I awoke well rested. The crisp air just cool enough to wake me up quickly, but warm enough I didn't feel a need in staying under the down filled duvet.

The Oracle Knights dressed me in clothes that looked casual, but they fit too well to not be tailored. When I did my makeup I went with a skin tone palette, and a black liquid eyeliner. I did an upturned wing on my right eye, and an 'eye of Horus' for my left.

The mock turtleneck, and the makeup would lend itself to a broad, flat necklace without any stones, so I found one in the outfit window, an applied it.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, the three remaining girls were happy with the look, and decided it was okay to escort me to breakfast. As we walked through the door, the three of them grabbed spears I thought to be decorative next to the door.

When I entered the dining hall, the three of them bounced the butt of their spears off the floor. The small table up front was empty again, so I sat there.

The three women took turns eating while I purposefully ate slow to give them more time. and I let the girl who was bussing tabled take our dishes.

As I left, someone shouted at me, so I turned to look, as the three women, and one male guard inhaled loudly in unison. Even I understood the gesture to be one of warning.

"Oracle!" The man was so rotund, I was taken aback at how the man waddled seeming to struggle move under his own weight. He reminded me of a croaking frog, while standing upright.

"Can I help you?" I ask in nice words, but not in tone.

"The Datacube you had submitted last night, did you really want it in the public section?"

"Is there a problem with that?" The man still hadn't told me who he was.

"Its your first Datacube, and it's quite large, there will be a lot of people who want to see it."

"I see no problem with that. MSU will also be receiving a copy."

"Come with me, I will show you the problem." He says quickly.

"No." I say plainly. "I will not follow someone who can't even introduce themselves, nor able to articulate their concerns in such a way that others may understand." I look at my watch, I have about twenty minutes before my planned trip to talk to my suite-mates. But the word the man says next made me loose all remaining respect I may have had.

"Ratchet!" He turns to leave,

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"Halt!" I yell. A blue haze appears around the man, I notice a line going to the ring on my male guard's hand. I touch the knight in front of me. "Bring me this man's direct supervisor, and the supervisor for the temple guard." She nods, and runs off.

"Is something wrong?" A heavy set man, asks when she returns with two people. His lack of introduction isn't lost on me. Although he appears heavy, he would be skinny when compared to the man being held by the guard.

I look to the tall woman, and she inclines her head, and then speaks.

"Commander of the Temple Guard Mykah Tivakka, how may I be of assistance."

"Nice to meet you Mykah. What would be the normal punishment for a guard under your command to use a derogatory word to reference me?"

"Busted to Paige, double duty for one year, an no chance of promotion from Novice for three." I nod to her.

"Are you aware of who this man is?"

"Archivist Nolan Birch. Second in command of the Temple's public archive." She points to the toad in the field, then moves to the one who came with her. "Archivist Samuel Bunn, Public Archive Head."

"Would there be a penalty to a guard who did not introduce themselves, then ask me for something?"

"Two weeks of extra duty, and extra Physical Training, along with a rather physical retraining on etiquette."

"I believe our archivists, especially those in charge of the public sections have the duty to protect what is there, correct?" I ask her. She sees where this is going, and I see her eyes shine.

"Yes, Oracle Korvall."

I point to the head archivist, "You witnessed this Archivist refuse to introduce himself as this is our first meeting. I trust you can handle that."

"As you say, Oracle."

"Now hold on one..."

"No!" I shout to him. "You are an archivist, a protector of knowledge, that makes you a guard. Any further argument, and I will go through whatever channel I need to, in order to place even your budget under the Temple Guard." When it's obvious he wouldn't argue anymore, I walked over to the man that started this. "This man not only failed to introduce himself, he presumed himself in a position to tell me what to do; and when that didn't go his way, he called me 'Ratchet'."

Mykah's eyes went wide. "Oracle, if a guardsmen did all three of those at one time, they would be busted to Paige, would never be promoted above a Novice, then be given our least favorable details for the remainder of their contract, would be on double duty for a year, and be cut to half pay for 50 days."

I nod at her remark. "Talk to whoever you need to, and let them know this is a request, not an order. I want both of these men to receive the same punishments your guards would have. I would also ask that anyone working in the archives with body fat measuring higher than 18 percent be mandated to participate in your harshest routines until they are below it. Their knowledge is invaluable, it doesn't help the Temple if they die young because of something preventable."

"Yes, Oracle."

"Oh, and if you have trouble, these guards can be witnesses for you."

"I wouldn't dare ask an Oracle Knight to be a witness." She said honestly.

The three women with me bounced their spears twice at the woman's remark, and she bowed to them with a fist over her heart. The walls around Toad fell away, and the male guard got close to me.

"They basically told her to heed your words, if she needs help, she will ask for it." He explained.

"Thanks." I say as I turn to go back to my room, seven minutes left. "I need to learn your names too." I said to the guard."

"We can not speak our names while on duty, it makes it harder to harm us off duty. If I ever see you on a day off, it would honor my family to speak my name to you."

"Gah. Too much ceremony around you. Go, have fun in Missouri." I hear the familiar Tenor voice in my head.