Dear Diary,

Oh, shit.

So, not at my best today. Lack of sleep will do that to a body. As will an inspired Kitten repressing things for two whole days. Yeah, we go without for days at a time, we're not addicts or anything, but we both expected to be doing that stuff yesterday afternoon, and then we got distracted, and then Isnomi happened. Little Menace spent the night with Grandma, who delivered her back to us in the morning. Grandma confirmed she didn't mess any diapers overnight, so that's a win, right?

I think that's what happened. Don't quote me on shit today. I'm running on overloaded endorphins and stupid high Endurance.

We had to take Isnomi through breakfast, because Marie had a little work to do without her. With my new knowledge, her eating habits make a little more sense. Not, like, a lot, but a little. At one point during breakfast she made a point of carrying bacon strips, one at a time, over to Angel and feeding them to her. After breakfast, when Marie carted the menace off, Angel came up to Saffron and I as we walked up to Combat Training.

"Are... are you guys okay with her playing with me?"

I didn't even have to think about that bullshit. "Hey, I'm the one who fucked up and charbroiled a friend, not you."

"Yeah, but I was in that crowd."

"So was Bill. So were the Pesces. So were a lot of people. Did you know it was Isnomi up there?"

"No, but..."

"No buts. You didn't know. Did you know the baby'd been kidnapped?"

She had the grace to look a little offended at that. "Hell no."

"So as far as you knew, it was some poor little kid who barely lived to make it up there?"

She shrugged, "yeah, or even," she paused, having to force the next words out, "some kid who didn't even make it to the altar."

I pulled her in and put my arms around her. She tensed, but fuckit. If she needed to belt me after this, so be it. "You lost some little ones like that." She nodded. No tears, no snuffling. None left, at a guess. I gave her another squeeze, then pulled back to look at her with an arm on each shoulder. "Not on my fuckin' watch. You hear about shit like that? You get them to me."

She looked at the floor. "Doesn't change what's happened."

I shook my head, "no, it doesn't, and that shit bothers the fuck out of me, but," I heaved out a sigh. "She's my kid. You know me, I jump first and think later when shit that important isn't on the line. I'll do what I can to make things right after, but..." I ran out of steam as my brain reminded me I hadn't slept the night before. Some of why must have crept into my face, because she laughed and punched me right in the fuckin' tit.

"You can't fuck your way out of this one, Diaz."

I smiled at her. "Wouldn't try to. We good?"

She sighed, still smiling. "No. Not yet. But better than we were yesterday. Dumbass."

I very conspicuously rubbed where she'd punched me and said, "I hope we're good soon. That shit stings."

Saffron wrapped herself around my arm at that point, looked up at Angel, and said, "Don't let her fool you. She loves it. Watch out, she's likely to Just Happen to you if you're not careful."

At that point we got to the Practice Yard. Lachlan and Cadet Castro stood there chatting. I'm not the greatest at reading body language, if you haven't figured that shit out yet, but even I could tell that Lachlan would drop his drawers for her at the drop of a hat, and that she found that slightly less appealing than the thought of a simultaneous boiling vinegar douche and enema. No clue if Lachlan didn't catch that, or if just made her more appealing to him, but I got confirmation of her position on things when she saw us come in and straight up walked away from him, leaving him looking more than a little pissed.

"Cadet Diaz!"

I came to attention and snapped a salute before dropping into parade rest. "Yes, Senior Cadet Castro?"

She laughed at me. Amused, not mocking. "You don't have to salute me, Cadet. Bowing and scraping and just 'Cadet Castro' will do. Your friend Pesce asked for you back at the loading docks."

I leaned around her and called out, "Senior Cadet Lancaster, I've been requested at the loading docks; you okay if I go now?"

After glowing at Castro for a few more seconds, he looked at me and after a moment's thought replied, "make it quick."

"Yes, sir!" Castro's laughter followed me out the door, dopplering behind me as I sprinted away. Much as I'd done the other day, I kept the sprint up all the way to the Entrance.

When I got there, I asked the Guard, "I've got to go talk with somebody dropping something off here at the loading docks. Where would I go for that?"

He chuckled a little and said, "which ones?"

"Uh... I dunno?"

He shrugged. "Technically the docks themselves are straight down at the bottom of the river side of the hill; there's a path there from the basement entrances. But people also call the basement entrances 'loading docks', so if your visitor came in via cart, they're probably there."

I facepalmed. "They're a fisherman. With a ship."

He laughed and shrugged this time. "No help here then, I'm afraid. You'll have to check both."

Before I could tell him 'thanks', a chime rang through the hallway, and he held up a hand. Before I could ask why, Headmaster Miles' voice reverberated through the hallway at the same time something outside the doors hit them with an echoing thud. "Attention. All Faculty, Staff, Guards, and Cadets report to the Dining Hall at once. I repeat, all Faculty, Staff, Guards, and Cadets report to the Dining Hall at once. Any Academy Visitors, remain in your current locations until advised otherwise. I repeat, any Academy Visitors are hereby ordered by Councilman Miles to remain in your current locations until advised otherwise. Consequences will ensue should you leave your current locations. All Academy Faculty, Staff, Guards, and Cadets, report to the Dining Hall at once."

When Headmaster Miles' voice cut off, I grabbed the Guard by the arm and pointed at the door. "What the hell was that?"

He glanced at me, grabbed the arm I'd grabbed him with and started towing me with it as he replied, "Headmaster Miles has just sealed the Academy, and since we're probably the only people closer to the Dining Hall than him and maybe some Maids, we'd better get there first, don't you think?"

"Oh fuck. Yeah." I stopped making him tow me and more or less tow-raced him to the doors to the Dining Hall. We got there just as some Guards who'd been sitting in the Guard / Security room did, and the six of us beat anybody except some Maids to the Dining Hall. The Maids there had stopped with their basic cleaning routine and were stacking tables on the sides of the room, except for a pair who set a pair of tables on the dais at the front of the Hall to make a kind of stage. I raced to get a front-and-center spot, but the Guards broke away to flank the door itself. Headmaster Miles came in and headed for the stage, followed by a Senior Cadet I vaguely remembered seeing at my Court Martial. After that people poured into the Hall, Cadets lining up around and behind me, while the Maids lined the walls, eventually joined by the Maintenance smiths, the Librarian's assistants, and the Infirmary orderlies, including Grandma Aetos.

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At some point during the rush Saffron nudged her way in next to me. Headmaster Miles looked down at her, not accusing, just questioning, and she said, just loud enough to carry to him, "I'm short." He smiled at that.

His smile evaporated when the sound of the Dining Hall doors closing accompanied a distressingly distinctive, "DAHDA!" Like they had a cable towing them, my eyes swiveled around to see Marie standing at the head of the line of Maids, one hand holding each of Isnomi's calves as the menace straddled her head, her hands in the air, looking around until she spotted us, then repeating, "DAHDA!" When Headmaster Miles cleared his throat, my gaze snapped back to him, only to find him staring at my Maid and my daughter, completely unamused.

A third, "dahda?" drew my gaze back to the pair, and I only heard the Headmaster speak because he stood maybe six feet away from us, with nothing in between. "Maid Marie, I believe I made it clear that Visitors were to remain in their current locations?" That kinda puckered my sphincter, but not nearly as much as Marie's only reply, a Look that very clearly communicated to Headmaster Miles her firm conviction that while he was the Headmaster of her Academy, he was the Headmaster of HER Academy, and the menace went where she did. There may have been a strong subtext of her taking up the discussion with the next Headmaster if Miles didn't agree. I didn't dare eyes front until he muttered, "keep her quiet, I need everyone's full attention." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marie nod, releasing one of Isnomi's chubby calves to put a single finger across the rugrat's lips.

With everyone's attention back on him, at least as much as he would get with Isnomi eight feet in the air at the front corner of the room, he spoke, his voice filling the Hall. "Thank you all for coming so quickly. I have just received a report from Marshall duBois. New Amsterdam has deployed Heroes and Levies along the border to either side of Millstone River. He has requested that we arrange an immediate relief column, begin immediate recruitment and training of volunteers, and convene the Council for a Conditional Declaration of War pending New Amsterdam's troops crossing the border in force."

I'll say this for our training. Nobody shouted, cried, or even made a whole lot of noise when he paused for breath. Hell, Isnomi made the loudest noise in the room nomming poor Marie's finger.

"Cadet Lachlan Lancaster."

Lachlan, who'd been standing a couple rows back surrounded by our Combat Training class, replied, "Yes, Headmaster!"

"Upon the end of this meeting, you are ordered to summon your father. Inform him of the situation in as much detail as required. I will be requesting that he take command of our forces in Phileo City until such time as they are ready to deploy to reinforce Marshall duBois."

"Yes, Headmaster!"

"Senior Cadet Daphne Castro."

"Yes, Headmaster!"

"Upon the end of this meeting, you will take three Guards in four throughout Phileo City proper, along with any volunteers with previous combat experience available, and lead a column to relieve Marshall duBois, to leave no later than daybreak tomorrow."

Castro sounded more than a little out of breath, and maybe even a little confused, when she replied, "Yes, Headmaster!"

"A moment, Senior Cadet. Hero MacCrae?"

A guy I'd never seen before stepped up to the table and, after placing a single hand atop it, hopped up to stand next to the Headmaster, on the far side from the guy I assumed was the messenger from duBois. He had the kind of faded skin that told me he'd been dark skinned in his youth, and the kind of confidence that told me there were probably a lot of little dark skinned kids around somewhere. "Thank you, Headmaster." He turned to face the crowd. The day I'd got here I would have thought he moved smoothly, but I'd watched duBois. This guy had to have at least a couple decades on the Marshall, if not more. He had wrinkles crossing wrinkles, and faded scars showing where his uniform didn't cover him. His uniform, superficially similar to our Cadet ones, looked different in a dozen tiny ways. Different cut. Buttons just a little bit different shape. More, smaller ruffles on the neck. His slacks narrowed just a little more sharply than ours. Along with everything else, while he wore it well and it had held up well, I just felt age radiating off of it. "Cadets! For the past few years it's been my honor to train Senior Cadets here at Phileo Heroic. A final service I could still perform for my adopted home." He sighed. "But I'm... not the Hero I once was. Not since..." he paused after those two muttered words, then shook his head, tapping his temple with a finger. "Even this stuff is slower these days. I'd love one last fight, but I'm not the kind of arrogant ass who will put you kids in danger just to feel young one more time. Archivist Saturday?"

"Yes, Hero MacCrae?" I swear to god I heard Sister Cheryl sniffling a little as she responded.

"If you would record my final opponent as 'Kronos'. Please?"

"Of course, Hero MacCrae."

Hero MacCrae sighed once, deeply, and he seemed to deflate as he did so. The man Sister Cheryl rushed forward to help down from the stage had more wrinkles, ashy skin, he even looked a little shorter. Before he could step down, Headmaster Miles reached out and lay a hand on his shoulder. "Mister MacCrae?" MacCrae didn't respond, just turned his head to look back at the Headmaster. "Phileo City thanks you for your service. You are welcome at Phileo City Heroic Academy, for now and forevermore, to instruct or simply to stay, at your pleasure." He relaxed just a little, and continued with a warm smile, "I'm sure our Senior Cadets would love to receive the benefit of your experience, even if you've laid down the mantle."

MacCrae chuckled. "I don't know about all that. Think I might go do some fishing. But any time your kids think I've got an answer they need, they're welcome to ask."

He turned to take Sister Cheryl's offered hand down, but before he could the Headmaster glanced at the room and nodded. I didn't catch on until the third word, but you bet your ass I chimed in as loud as my lungs could go once I did, as the entire Hall shook as every Cadet in the place shouted in unison, "Thank you, Hero MacCrae!"

A tiny, tinny voice echoed, "da ga, hara ma cay." Old dude had a big old grin on his face and a few tears leaking out his eyes as Sister Cheryl helped him down from the stage.

Headmaster Miles called out, "Senior Cadet Daphne Castro!"

"Yes, Headmaster!"

"You are hereby requested and required to accept promotion to the status of Hero, effective immediately, your previously accepted orders still in force."

"Yes, Headmaster!" Her voice echoed in the confined space in a way it hadn't a moment before.

"Thank you, Hero Castro. Doctor Roberts?"

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Will you please handle liaising with the University Magi to acquire their assistance in conveying the situation to our Heroes in the field, with the request that they return to the City as quickly as possible?"

"Consider it done."

"Thank you, Doctor."

His gaze raked across the assembled Cadets. "All other Cadets: you are hereby requested and required to contact any and all Veterans and potential Volunteers of which you are aware. Inform them that Phileo City is requesting Volunteers. Combat Veterans will be accorded Sergeant status and pay. Volunteers will be paid at normal Guard rates for the length of their service, unless such time as they see combat, at which time they will receive combat pay for any days they see combat. Volunteers are to report to the front steps, where Senior Cadets and Faculty will vet their suitability for service. All Cadets will make themselves available as needed for vetting, training, communication, and leadership duties. Classes will be held as normal, instructors are to prepare instructional documentation for Cadets unable to attend due to other duties. Cadets will remain responsible for review, study, and practice as usual. Devotional sequesters are suspended until further notice; Cadets, you are honor bound to attend to whatever Devotional duties your Patrons expect of you in addition to your other duties. Doctor DeLeon, Sister Trease?"

From the sides of the room I heard Doc DeLeon and Trease reply, "Yes, Headmaster?" just a little out of synch.

"I will require you to arrange duty rosters and rotations within your dormitories. You will receive Duty requirements as I compile them, no less than twice a day at breakfast and dinner."

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Cadets!"

We didn't shake the room like we had for Hero MacCrae, but the Hall still echoed when we replied, "Yes, Headmaster!"

"You know your duties. I pray the Gods lead the House of Orange to see reason, but if the leaders of New Amsterdam choose the path of violence," he paused, and only my proximity let me see the way his nostrils flared with a tiny sigh, "correct their mistake. Dismissed."

The response to that varied. Plenty of the Cadets let out a coordinated cheer. I even heard a certain someone crowing from her perch atop Marie's head. For me, I stepped forward to help the Headmaster down from his stage.

"Thank you, Cadet."

I squeezed his hand a little and asked, "you okay, Sir?"

He cocked his head, considering me for a moment before saying, "why do you ask?"

I smiled up at him. I'm tall for a woman, but he's a decent height for a guy. Six foot, maybe six one. "You're not a soldier. You're a teacher. Can't be easy to send students out to die."

He took a deep breath, and I saw that clockwork soul catch, if only for an instant. "No. No it is not, Cadet Diaz. But I do what I must." He looked over my shoulder and nodded. "I think someone's looking for you."

I turned just in time to catch Isnomi as she leapt from Marie's head into my arms, twisting just a little as her weight hit me. She reached out, and I turned to let her lay a chubby little hand on his cheek. I saw the clockwork soul go still; not caught, just for one tiny moment peaceful. "Ah ga da, hamada."

I watched his clockwork soul shudder before it started turning again. "I'm supposing your daughter will eventually attend?"

"I expect she will, Headmaster. She seems more suited to this than academia across the river," Saffron said from behind me.

He nodded, rubbing one hand atop the menace's head before turning to go. "I suppose I'd best be ready to retire to something less strenuous by then." As he walked away, he muttered, clearly just loud enough for us to hear, "I've heard there are men who wrestle swamp dragons in Jackville. That sounds much simpler."