with my
beloved.”
“I suppose,” said Josie. “We’ve done a lot of things and there’s no telling how the
Duke will take it.”
“It will be okay,” said Jack. “We still have two days before June’s trial runs out. Let’s
make the most of it before we have to send her back home.”
“What are you talking about?,” asked Josie.
“We should take some time and go fishing up at Lake Myra,” said Jack. “We can sit
around and fish and drink beer and eat cheese while we try to catch our dinner.”
“Take a day to relax?,” asked Josie.
“I don’t see why not,” said Jack.
“Because we have a lot of people whose lives are on hold until we get their things
sorted out,” said Josie. “A day to relax is for other people. We’re too responsible for
that.”
“I did promise to take the kids up to the village,” said Jack. “They only have one
kid, and she needs some company.”
“What’s her name?,” asked Matilda.
“Elena,” said Jack. “And she has a floofy dog.”
“Can we go?,” asked Matilda. “Aviras and I would love to look around.”
The dragon didn’t look like he wanted to meet someone’s pet.
Josie looked at her sisters. She saw they were middle of the road about it. It might do
them some good to get away from the city for a bit.
“They are still settling in, right?,” said Josie. Jack nodded his head. “I will send
Mister Warner a letter that we will be coming by after June’s evaluation.”
“I can just call him,” said Jack. He pulled out his phone and pushed the contact
button. “Sorry to call, but your gate is set up to open at the Hangar, and Josie is
bringing the kids by after June gets sent back home. Maybe they can help out down
there while they are visiting. Just get some jobs for them to do. They would love
that.”
Mister Warner heard the groans before he hung up.