TRACK 5 –

I was bombarded by questions the whole way from our war room at the middle of the fortress all the way down to the harbor. Which, luckily for me huge arcs of sprayed water from my new invention caught my companion’s attention. Thankfully for my sake, because I was about an iota away from smacking the next person who asked me about magical little people in my radio box with a full-on pimp slap.

“Give me some powder.” I quipped, under my breath.

“What was that Law?” Sage asked.

“Nothing, just thinking out loud. How are preparations for the expeditionary forces going?” I asked, deliberately changing topics knowing that Sage couldn’t resist the chance to start talking statistics and numbers.

“Ah yes, Billy and Patty…” He began, but I quickly tuned him out as we walked along and continued thinking about my own plans since I’d already given out orders to the everyone else.

I needed to get the rest of my provisions packed, my airship fitted, and then plan my route. The first thing we needed to do though was secure the black gold, we had to go get oil. Why did I need oil if I could do what I’ve been doing with magic and the current resources I already had? Well, oil is used in so many things that even magic isn’t enough to replace. I’m not just talking about weapons of war, which are the most important, but everyday items and just ease of life.

Right now, I had a post medieval tech base. It was mostly medieval and premedieval tech with a smattering of industrial area. They had tanks and air balloons and such in the 1500’s. Oil was going to help me change it all and give me a decisive edge. I was going to jump our tech base to the WWII era, WWI at the least. I had no doubt that we could beat the Europeans and The Fallen with our current tech advantage.

The thing was humans were damn ingenious and as soon as they saw that something could be done they would figure that shit out. There was no shadow of doubt that I’d be seeing better guns, ships, even airships sometime during out fight. I needed to keep ahead of the curve, that was the only way we were going to win. We just didn’t have the manpower or the infrastructure yet. My plans would see us fix both of those things but it would be a while before that happened.

The next thing I was worried about was magic. I had it now and I was sure there were going to be enemies that had it as well. I mean, The Fallen did and we didn’t even know where they were, how many, and how tough they would be. My biggest fear was someone like me somewhere else in the world doing what I was doing but a metric fuck ton better than I was. Even worse was my fear that there were multiple someone’s. All these fears came true after meeting up with Moon Flower in the Realm of the God’s.

I shook my head of the spiraling thought pattern and refocused on the now and Sage’s monotonous diatribe.

“…leaving the Air Force. Currently, we have four of the new ships and two of the older versions not counting your personal airship. Dusk and Dawn have really come into their own there. All those kids have, the insanely daring shit that teenage minds come up with, just thinking about it makes my blood run cold.” Sage finished, shaking his head.

“Sage, you swore? Wow, you really don’t like flying do you? Well, historically the Air Services were where the most daredevil of people would end up. It was also at the forefront of technology and stuff. Although, if you think about all facets of our lives war and not are at the front of technology. Anyway, those twins are doing a phenomenal job but see if you can keep them from killing themselves while I’m gone.” I said, meaning it as a joke then realizing my mistake as soon as I finished talking.

“Yes, I will do that. Speaking of you being gone it’s time for us to discuss…” Sage started.

“Hold on there, buddy. I said I’d explain things but let’s wait till everyone is around because I only want to do it once. Agreed?” I asked.

“Yes, War Shaman.” Sage replied, adding the title to show that he was pleased with it but he’d go along for now.

“Thanks Sage, anyway, let’s change topics. I want to discuss the oil situation.” I said, as we walked along towards the smithing area.

“This again? We have many sources of oil Law.” Sage said, as if to a child.

“No Sage, not that kind of oil. This is different it’s a kind of oil that is about a hundred times more efficient than coal for burning. Not only that, we can use it for so many different things that it’s our number one priority in resource gathering. You did send out the groups like I told you to earlier?” I asked.

“Of course, I wouldn’t disobey you. I’m just saying I think this oil thing is ridiculous.” He replied.

I sighed and shook my head. Even though he knew magic, had a new videogame like interface, and I had invented so many new things in this timeline he still was a crotchety old bastard

We reached the smithy just then and I parted ways with Sage and told him I’d meet up with him later. Smoking Bluejay and a half dozen of his new apprentice magesmiths were working busily away. As soon as Smoking Bluejay saw me he waved and said something to his apprentices and walked over to me and shook hands.

“War Shaman.” He said, his grip strong and tough having been a smith his whole life.

“I’ve told you, call me Law. Now, show what’s so damn important I had to rush over here.” I said, grinning at the likeable smith.

“Well, I finished that thing you wanted but I’m not quite sure I did it right. I wanted to get your opinion.” He said.

“What item are you talking about?” I asked, having no idea what the hell he was talking about.

“The air sail thing. Dusk and some of the other airmen came down and told me that you needed me to make…” He started to explain.

“Dusk and Dawn. Never mind, just show me.” I said, shaking my head.

Smoking Bluejay just shrugged and led me over to the river side of the smithy where they had a whole testing area set up. He walked me over to an area down by the water just on the riverbank and I saw an interesting contraption sitting there.

“What is that?” I asked, truly not know what it was.

“That is what they asked for, a flying canoe. At least, I hope it will fly I haven’t tested it out yet.” He said, a bit sheepishly.

“A fucking flying canoe…” I said, shaking my head and heading over to inspect the crazy contraption.

In all honesty it wasn’t that crazy I was just surprised by the whole thing. I tried to have an open mind as I studied the vehicle. It was eight feet long and three feet high and the main body looked like a canoe albeit made of thin metal and thin strips of wood. There were wings on each side and they were shaped like a birds in flight. The whole thing looked like what someone would make if they didn’t know how flight worked. Overall though it was quite an attractive craft and I told Smoking Bluejay as much.

“Thank you for that Law, but you are still saying it’s not going to fly as it is.” He stated more than asked.

Just then Dusk, Dawn, Sky, and Boulder came careening into the smithy wild eyed and frantic.

“Smoking Bluejay! Smoking Bluejay!” Dusk called, in his high pitched voice which was just starting to drop and tended to crack when he spoke, especially yell.

The smith and I shared a grin, then I turned to the newcomers with a frown across my face.

“You four over here, now.” I commanded pointing to a space just a few feet in front of me.

I watched all of them deflate and the excitement they had a moment before was replaced by trepidation. All four of them slunk over like berated dogs and stopped coming to a slack sort of attention where I pointed. I stood there glaring at them in silence for a minute letting them stew with their own imaginations knowing they did something wrong. It wasn’t that I was mad at them for getting the smiths to make the thing. The problem was that they said I had told him to. That was unacceptable. If that happened in battle or some other sort of emergency that could cause many problems, death being one of them.

When I was in bootcamp the all Drill Instructors would just yell to get their points across except when it was for really important things. Oh, they would still cuss and berate you but they wouldn’t yell. They would talk to you and make you figure it out so you really understood the why of something. That was the way I like to teach and was what I did now.

“Do you four understand why I’m so upset?” I asked, looking each of them in the eyes as I spoke.

They all stayed quiet and none could look me in the eye, each fidgeting and looking anywhere but at me. Dawn finally made eye contact and took the lead.

“You see Law…” She started.

“War Shaman.” I said, interrupting her.

She swallowed audibly and then continued.

“War Shaman, you see what had happened was that we all came up with this idea after our airship was shot down during the Monster War. Dusk thought that we should tell Smoking Bluejay to see if he could make it and…” She trailed off, gesturing around at her friends for support.

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“Exactly! It’s just as Dawn says. We asked the smiths…” Boulder chimed in, but I cut him off with a gesture.

“That’s all well and good and I encourage all of you to ask the smiths about ideas you have. The problem is that you told him that I said it was a number one priority…” I explained.

“Yeah, but…” Sky tried to interject but I just gave her a look and her mouth snapped shut with a clack.

“No buts, here’s the thing. Do you think it’s ok to tell lies? Did you even consider any of the ramifications of what could happen? What about work that need to be done for frontline fighters? What if there is a project that they were working on that was life or death? Do you understand?” I asked.

They were quiet again for a moment looking downward as it dawned on each of them the seriousness of what they did. Good, that was all I was looking for from them.

“Judging by your faces you all get it now. I’m not one to beat a dead horse so we will leave this here as a warning and that’s it. Now, let’s talk about this flying canoe here.” I said, smiling now and pointing at the contraption that certainly wouldn’t fly as it was.

Switching gears as only the young and the mentally imbalanced could do their temperament immediately changed. The four of them each came over and surrounded the canoe and began talking and pointing things out all at the same time. I looked at Smoking Bluejay who shrugged and I just sighed and waved the kids down, quieting them for a moment.

“I get that you are enthusiastic and all, but as I was telling Smoking Bluejay this won’t fly the way it is.” I explained.

“Why not?” Dawn asked.

“We haven’t even tested it yet, how can we know?” Sky quickly added.

I held my hand up stopping anymore questions. As soon as they were quiet I began my fist lesson on aeronautics. Twenty minutes later ten pairs of eyes, Smoking Bluejay’s included, were glazed over and Boulder had drool coming out the side of his mouth. I wasn’t sure if he was awake or not even though his eyes were open. This lecture was not working it was time to try something else.

“You know what, let’s do some hands on teaching. Smoking Bluejay come with me, you four go get an airship ready we are going to go on a fieldtrip. Don’t forget to pack a lunch for all of us and make sure to bring double for Freak.” I said, with a big smile.

The teens took off and the smith and I began gathering the items we’d need. Basically, it was just some smithing and woodworking tools. I went and grabbed the wood we’d need and in the smiths wood stockpile found the perfect type, balsa.

When I was a kid we used to make these little gliders that were mockups of WWII fighter planes and they had been made of balsa wood. I used to love those things for a variety of reasons. You could change the angle of the wing or move the weight for balance and the glider would fly completely different. It really taught me about the basics of flight from an incredibly young age.

We grabbed the items and Smoking Bluejay threw them in a bag, I shouldered the wood, and we headed off with Freak leading the way. The way up to the top of the fortress was clear as most folks were busy with work, training, or the multitude of other tasks needed to wage war and rebuild society. Once at the top of the fortress I saw that they had chosen our newest airship The Invincible.

The balloon was full and the ship was already straining at its four lines. Freak bounded up the gangway followed by Smoking Bluejay. I was about to head after when I saw Walking Coyote and Freya waving and walking my way, so I waited at the bottom of the gangway.

“Hello Law, we wanted to talk to you about your upcoming trip.” Walking Coyote said.

“Sure, but I was just on a teaching mission so it’ll have to wait till later.” I explained, then turned to walk up the gangplank nipping the conversation in the butt.

“No problem War Shaman. We will join you.” Freya said.

When I looked back over my shoulder I saw they were right behind me. A resounding sigh escaped my lips as I trudged the rest of the way up the gangway resigned for the conversation ahead. I reached the deck and went over to the engine area and set my burden down next to Smoking Bluejay’s and went to help with takeoff. This was for two reasons, the first being to stave off the old folks and the second was because it needed to be done.

“Dusk, are we ready for liftoff?” I asked, him being the de facto leader of our burgeoning Air Force.

“Yes, War Shaman.” He replied.

“Make it so.” I commanded, manning the wheel with a big grin loving that I had made that the standard takeoff command.

Walking Coyote and Freya were seated close by in the upgraded bridge area. I ignored them for the moment since they were out of the way and focused on the airship.

“Belay those lines!” Dusk called, a chorus of ‘Yes Captain’ rang out and first the bow lines were released and then a moment later the stern ones.

The airship began to tilt back and forth and side to side, but I quickly used the wheel and rudder controls to level it out. Soon we were rising smoothly into the bright blue sky. Dawn and Sky had released the lines and were just hopping on deck after having climbed quickly up them. That was part of being in the Air Force, peak physical conditioning.

It was actually just part of everyday life during this period of time. All the Natives were in amazing shape. They made us folks from the future look like little bitches. Even the old folks were in tiptop shape. I was sure that if Freya or Walking Coyote wanted to they could easily climb up the fifty foot airship docking ropes just as quickly as the teens.

A few minutes later we were sailing peacefully along and I turned the wheel over to Walking Coyote who was caught off guard by the command. He didn’t refuse though and took the wheel which staved off the me leaving conversation for a little while longer. I headed over and began laying the wood out on the center of the ship’s deck making sure there were six different stations.

“Smoking Bluejay put a set of tools by each woodpile. The rest of you pick a pile, not you Cunning Wolf you’re driving.” I instructed, chuckling at my own joke.

“Law I don’t see…” Freya began, walking up to my side.

“Freya, you can join in. I’m sure you will want to learn all about flight and aeronautics. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” I said, grinning again.

“You better not be calling me a dog Law, War Shaman or not I’ll tan your hide.” Freya said, her tone deadpanned as she headed to a woodpile station.

“Freya, I’d never… You are a women in a flower of her beauty. A woman of such intense sexual desire that were it not for my fiancé…” I said.

“Ha! Can it, you smooth tongued bastard.” Freya replied, but with a laugh and shake of her head showing it was all in good fun.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road, everyone pull out your utility blade and begin carving this pattern. Not you Cunning Wolf! You fly the damn ship.” I scowled, shaking my head then returning to my piece of wood.

I pulled out my tactical knife and looked at it with a grin still impressed by it.

TRI-ELEMENT ARI B’LILAH

WEAPON TYPE – Special Forces Tactical Knife

DURABILITY – 100/100

CLASS – Ultra Rare

UPGRADES – Flame, Earth Strength, Water Resistance, Fire Resistance,

WEIGHT – 2.0lbs

DIMENSIONS – 6” Blade Length, 0.222” Blade Width, Full Length 12.25”

At first glance, the Ari B’ Lilah looks like something out of a Conan The Barbarian movie. Don’t let it’s fantasy like structure fool you. It is the quintessential weapon of war for the Israeli special forces. Its dropped forward point and wicked recurve is perfect for cutting, slashing, and stabbing. The back of the blade has a serrated edge for sawing and other less savory uses. The Ari B’ Lilah is the Special Forces specialists blade. Anything less would be uncivilized.

Forge Bonus – Infused magic acts as power, any of the three kinds, Earth, Fire, or Water can activate.

Then, closed the info window and drew out the pattern on the wood. I activated the Flame ability on my knives and burned the outline of the planes body on the wood. Then I held it up for everyone to see and passed it around while I worked on the rest of the pieces. I replayed a video of a guy making the balsa wood gliders on YouTube in my mind as I worked and it came together easily. Ma,n my Total Recall skill was a godsend, literally.

After each panel of wood was examined and returned to me I began carving them out while everyone else worked on their own wooden outlines. I deftly cut along the traced routes and in a couple minutes had all the pieces wood needed for the glider ready. Next, I worked on the little bit of metal that would be the weight and allow the glider to actually fly where you threw it. It was just a small piece of brass that I bent and molded with the smith tools and a bit of magic. The little lump of metal quickly took shape and I set down as I assembled my tiny glider.

I slotted the wing piece in, then the tail flap, and finally the brass weight went on the nose.

“Tada!” I said, holding my assembled glider up for all to see like I had won a trophy or found a hidden treasure or something.

The response was less than what I was hoping for and my emotional sails deflated in an instant.

“What’s that do?” Boulder asked, and Dawn thumped him in the back of the head and gave him the ‘are you an idiot’ look.

“It’s a glider dummy, but yeah I’m not sure that’ll fly either I mean it’s so thin.” Dawn said, giving my glider a quizzical look, which was joined by everyone else.

“Ok, doubting Thomas go stand over there.” I said, pointing to a spot ten feet away in the center of the deck.

We were still relatively low in the sky only a hundred feet up and the wind was calm today. I figured I could toss the glider on deck ten feet. The airship was seventy-five feet long and almost fifty feet wide. Dawn got into position and faced me, doubt about this whole situation clear in her eyes.

“Ready?” I asked, with a broad grin.

“Ten-four.” She replied.

I nodded then tossed my glider towards her in a level arced path. The tiny toy sailed from my fingertips in an almost straight line right into Dawn’s surprised grasp. Cheers broke out and questions, but I held my hand up till everyone went quiet.

“Pass around the glider and use it as an example as you finish your own.” I instructed.

Dawn nodded and returned to her woodpile taking the glider with her. Everyone returned back to their carving and molding and I began teaching. It was one of my favorite things to do, drop knowledge, sometimes even when people didn’t want to listen. I was sure that this time they wanted to listen, well, fairly sure anyway.

“There are three basic laws of motion as they pertain to flight. I won’t go into the details of the creator Sir Isaac Newton, but I want to give him credit. Anyway, the first law of motion is every object moves in a straight line unless acted upon by a force.” I explained.

“And the sky is blue. Tell me something I don’t know.” Walking Coyote scoffed, from his position at the helm.

I looked around and the rest of the faces seemed to agree with the old man and as I thought about it I guess it made sense. I brushed the set back aside and moved on.

“The second law of motion is the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force exerted and inversely proportional to the object’s mass.” I said, finish smugly having used a few words that were intentionally more bougie.

I didn’t want them getting cocky after all. The six of them were quiet as they thought about what I said. The only sounds were the blowing of the wind, the rumbling of the engine, and the loud metronomic snores of Freak. I chuckled inwardly with glee sure of my superiority being from the future and all. But was going to be magnanimous and tell them it was ok. Then, freaking Freya had to go and ruin everything.

“What you are saying is that if something moving at you or away from you and you push or pull on it with the same amount of force it’ll stop or go?” She asked.

A chorus of nods of agreement from the peanut gallery followed the question. I just looked at the old lady blinking with a blank stare on my face.

“The third law of motion is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” I said, with no inflection in my tone waiting for their responses.

As if on cue Dusk, Sky, Boulder, and Dawn all spoke up at the same time, but they were all cut off by Walking Coyote.

“Law, you need to see this!” The old man shouted.

I took the reprieve and headed over to the helm to what Walking Coyote was talking about. Everyone else followed along behind me.

“Walking Coyote where the hell did you take us?” I asked him, shaking my head