The West-East Transcontinental Railway locomotive #3 is two days into the Rocky Waste Mountain Range and is due to reach Mammatus Plateau in another two days. There have not been any more attacks on the Nguyen family, the three corrupt Masters of El Hat must not have called for backup.
The two kids, considering they’re aged three years, are surprisingly good at self-entertainment. Little Leo and Luna play with their Fighter-Fox dolls; no longer calling them foxy-girl dolls at the request of The Fighter-Fox herself.
Their nanny Ms. Jones keeps busy with a daily change of hobbies that have ranged from knitting and embroidering to sketching silly caricature portraits of anyone interested. The sketches were brutal in their exploitation of the subject’s most defining facial features, always eliciting surprise and merriment from onlookers and victims alike.
Lila Nguyen has been spending hours with Luscin every day discussing everything she’ll need to know about the politics of Mammatus, ignoring Luscin’s pleads of ignorance of any such matters. Lila assures her it’s happening with or without her knowledge and she probably knows more than she thinks.
That leaves the non-talkative Teum and the scholarly Horatio to themselves for long stretches. They for the most part, are comfortable with sharing a table or cabin in silence.
Teum, having experienced super-sonic flight for the first time, is working on creating a machine to assist future flights. He’s envisioning something to scoop air out of the way to reduce friction. When done right it would be like falling in a vacuum and should be trivial to accomplish. Working out the parameters to provide a breathable atmosphere is proving difficult.
Horatio Nguyen splits his time between silently watching his kids play and staring out the window watching the slowly changing landscape scroll by. Anything to keep him from thinking about how his actions endangered his family, these two students, and a train full of strangers. He’s numb inside and can’t allow himself to ponder if it’s over or not. Those three worked for somebody, are they going to stand down after having three of their people killed?
Standing at a table in the throne room atop her stone pyramid in the North Cenoka coastal city of Anapa, a faceless woman, Rätsel is reading a missive from a low-level intelligence asset in El Hat. The news is not good, it’s borderline disastrous. She’s managed to place agents in six of the top ten studies in South Cenoka. If one was found out it could kick off a literal witch hunt for her other operators.
The report is a week old; it states the El Hat headmaster took an unscheduled vacation with his family. The subject and family made contact with a known agent of the nameless one. Yuck, she hates when her lackies use the mysterious HE or nameless one. They could say a disciple and we’d know who they mean. Behind his back we call him Yellow. Why would Yellow interfere with her mission?
Denka Rätsel with her strawberry blond hair and face a blur contemplates that question. Absently she tugs at the loose white gown she’s wearing. Every opening of the gown is purposely large to allow glimpses of what’s underneath. Leaving her perfect body just barely out of sight.
She’s been memorizing the small tiles before her for two hours now. When arranged they will fit together and depict a picture. It’s beginning to form in her mind, she may begin assembling soon. With only 500 pieces to go she decides to take a break, “Secretary, send for Knob Cairn!”
The secretary is one of three clerks on standby to execute the will of Rätsel. The role today is assigned to Darla. Darla, the youngest non-War Born daughter of the Fraunklin family in Anapa was disfigured in an industrial accident as a child laborer making her uniquely qualified to work as a personal servant to Disciple Rätsel. There are far worse but safer jobs she could have, Denka Rätsel casts people down her pyramid’s steep stone stairs when she tires of them.
Having arrived late and busy preparing for the day she hasn’t finished fixing her hair and will surely be punished but not as severely as she would for making her Denka wait. She exits the alcove where the clerks and messengers wait to serve, as one of the three messengers exits the room to retrieve Cairn.
Rätsel likes to surround herself with people with unique appearances. Darla’s crushed skull left her head misshapen. Her jaw is miss-aligned and her orange eyes are askew. She’s proud of her dark green curly hair and allows it to obscure her face as much as Rätsel will allow.
“Secretary, what did I tell you about your face?”
Darla nods her head forward and keeps going until her hair is dangling freely towards the floor. Using both hands she bundles it tightly into only her left, where a stretchy band awaits. Using her right, she pulls the band off her wrist and over the bundle, which she slides the loose end through.
Standing up straight and snugging the band tight she’s completed putting her hair in a ponytail, “My apologies Denka Rätsel, I’m to show it off, not hide it.”
“That’s right, you are one of a kind; I have no other piece like you.”
Standing contritely Darla waits to see if her master is in a forgiving mood. After a pause of ten seconds, she continues with her duties, “Denka Rätsel, a messenger was dispatched to retrieve Knob Cairn.”
With nothing else to do, Darla patiently awaits dismissal.
“Secretary, I’d like you to recite yesterday’s numbers.”
She hides her relief over receiving a task she was prepared to deliver. Yesterday’s secretary warned her this might come up.
“Of course, Denka Rätsel.
“Yesterday’s tribute included 235 women with an average age of 23 and 228 men with an average age of 36. Between the men and women 214 are coupled.”
Denka Rätsel’s voice reflects her dislike for missing pieces, “These uncoupled women, did they make prior arrangements?”
“Yes, each is accompanied by a coupled man who is committed to acting as a double tab.
“Three of the men are filling in for a brother that could not make the journey. The fourth is a professional.”
“I didn’t ask for their excuses but knowing there is altruism between brothers is good to know. We need to crush that out before it spreads. When I dismiss you, write a report to present tomorrow, detail where these three men are from and who they are. I want to know what family thinks interpreting the will of the Free’er is their right.”
“Yes, Denka Rätsel.”
If she had a face, it would be scowling as Rätsel adds, “The women are all older than they should be. How many have served as tribute in the past?”
“Forty women, Denka Rätsel.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think some of them like it. It’s more likely they’re trying to spare their worthless daughters. Include the town census where these forty women and three men call home with your report.
“You are dismissed Secretary.
“If I see you hiding your face again, I will peel it off you with a dull knife and have it cured and mounted on a frame for you to wear around your neck. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Denka Rätsel. I serve to live.”
Darla backs away for ten steps before she can return to her post and begin the report that tomorrow’s secretary will present.
Denka Rätsel returns to the pile of tiles she was memorizing and continues until the sound of a throat being cleared draws her ire.
She can feel his looming presence two yards behind; his every movement creates a tiny push of potential energy as if he only moves to attack but stops short every time.
Setting down the tile she was studying, “It’s a good thing you’re pretty or I’d kill you for interrupting me like that.”
Knob Cairn ignores the threat, “I serve to live.”
Cairn is slightly taller than average and is wearing the same cut of loose-fitting clothes as his master. He has jet black hair that nobody notices because his purple eyes bulge outward from proptosis. Anyone else might look surprised or comical with this condition. His bulging purple eyes, always half-smiling face, and relaxed yet deadly continence combine to present an unnerving visage.
He has served Rätsel for eighty-two years, his condition caught her eye while his success rate has earned him life extensions. His body should be rapidly failing as his age is now ninety-six. Thanks to the boons she’s granted him he still feels and looks like he’s fifty.
“There’s a problem in El Hat, that I need you to address. The headmaster we installed is defecting to Yellow or being taken under threat.
“I want you to investigate and fix whatever it is you find.”
“Not to question your judgement on this matter but don’t you have three Defenders under your control in that Study?”
She’s silent for a moment as rage flares inside her mind, she levels her mood before replying, “They are not reporting anything. None of them thought to tell me that their headmaster has left. None of them mentioned Yellow’s agents being in El Hat.
“I must presume them complicit in Yellow’s plan or dead.”
Cairn softly says, “I serve to live,” as he backs away.
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The sun rises late when you live in a valley, that’s something Malo is used to. Waking up in the dark seems natural, waking up with someone sleeping next to him is still something special.
He thought he figured out this culture but is more confused now than ever. Ranger Sandy fought off other rangers to be with him, only to move on after they spent a single night together. It feels strange to be with a third woman in three nights, but they keep showing up and dragging him home. It’s not like he minds the attention, it’s been great. He knew sex was supposed to be fun and feel good, but he had no idea how pitiful those words describe the act.
The woman in his bed, he has to think a second to recall her name; it’s Sara. Will she do like Sandy and Cas and tell him to go and move on?
Malo decides not to wait and find out. He slides out of bed and dresses then lets himself out the front door.
Outside, Luca is back on duty as his ‘guard’ to keep him out of trouble.
Luca absently twists one end of his scarf and asks, “This is new, no fuss. She tells you to go and you go. You’re getting the hang of it.”
Pushing by his guard, “There’s no fuss because I didn’t wake her.”
A firm hand grasping his forearm stops Malo.
Luca no longer looking absent and unconcerned is angry, “You have a way to go it seems. Get back in there and wake her up before you leave. You don’t sneak out of a woman’s bed like some… some… human scum.”
Malo isn’t in the mood but understands Luca’s point right away. He feels bad enough being told to leave. It would be worse to wake up alone and not know why.
“You’re right, I didn’t think this through. I’ll be back in a minute.”
The minute turned into an hour and a half. Malo tried to make it quick but it turns out Sara is a morning person and wanted breakfast in bed.
It’s decidedly better to have breakfast before being told to leave he decides.
Luca is still waiting outside, his shift won’t end for another couple of hours, “You have to learn to say no, sometime soon. You look sadder now than you did going in, and you mated with one of the most sought-after women in camp.”
Malo is close to turning seventeen and starting to understand that getting older doesn’t magically make you understand the world any better. He’s had to self-teach himself so much information that everyone else takes knowing for granted. Understanding this culture without a book is like trying to figure out flying when you don’t know about the flow of time.
There are rules in this community that everyone naturally understands but his brain can’t formulate the right questions to learn them. He needs to try, because he likes himself a little less every morning since he’s been here.
“Luca, what do you mean by Sara being sought-after?”
“Didn’t they teach you anything in that study of yours?
“We might dress and act a little different than your average murderous War Born, but that’s what we are in the end. If we’re not conquering, we should be settling down and making babies. Those babies are to replace us but If we were to do that there would be no place for future War Born to come and have a life. We can’t co-exist with the rest of you. Every time I see you, I start cataloging ways to kill you. That goes for every person in Bearlower, we can’t help it. This place must remain populated exclusively by War Born or it will disappear.
That’s why we have strict rules, if any of us pair off and start a family we are shunned. If not, in two generations Bearlower would be a regular human settlement with no WAR Rangers. That would mean one less safe place for future War Born to find refuge.
The reason Sara is sought after is because she is exceptionally smart and has the gift. Her offspring will be powerful among your people. We might want to support our community but the lure of leaving a worthy legacy behind is also compelling and embedded in our DNA as much as conquest.
Malo takes that in and feels like there’s something he’s missing.
“But why are they all trying to bed me?”
Luca has a laugh at that question. “Malo, you are a fool. They keep bedding you because they want to have your babies.”
He heard what Luca said, but the words made no sense, “What?”
Luca is now serious, “Malo they are throwing away their place here to have your babies. You’ve taken three of our best away from us. If you don’t start saying no, the men will start challenging you.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem. I’m not about to make any babies. I don’t want to be a father so I can’t get a woman pregnant that’s what all the books say, there must be mutual intent and consent for fertilization to happen; everybody knows that’s how it works.”
Worried he’s missing something he wants to put distance between himself and the women of Bearlower, “Can you or someone take me out on a run like Sandy and Milia did coming here?”
“That sounds like a smart plan. Let’s check in with Commander and see who’s available.”
The two make their way through town and enter the town hall, where they are greeted by Tess.
Tess has heard the rumors about this strange outsider and is intrigued. She leans over her raised desk and smiles warmly.
Malo is getting crazy vibes like his affect-mask might have failed but it hasn’t and should be tuned properly after the recent failure. He does make a note to talk to Master Adara to see if she can explain why he had to strengthen it recently.
Tess has a similar accent as Master Adara, the animal side of his brain can’t help but notice how cute she is. Her recently tanned skin has the same copper complexion he found so attractive on Ranger Sandy.
He should greet her, “Hi Tess.”
Tess can’t help but smile, “You remembered my name, that’s so sweet.”
Glad he remembered her name right, “I could never forget you. You have such cute dimples when you smile and I like that blue streak you made in your hair. It perfectly matches your eyes.”
Luca, bumps hard into the desk, jarring Tess, “We’re here to see Commander, is she available?”
Tess gives Luca her darkest grimace before her smile returns, “She is in and has granted permission for our little interloper to visit anytime.
“I’ll take him from here, you can go Luca.”
“That’s ok, I know the way to her office and I’m under orders to go everywhere he goes.”
Disappointed, she knows she’s beaten for now, “Go on then.
“Malo, don’t leave without say bye to me, ok?”
Malo feels funny inside whenever a girl is nice to him and he seems to lose his mind and act like a simpleton when they are as cute as Tess, “Sure, Tess. I won’t forget to say bye.”
Luca grabs Malo’s elbow and pulls him away from the charming Tess, “Let’s go your highness.”
“I told you nobody calls me that. It’s an informal kingdom and I was only granted a title because of a technicality.”
“Sure, sure, tell me all about it on our way to see the commander, your highness.”
They take the stairs from the lobby to the second floor and follow the signs to the mayor’s office.
The door is open, Luca walks in followed closely by Malo.
Commander looks at Malo with a mix of wonder and resentment on her face, “Does trouble follow you everywhere?”
Malo reflects on his life for a moment before answering, “I don’t know, life seems pretty good right now.”
Commander’s face settles to a neutral expression, “I suppose you would see things that way.”
Remembering the bigger picture Malo responds, “That was insensitive of me considering what’s happened since I arrived. Have you found out anything about the murder?”
“Yes, you were correct to profile a serial killer.”
Surprised at being proven correct, “Oh no, that means there’s been another?”
“Yes, another clerk that works here. At least there’s a pattern now.”
Malo shakes his head as if he can’t believe what he’s heard, “Where did it happen?”
“It happened here in the building. There were no visitors. Only staff. Two of the people who were there that first night were in the building, both had solid alibis.
“What does your expensive education tell you?”
Malo closes his eyes and tries to forget his personal struggles and only consider the facts as presented.
“Was the crime carried out the same way?”
“No, this one involved a knife taken from the kitchen.”
“Did you scour the area for tracked blood stains? Was the victim’s blood found anywhere in the vicinity?”
Commander likes the question, it shows he does know what to ask, “No.”
“I’d need to see the scene to do a proper investigation, is it available?”
“No.”
“Do you have a suspect list?”
“Yes, all 38 people that work here, including myself.”
“Then I can’t think of anything more… except two similar victims’ do not establish a pattern.
“Who was the second victim?”
“I don’t believe you met her. Her name is… was, Olivia. She worked in records.”
Killing Olivia while piloting the commander was such a pleasure. Seeing the look of total betrayal never gets old. Watching the stupid runt cluelessly confessing his ignorance was equally exquisite. It’s too bad he can’t use the commander for more kills, but it’s been his rule to never use the same vehicle twice. It's a small concession but it helps avoid detection and keeps the practice interesting.
Commander shakes her head as dark thoughts flood her mind, “I didn’t summon you to solve our problems. You came to me, what can I do for you?”
Malo is glad of the change of topics, he doesn’t like this situation at all, “I was wondering if I could go back out on a run, like Ranger Sandy and Melia did on my way here?”
Commander doesn’t need to think about her answer but delays for effect, “I can’t think of a person I want out of here more than you, right now. The killer has taken two of my finest, and you’ve taken another two.”
Malo doesn’t understand, “How is it I’ve taken out two of yours? All I’ve done since I’ve been here is have sex?”
Commander sighs, “You really don’t know do you?”
“Know what? You’re all so secretive about everything, just tell me what I did wrong so I can stop doing it!”
Commander slaps her desk, “Stop impregnating my rangers!
“I guess it’s my duty to inform you that your runt-seed forces ovulation. You’ve knocked up two women in three days.”
Malo is in denial, “No, but I didn’t want to do that. What happened to intent and consent?
“I didn’t mean to get anyone pregnant. It’s not supposed to happen like that.”
Commander softens her voice slightly, “It’s known that runts are always a surprise to their parents. Neither intending nor consenting to having a baby. I can only surmise that you do not have the option to shut off your fertility. You need to think about your future lifestyle.
“We’ll make arrangements for your babies. There are adoption protocols we can implement.”
Luca unhelpfully butts in and adds, “He’s three for three if what you say is true.”
Commander covers her eyes and asks, “Who did he screw last night?”
“Sara, last night and again this morning for good measure.”
“There’s going to be trouble over that one.
“Malo, there’s a patrol leaving tomorrow. You may accompany them. It’s your first conquest, Ranger Sandy and her partner Melia.
“You can’t impregnate Sandy twice and I’ve seen Melia around you and have no concerns for her. Before you leave though, there are two things I want from you.
“First is that trade agreement. You’ll pen it today and dispatch it to your brother. The second is a concert, we were told you can make the stars sing. We could use a distraction in these trying times.
“When you leave, take everything with you. You are not to return.”
The whole town out at night in the dark staring at the stars, he can’t believe his good fortune.
Numbly, Malo agrees to make the stars sing tonight. Anything to get away and have time to think. Is he really getting away though? He’ll be with Ranger Sandy after all. Is he really going to be a father? That will end or at least delay him becoming a Defender, he can’t leave his children fatherless. He’s going to be a dad! He’s going to be a Papa!
The initial shock begins to wear off, with a little more thought the prospect of raising some little versions of himself feels comforting and right. The kids and their mothers can move to his island, all three can have their own land and homes. This could work, he thinks.
“Get me a pen and some paper and I’ll write that letter to my brother. He’ll have to write the actual trade agreement. You just tell me what you want it to include.”
Bored, he exits the commander and goes out to find a new host to best exploit tonight’s distraction.