“Mira, wake up.”

Mira felt a chunky finger prod her in the shoulder and she jolted awake. Anan stood over her, finger raised for another poke. A raspy breath tickled her ear and she turned to see Luise’s head resting on her, snoring gently. A small puddle of dribble had accumulated on her sleeve. The older woman had wrapped herself around Mira’s arm and was deeply asleep.

Carefully extricating herself Mira felt around for her shoes and followed Anan out of the room. She cast a look back at Luise as she walked. The other woman had curled up in the chair and continued to snore contentedly. Anan beckoned for her to follow and walked towards the door. Mira trotted after him and caught up as he turned a corner into a walled courtyard. She flinched as he tossed her walking staff over, it bounced off her outstretched hand and thudded into the packed dirt floor.

“Got a few hours till it’s time to leave. Waiting for everyone to pack up, so we’ve got some time. Get some practice in and see how you shape up. Pick it up and fix the knife on” Anan rumbled. It took Mira a few attempts to get the blade fixed securely.

“Take a guard position.” Mira shuffled her feet, doing her best to imitate the poses she’d seen the hero strike in actions vids. Anan took two steps forward pushed her. Mira lost her balance and toppled over, legs tangled in her spear. Anan held out a hand and helped her up.

“Need to spread your weight, like this.” He took the spear from her hands and dropped into a stance. “The point always faces the enemy, keep your weight spread and your grip tight. Can stab, slash or just hold your ground and let them impale themselves. If it comes to it can smash ‘em in the mouth with the butt too.” As he spoke he jabbed the spear forwards, slashed it diagonally through the air. He ground the butt of the spear and braced himself behind it. Finally, he reversed his grip and slammed the iron butt of the staff down. He handed the spear back to Mira and stepped back.

“Take a guard position.” Mira sunk into the stance Anan had demonstrated. Again he stepped forward and pushed her. Mira wobbled but didn’t fall over.

“Better, move your left leg back a bit. Ok, now jab!” he stepped to one side as Mira stabbed the spear forwards and caught it casually with one hand just behind the head.

“No!” he snapped. “Both hands, push with your feet and legs. Everything goes into the strike. Drive it in, through and out the back of the fuckers chest! That wouldn’t even cut my coat. Try again!”

Mira had backed off when Anan barked his order but took her stance again. She let out a breath and stabbed again. This time Anan caught the shaft of the spear further down the shaft. He wrenched it aside and let go.

“Better but still not good enough. Again!”

Again and again Mira took a stance and jabbed forwards. Each time Anan would judge her and criticise her technique. Sometimes he would grab the spear haft, judging the speed and force of the strike, other times he would simply watch, pacing around to the side and behind Mira. After twenty or more attempts Mira was breathing hard and sweating. She took a stance again, the spearhead wobbled in time with her breathing. She waited for Anan to tell her to strike but he raised a hand.

“Water break” he said, holding out a metal canteen. She took it and greedily gulped down a mouthful of lukewarm water. “You’re getting better, will never be a Spearmaster but getting better. Doing slash and butt strikes next. Then mixing it all together. Will cover blocking and all that next time. How’s the leg?”

Mira swallowed another mouthful of water before replying “It’s ok for now, I’ll tell you if it hurts.”

Anan nodded, “Make sure you do. Now, watch then copy.'' He took the spear from her hands and stepped smoothly into a guard stance. “Spears are made to stab but pretty much anything will back off if you swing a blade at its face.” He stepped forwards, swinging the spear up diagonally left to right. At the apex of the swing he shifted his left foot and slashed horizontally. Shifting again he swung the spear back down diagonally right to left.

“These are the basics, get a grip on these and I’ll show you something more advanced. Have to practise changing direction without losing your grip.” He demonstrated the three movements twice more, once at full speed and once more with slow and deliberate motions.

Tossing the spear back to Mira he waved for him to continue. “Just do the first one for now, get that right and we’ll move on to the next and then we’ll chain ‘em together.”

Mira took her stance and slashed upwards with the spear, without anything to stop the blade the momentum swung her round and she toppled over. Anan chuckled as he used one hand to haul her back to her feet.

“Did that myself first time I tried it. Think everyone does. Go again.”

They practised for hours, Mira stabbed, slashed and beat dozens of imaginary monsters as Anan looked on, occasionally correcting her posture or her grip. The sun had begun to appear over the courtyard walls when Anan called a halt for the day.

“It’ll do for now” he said once they’d finished going through a series of stretches. “You’ll never be charging into battle but that isn’t what this is for. If something nasty comes for us this’ll keep you alive till me or Kopil can find you. How’s the leg?”

Mira gently tensed her leg. It was still sore but nowhere near as bad as it should be considering what had happened. Thinking of the injury dragged her mind back to that awful moment in the pod as the sky hunter forced its way in. She turned to Anan.

“Would this help against something big like that soldier bug-thing or the sky hunter?” she asked.

Anan shook his head. “If you were really good or really, really lucky, yeah but not at your level. Need the big guns for that” he said, pulling his coat to one side to reveal the holstered pistol at his hip. He caught her expression and grinned. “Go on,” he said, “ask the question.”

Mira frowned at him and asked. “If we have all these guns and all this tech, why are you all still using spears and swords and shields?”

Anan grinned again. “Don’t forget hammers and axes. Couple of reasons. First, blades don’t run out of bullets. It’s always good to have a backup in case things turn nastier than expected. Second, a lotta the nasties out here can take a few bullets and keep coming before they realise they’re dead. Can’t fight if it’s been hacked to bits. Plus, it’s hard to shoot in a melee. Might hit your own side.”

They both finished stretching and Mira disassembled her spear, sliding the knife blade into the sheath at her hip. Anan led her back to the tower where a group of militia were winching a large multi-barrelled weapon down the side onto the roof of an armoured truck.

Anan gestured at the heavy weapon as it ponderously swung about on the chain. “That’d do for the sky hunter. Lots of big nasties that’d just wade through it though. Same with the swarm, not enough bullets.”

They entered the tower and he continued “Going to be drilling like that every day we get chance. Spear, knife an’ pistol when I find one that won’t break your wrist. Go find Luise an ‘get cleaned up. I’m gonna go check on Kopil and see if there’s any practice dummies lying around.” With that he turned and trudged back out the door.

Mira looked around the main hall trying to spot Luise. She headed to the small room she’d spent the night in and picked up her bag from under the chair. Glancing around she realised she had the room to herself and quickly changed out of her sweat stained shirt. She had just finished the second to last button on her fresh one (a slightly lighter shade of green than her trousers) when she heard a small noise behind her.

Feeling a sudden flush of panic, she spun round, dropping into stance Anan had first drilled into her not four hours ago. Dr Xuě stood in the doorway, a look between surprise and amusement flitted briefly across his face before sliding back into a stoic expression.

“Miss Sands,” he said as he advanced into the room, “my apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you. Is everything alright?”

Mira relaxed out of her stance. “It's fine. I’m still a bit jumpy after all that...” she waved a hand in the direction of the town, “all that last night”

Xuě shrugged. “It happens every few months but it’s been sometime since we had to relocate. Are you looking for someone in particular? I might be able to help. Speaking of which, would you be so kind as to assist me with something?”

Mira felt a chill run down her back, Xuě was still blocking the doorway. Still standing there with a bland little smile on his face as though he knew the joke. “I’m looking for Luise doctor, have you seen her?”

He shrugged, “Miss Demerra is on the roof with some of the militia. I believe they are trying to salvage some of the observation equipment or something along those lines. Now back to my previous point. You are a baseline is that correct?”

Mira nodded, not trusting her voice not to quaver or knowing what to say. Xuě’s smile grew slightly. “Excellent,” he said taking another few steps forward, “you must know of course that people like you are astonishingly rare. With your permission might I take a few samples for my research? Just a few swabs, a strand or two of hair. Perhaps a small blood sample? Your DNA might hold the key to a myriad of ailments!”

He reached into his coat and produced a plastic bag and three small cotton swabs.

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“See? Nothing invasive or dangerous.” He moved again, now only a few short steps away from Mira who hesitated for a long moment before nodding.

Xuě’s eyes lit up and he closed the distance, removing one of the swabs from the bag. “Open your mouth please.” Mira did as instructed, flinching slightly as Xue placed one hand on her shoulder. With the other he gently swabbed the inside of her cheek. “Excellent” he said quietly as he closed the bag and pocketed it “I’m sure this will be of great assistance. Of course I may need other samples too. Best we get those done and out of the way, yes? Blood will work but I believe bone marrow or spinal fluid might be the best option.”

Mira flinched back as he reached into his pocket again, but before he could remove what he had been searching for Luise appeared in the doorway, accompanied by two men in militia uniform.

“Mira? What’s going on here?” asked Luise, eyes darting between Mira and Xue. She advanced into the room, the two men close behind her.

“Miss Demerra, Miss Sands was just helping me with my research. Why she’s a trove of information. Great ones be blessed.” Xue still had his hand in his pocket. The tension in the air rose.

Luise walked over and took Mira by the hand. “Come on,” she said, “it’s mealtime.”

Xuě started “But we aren’t finished here! There’s so many more samples I need to take. Think of the –“

Luise cut him off. “Think of nothing Snowy. We’re done here.” That said she marched out of the room, keeping herself between Mira and the increasingly irate doctor. When they were both back in the main hall Luise turned to Mira. “You ok?”

Mira nodded. “He wanted some samples from me. Why? What makes me so special? Who are the Great Ones?”

Luise muttered something under her breath before replying, from her expression Mira guessed it probably wasn’t very polite. “The ‘Great Ones’ are what some people call some of the TITANS, they’ve set themselves up as gods and a fair few worship them. Godheads or god touched etc. best you stay away. Might attract the wrong kind of attention. Mostly cos you’re a baseline.”

She glanced around to make sure no one else was in earshot before guiding Mira over to some chairs furthest from the door. “Baselines are rare Mira. They’re rare and valuable. Cos of all the fucking about that’s gone on with our genes it’s really hard to get blood for transfusions or organs for transplants. Much easier to modify a baseline than someone who’s already modded. The same goes for making babies. Seen it happen more than once. Baseline gets kidnapped an’ taken apart for spares or hooked up to a blood farm. Never tell someone what you are or where you’re from unless you trust them completely, OK?”

Mira’s eyes had grown wider as the explanation went on and she stared back at Luise with an expression of shock and horror. Finally, she nodded and said “So how do I know I can trust you then?”

Luise barked out a short laugh, “Cheeky fucker. The short answer is that I’ve seen enough to know what’s right and wrong. I’ve helped people like you before. But……” she said drawing the word out with a grin, “the main reason is probably that I’d have to go through Anan an’ Kopil first. Not something I’d want to try without an army in front of me. Now come on, they’re dishing up outside.”

Anan caught up with them a short while after, Mira missed having a watch or a tablet to more accurately keep track of the time. It was early evening and she decided to just call it dinner time and leave it at that for now. Some of the shop owners had set up a large outdoor kitchen along with several sturdy trestle tables. He sat next to Luise and began to shovel in mouthfuls of hot stew. Luis filled him in with what had happened in the tower.

“I’ll have a word with him,'' Anan grunted. “He’s a good man. Should know better. Stress and panic does weird stuff to people.” As he said this he nodded his head to the other side of the street. A small shrine had been erected and a half dozen people knelt before it, praying quietly.

The three made small talk as they ate. After a little while some of the militia joined them at the table. They greeted Luise and Anan before digging into their own dinner. Mira stole glances at them when she could. She recognized three of them as Carlton, Carlson and the other one from the skirmish in the street the day before. All three looked tired and run down.

Anan looked up from his second bowl of stew and grunted. “Sorry about the nose C.”

Carlton shrugged, “It hurt more the first time. Get me a beer when we resettle. Reminds me, Simms says we’re part of your escort. Got us three, Didge and Tris. They’re on outrider duty, we’ll ride roof or shotgun.”

Anan nodded in acknowledgement. “Got sixty in our group in four trucks. Got roof racks rigged and can have a few on the roof with the luggage. Three-day drive to Arack from here. Got fuel, food and water sorted. Just need to load up an’ we can go.”

Carlson waved a hand, Mira couldn’t help but stare at the claws tipping the man’s fingers “Got a debrief with Simms after this. I’ll pass it on. I know we’re still waiting on group C to finish loading up. After that we can set off and prime the bombs.” He spotted Mira staring at him. “Don’t worry,” he said with a reassuring smile, “we’ve done this a few times, nothing gets switched on till we pass the safe distance. The bugs will have all the fun.”

The three militia men finished their meals, said their goodbyes and left, leaving Anan, Luise and Mira alone on the table. Anan finished his latest bowl (Mira had lost count of how many the big man had put away) and stood up. “You two got anything to put on the trucks?” he asked as he stacked his bowl and cutlery.

Luise shook her head, “I’ve got what I can take packed up. The rest is too heavy or not worth the effort.” She glanced over at Mira “you needing any more stuff?”

Mira thought for a moment but decided against another shopping trip. “I can’t keep getting freebies from people. Doesn’t feel right.”

Anan handed her his pile of dishes, “I’ll give you a penny to wash this lot”. Luise piled hers on top with a grin and guided her over to where the pot wash station had been set up.

Sometime later, a rather damp Mira grumbled and squelched her way back inside the tower, two bits and several pennies jingling in one of her pockets. The main room was full of people, all listening to someone she assumed to be Simms the militia commander. He was currently calling out a list of names. It seemed like he was arranging who went in which vehicle.

She spotted Anan looming over people at the back of the crowd, standing next to him was the even taller but much more slender figure of Samra. She made her way around the edge of the crowd towards them. Samra spotted her before Anan did and gave her a small wave.

“Mira! How lovely to see you again, We were just talking about you; it seems we’ll be travelling together for a few days. I’m sure we’ll have nothing to worry about with the steadfast mister Hobbes to look out for us.” All this came out in one cheery exclamation as she turned to Mira, one long arm linked with Anan’s.

Anan for his part didn’t say anything. He seemed to be attempting to ignore Samra, a slightly glazed expression on his face. Samra patted him on the arm with her free hand.

“I do love the strong silent type don’t you? Our gallant warrior of the roads.” She looked Mira up and down before continuing. “How are the clothes? Nothing too big or too small? I’m bringing my needles and some of the good cloth so just let me know if you need alterations.” She looked at someone behind Mira. “Oh my, it seems I’m wanted, looking forward to getting to know you better Mira. Bye for now!”

After watching Samra glide off through the crowd like an elegant icebreaker Mira turned to look up at Anan who looked almost embarrassed.

“Gallant warrior of the roads?” she asked sweetly.

Anan shot her a look, “I don’t wanna talk about it” he mumbled.

Commander Simms had come to the end of his list now and had paused to take a drink of water. To Mira he looked too slim and slight to be a fighter but if she’d learned anything in the last few days it was that looks could be deceiving. Finishing his drink Simms ran a hand through his cropped brown hair before looking around the room, trying to make eye contact with as many people as possible.

“Ok everyone you’ve got your placements. I want everyone to be at their respective vehicles within the hour. Anyone caught messing about will be given a good kicking before we go. I expect us to be on the road in the next two hours. Any questions?”

Several hands went up, he scowled and the hands lowered. “Good,” he said, “you have your assignments. Pass the word to anyone who couldn’t make it. Drivers to me. Everyone else, get on with it.”

Mira stayed by Anan as the vast majority of the room filed out. The remaining dozen or so people clustered around Simms as he spread a map out on the table next to him.

“We’ve covered the route already but I want to go over this again,” he jabbed part of the map with a pencil, “we’re here. It's a three-day drive to Arack using this route. I intend to avoid going through the old cities but we need to be prepared for that. The convoy groups will be setting off at hour intervals and rendezvousing here. You’re all taking separate paths to minimize our footprint. Scouts will be travelling ahead of the column and – if we’re lucky - radio in. Otherwise we’ll be using flares. If necessary, your outriders can carry messages”.

“Anan you’ve got group A, I’m heading group B and Sam’s leading group C. Militia squads will be attached to each group as will a pair of outriders. If anyone else has weapon experience use them. We all know that there’s more than just the swarms out there.”

The briefing continued for a little while longer. Anan and the other drivers took notes of the planned route. One man in particular –a trader of some kind- had several things to say about the proposed course. He chimed in a few times with alterations that Simms mostly accepted. Anan offered the occasional insight but for the most part stayed quiet.

The briefing ended and Mira followed Anan to his truck where a small crowd of people were waiting. Several of them carried weapons and everyone had a pack of some kind. Samra and Luise stood by the tailgate. Samra was currently glaring daggers at Kopil who returned the stare from his perch on the truck roof.

Anan walked to the rear of the truck and pulled down the tailgate. “Group A mount up!” he shouted and started helping people stow their packs. A few people swarmed up the side and onto the roof, much to Kopil’s displeasure. One man clambered up only to come face to face with the grumpy beast who hissed at him. He paled and slowly climbed back down.

Anan turned to Mira. “Where are you sitting? No room in the front, so in the back or on the roof” as he spoke the tailgate clanged shut. “Roof it is,” he chuckled, “I’ll help you up. Bench seats on the top and handholds. Totally safe.” Fitting word to action he casually hoisted Mira into the air, pack and all. She reached out, grabbed a handhold and with some effort hauled herself over the rail.

The roof of the truck wasn’t overly large, perhaps 3 metres wide and 10 long. Long metal benches had been bolted along the sides of the roof facing inwards and people sat on these or squatted in between. A large mound of luggage had been piled up to the front just behind the cab. Several people clambered over it, tightening straps and arguing with each other. Directly in front of that, what looked like a machine gun had been bolted to the roof, a grim-faced militiaman squatting behind it as he or she fitted a boxy magazine to the side. To the rear Kopil lay sprawled out, sulking. The big lizard hissed at anyone who got too close but otherwise didn’t move.

“Mira!” she turned on hearing her name and looked down at Anan. He handed her a small cloth bundle.

“Scarf and dust goggles” he said as she unwrapped it. “Shouldn’t be too bad this time of year but better have it and not need it”

Mira nodded and put them on. The scarf was dark blue and long enough to wrap around her face and neck twice. A middle aged woman with patterns of small scales across her cheeks showed her how to wrap it properly, leaving only her forehead and eyes exposed. The goggles were bulky things that fit on with a plastic strap, they were uncomfortable and misted up quickly so she decided to wear them only when definitely necessary.

The truck shuddered to life as she clipped a belt harness around her waist. With Anan’s vehicle in the lead and its outriders standing guard the convoy made its way out of the gate and set off on the road to safety.