With his community safe, tended toward, and the elders back in control, not to mention the cozy bed shielded from the elements, he slept peacefully. He did not know how long he slept exactly, but it had to be ten hours, minimum. He awoke fresh and ready to tackle the new day, even if his body was mighty sore.
He walked out of his room — the very notion of him having his own room still tingling in his brain — and found Jiehong’s space. As he said he would, Jiehong claimed a barrack suite; to mark his territory, Jiehong hung a tarp over the entryway. Zan’s own name written in paint, marked his lounge.
He knocked on the material next to the tarp since there was no ‘center’ on his makeshift door to knock. “Bud, you sleeping?” he asked.
No reply.
Ducking his head inside the room, he saw the space was empty. Only one bed, its thin, cotton-like sheets slightly muffled from use, looked out of order. "Guess he’s not here,” he told himself as he continued down the hallway.
Walking up the staircase and entering the inner sanctum, he saw his brother reading a book at one of the tiny tables and chairs which dotted the war room.
“What’s you reading?” Zan asked.
Looking to him, Jiehong replied, “Oh, morning. You slept in late. Wow! The book is a history of the Ranger-Knights. I can only read parts of it, unfortunately. It’s written in a dead language and although I have some knowledge of the language, I am far from fluent.”
“Cool… learn anything interesting?” he said, his stomach rumbling.
“No. Not really. Just a bunch of names and other names and how people interacted with… other names. Mostly it is a bunch of names. I can tell from how the text’s structured, though, it is more than a ledger. I know prose when I see it.”
“How about some food?” he asked, not knowing how to talk about literature. Besides, he was just hungry.
The Screen Master, still blazing triumphantly on the high-end of the wall above the many controls which Sigma-Prime operated, spoke. “The Command Center is outfitted with meal preparation stations. These stations are ready for immediate use. There are also food synthesizers capable of creating basic meal options. Useful for while out on expedition. Unfortunately, they are not yet fully operational.”
“No worries. I will find something to eat from the community. How long will it take for the base to be fully operational again?” he asked, stretching.
“A long time, unfortunately. Likely years,” Screen Master Simulacrum told them.
“Years?! Won’t that impact our ability to do Ranger-Knight things?”
“It will. But hope is not lost. As Ranger-Knights, you can help lend a hand in the base’s repairs and retrofitting. Although this should not be your top priority, between engagements, please lend Sigma-Prime and myself help repairs if you want to see the base's capabilities increase faster. The benefits to doing so will be abundantly clear when the time comes.”
“Sounds good. We’ll do that, for sure. For now, I need food. Excuse me,” he replied, tripping off outside to find some breakfast.
He went among his people and asked for breakfast. Cheerful at having survived the night despite the evidently near constant clatter of automatic fire, people were shelling out their prized possessions to keep morale high: pan-friend eggs with bacon — a delicacy — and potatoes with roasted corn. On the side, seaweed salad mixed with vegetables and a sesame dressing. Washing it all down was fatty milk flavored with a tree sap which many people thought was reminiscent of chocolate.
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Normally, such a meal would only be for holidays, such as All Spirits Day, but people were running thin. He understood how desperate the situation was and so he thanked each villager who donated to his breakfast fund. Scarfing the food down, he feasted like a king before returning to the command center.
With Jiehong by his side and equally full, both boys were back in combat mode.
“What is our next move?” he asked, boldly.
“Good question…” Jiehong said.
Both of the new ranger-knights looked to the Screen Master. Cocking an eyebrow, both seemed to ask with their faces, ‘well, you going to help us or not?’
The Screen Master tilted his eyes toward the rectangular table between him and them. The table suddenly ignited with lights illuminating its breadth. What the table now displayed was something he did not understand. It was — essentially — a map of their current area but all the trees and rocks and other natural things were all… strange. Slightly blue, see through.
“This is a hologram,” the Screen Master said. “It is a virtual representation of the immediate world around us. Think of it as an illusion generated by our advanced Ranger-Knight technology. Touch it if you desire, it cannot harm you.”
He and Jiehong did just that and touched and ran their hands through the fascinating three-dimensional images. “Wicked!” he said in unison with his brother. Neither had ever seen or even heard about this kind of technology before. Seeing it in person was altogether an experience.
Letting the Screen Master continue, Simulacrum said, “Although this device has its limits, it will display the region’s local terrain. With upgrades, it will display even further zones of interest. For now, consider it your strongest tool for countering the threat imposing itself upon your home.”
“How so, exactly?” Jiehong asked. “It looks fancy, but how does it work? How do we use it to our advantage?”
“Use it as a bird's eye view of the land and where the enemy has set up occupied zones. I will teach you how to engage with the table. The controls are simple,” the Screen Master said.
Over the next few minutes, the Screen Master taught them the basic finger-based controls for the screen. ‘Pinching’ would zoom in on a location while reversing the pinch would enlarge the zone; pointing at anything specifically within the display — as in, letting one’s finger linger — would provide more information on something within the table’s display; then the final motion, if one made a large wave with your hand, the map would swing quickly to a far-end portion of the table’s map being displayed. Simulacrum had been right. Easy controls.
“Neat. So now that we have the table conquered — what an odd thing to say, eh guys? — now what? How can this table help us out? Screen Master, you said it uses this technology to show us the surrounding areas? I guess that means we can use this table to guess where the enemy will move?” Jiehong spoke.
“But a device even as advanced as this… it’s not useful to use if we can’t move quickly to fight the invaders. Nor if we have allies. So, we’re sort of stuck, aren’t we?” he said, going off what Jiehong said.
“Both of you are correct. Which will be among your first mission as Ranger-Knights — finding allies. Our divine mission is to gather the like and holy-minded under a common banner opposed to evil. Considering the circumstances and the topic of conversation last night, the first step in achieving this goal is thwarting the invasion of a hostile power — this ‘New Woodland Expanse,’ as both of you have called it. I need no more evidence to believe the life-forms which herald this territory have wickedness in their hearts. We are fortunate in our cause: for our first step coincides with the enemy’s initial assault. We will repel these foul creatures and begin a new dawn for goodness everywhere. Zan, Jiehong, are you ready to take the pledge?” Screen Master Simulacrum asked.
“No, not yet,” Zan said. “I will pledge myself fully when I learn the ins and outs of this order. When I have allies and have freed miles of territory under the yolk of this tyranny. Until then, I will earn the right to take this pledge.”
“Spoken like a true leader. I look forward to working alongside you. Young Ranger-Knights. As you work to free your home, consider I your ‘war minister.’ I and my partner Sigma-Prime have seen our share of conflict. Consider us honorary countrymen and draw on our knowledge to aid in your fight,” the Screen Master spoke.
Smiling at Simulacrum’s sudden but much-welcomed intensity, Zan addressed him and asked, “So, if you, Screen Master, are going to act as our war advisor… what is your first recommendation?”