We are not exactly prisoners. We are not free either. Though we are closer to the former. I have simply been ordered to remain in my quarters in the forward base the helicopter has brought us to. Ulrike and Dejan are not exactly accused of failing to fight off a category-3 monster, but somehow found deficient in preventing me from making a captain confine me to quarters screwing up me detecting some monster’s puppets.
I’ve heard of indirect guilt. But guilt by indirection of indirection of indirection? By that logic you could have arrested every coal miner in Germany in 1945. Without coal nothing would have worked. As you may guess I am essentially frightened. Too many, much too many close calls, turning into anger. That does not make my anger unjustified though.
It is amazing how quickly the paper-pushers are emerging from their holes looking for scapegoats instead of solutions again. I’ve gotten a lawyer who is a nice chap and has assured me that even the military would have a hard time accusing somebody of not spotting something after ordering him to vacate the spot he is supposed to use for spotting. The commodore has had the misfortune of adding to his logbook that I had been confined to quarters. His ship has survived and is going upstream again.
--
I have requested Thomas as a character witness. If they want to actually do a formal hearing my lawyer has suggested to make the most of it. And, frankly, I have fought enough for now. If this emergency ends without me seeing another fight, all the better. If that means being confined to a room in a forward base for a few weeks, so be it. If that means them docking the joke they pay us, so be it.
My lawyer and I were on the way to the courtroom.
--
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Seitenhuber facility, two days earlier
K: I did a crystal analyzis. The mineral crystals of the ground directly under von Bülow were subjected to resonating force.
E: So he died in that position
K: Under the very reasonable assumption that nobody else fired blasts of resonating force, yes.
E: That guy will have to answer some questions.
--
I am looking forward to seeing Thomas again, so I am extending my aura. I find him. He is feeling something contradictory in regular changes. Is that his old emotional code? Yes, he is sending: TRAP
I stop. My guards stumble as they are expecting me to move smoothly onwards. A bronze rank aura showing anger becomes detectable. My arms shoot out to the side propelling the guards against the wall. My lawyer’s mouth drops open. The bronze rank aura is now very close to the door.
I activate [Eternal Moment] and turn to run. I pass by the the stair case we have just come up on.
We are about 3 meters up. [Eternal Moment] runs out. The door at the end of the corridor is smashed into splinters. 4 meters to the window. This building is old. The windows are made from wood. Let’s see how good this body armour is. What comes now will hurt.
The bronze ranker has covered half the distance. I leap. I close my eyes to protect them. My extended foot hits the wood separating the window panes. There is a very satisfying crack.
The bronze ranker jumps, going by a loud thumping step followed by silence.
I am outside the building, throw my head backwards, open my eyes and teleport my maximum range straight up.
The bronze ranker is on a ballistic trajectory. Flailing around will not change that. He will have to explain to the judge why he will have smashed the hood and windscreen of the judge’s expensive BMW.
If I have gotten the folding or the material properties wrong, this’ll be it.
My conjured parachute appears, taken out of my inventory. The sequence works. I am dangling under a gliding wing. I call forth Bock’s Car #1, put a rope with a loop onto the hook added to its tail for that purpose. The other loop attaches to a hook on the harness conjured with my wing.
I have an engine. I retrieve a healing potion. This is a nearly windless day. I may pull this off.