The Seal of Solomon

by Jeffrey Ellis

  “I guess that was a bit over the top,” she said. “Mason drew the short straw. That charge isn't lethal, but he'll wake up with a brutal headache.”

  He stopped her and pulled her to him. He kissed her roughly and held her a moment.

  “What was that for?” she asked.

  “For ignoring you last night. I was so focused on doing well on this hunt I forgot what's the most important, you,” he said.

  “That's sweet but you were right. We have our lives ahead of us and passing this test was important, even though you didn't know it was a test at the time. I wanted to tell you so badly but couldn't. I wanted you to make it but couldn't influence the outcome or you would have failed automatically if they found out. You did well,” she said. “We really should get to the clearing though. They're going to want to talk to you,” she said.

  Coordinator Anna, Facilitator William, and Sir Mason were standing near the shuttle when they got back. Mason was holding his head.

  “Congratulations. Squire Sebastian, you passed. This was all a test to see how you handled yourself in the face of the loss of a team member and against a seemingly unbeatable opponent,” Coordinator Anna told him.

  “A test? I don't understand,” Squire Sebastian said.

  “Oh, cut the shit. He knew it was a test all along. He figured it out,” Lady Chelsea said.

  “That doesn't change anything. You beat the Prometheus Drone. Exceptional. Even among our own people, very few have managed to do that,” she said.

  “You mean I could have lost and still passed?” he asked.

  “We already know you can fight. This test measures how you react to stress conditions and how well you can adapt to the unknown,” she said.

  “I did neither of those things though. It wasn't unknown. I knew it was a test so was never under any stress,” he replied.

  “The test started at the meeting with me. All archive access is logged. You were so worried about impressing us to the point you poured through the archives for hours. I would call that stress. You not only adapted to the unknown, but you managed to figure out this was a test from an intentionally obfuscated set of information only a few other people have ever found. That's a pass in my book,” Facilitator William said. “And you read a classic piece of literature. That's bonus points.”

  “I consider it a pass as well. You adapted tactics against an overwhelming foe. You managed to recover from not one but two charges. You formulated a strategy on the fly and managed to come out on top. Let's get home. Your final evaluation is tomorrow. Good job, Squire Sebastian,” Coordinate Anna told him.

  “I am curious about one thing though,” Facilitator William said. “The archive terminal you used was in Lady Chelsea's quarters, not your own. Why is that?”

  “We were studying fey classifications,” Lady Chelsea said.

  “Your dedication to making sure your trainees succeed has always been extraordinary,” Coordinator Anna told her with a knowing glance at William.

  #

  "And your official recommendation?" asked Coordinator Anna.

  "He is ready to be considered a full field agent and begin regular assignments," said Lady Chelsea. "He's still rough around the edges and has a lot to learn but we all did when we first went into the field," she continued.

  "Facilitator William, do you have anything to add?" asked Coordinator Anna.

  "I've reviewed Lady Chelsea's reports. I concur with her that he's ready from a physical and training standpoint. I do have a concern about his psych profile. He shows the same bravado his father did at that age. It could go either way. He might be a great agent, or he might be dead in a week. Either way, he deserves the chance to prove it's the former. I say green light him but maintain a close watch on his evaluations," said the Facilitator.

  Director Anna read through some paperwork and looked at the three people in the room. "Squire Sebastian, what do you say? Lady Chelsea says you're ready. Facilitator William says you might or might not be, but you deserve the chance to find out. What do you say for yourself?" He swallowed.

  "Coordinator Anna, I am ready. I know my father's reputation precedes me but I'm not my father. He got where he is by taking chances and good people died when he did that. For all his achievements, he didn't care about anyone but himself. His friends, his family, his fellow Wardens, he can and has put them aside for his own gain. That's not me. I care, and I want to be part of a team, your team, and we are strongest as a team. I could spout a dozen clichés about teamwork but I'm not going to try to sway you with platitudes. You've read the reports. I would be an asset to your team but it's your call and whatever decision you make, I respect your right to make it," he replied.

  “There is one other matter to discuss. We need to talk about your sexual relationship. It’s a breach of professionalism and I need assurance your recommendation is not just because of your personal relationship,” said Coordinator Anna.

  “Our sexual relationship? I don’t know what you mean,” said Lady Chelsea.

  “Lady Chelsea, don’t treat us like idiots and don’t lie. We’re Wardens. Everything that happens we know about. We had a stealth drone observing the B.C. wendigo hunt, standard procedure for all training hunts, and there have been more than a few other times since,” said Facilitator William.

  Lady Chelsea looked at the two of them then at Squire Sebastian. “You’re right. We have engaged in inappropriate activity since Canada. It’s a violation of the code of conduct and I accept full responsibility. As the senior officer, it was my duty to ensure this cadet’s training was handled in a proper manner and accept all ramifications. I only ask you go light on him. He has potential and you should not let my failure to maintain professionalism hurt his career. I was to be an example and I set a bad one. I can assure you my recommendation is not a personal one. Still, I violated our code and I am prepared to resign.”

  “You're ready to leave the Wardens if we deem it so?” asked Coordinator Anna. “What about Squire Sebastian? If you left the Wardens and he remained wouldn't that bother you?”

  “I could have a relationship with him whether we are Wardens or civilians or one of each. That has no impact on my duty and responsibilities to the order. Recommending him for regular field duty if he wasn't ready would be a risk to his life and the lives of others. Our first duty is to the Wardens and to hamper his training or his potion would be a detriment to the order,” she said.

  “Do you have anything to say?” asked the Coordinator to Squire Sebastian.

  “I am equally as responsible for all actions between us. To ask her to sacrifice her career to save mine is not something I am willing to do. If you did indeed have a drone on BC then you know I made the first move and initiated. I should be held accountable,” he replied.

  “What do you think Facilitator?” asked Coordinator Anna.

  “Well, they did act in violation of policy and according to the rules, they should both be kicked out,” said Facilitator William.

  “I understand. I’ll pack my personal effects,” said Lady Chelsea.

  Coordinator Anna looked at them. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Facilitator William and I have been monitoring the two of you since the beginning as all trainees are monitored. If we wanted to do that we would have done so long before now. If we kicked out every Warden who had inappropriate sexual relations, there would likely be no agents left. It didn’t impact training and I’m willing to let this go.”

  “Coordinator, thank you. I will see that no more inappropriate conduct between us occurs,” replied Lady Chelsea.

  “It’s no longer inappropriate. He’s completed training and you’re the same rank.” Coordinator Anna turned to Facilitator William. "Put him to work. Dismissed."

  As everyone started to leave, she said "Wait. One more thing. Don't celebrate too hard tonight. It's quiet right now but I don't know why it's just a feeling, but I don't expect it to stay that way and we need our people sober. I have a feeling this is the calm
before the storm and Antitox is great for clearing your head, but it won't fully help with the physical effects of a hangover so keep it light."

  They all started to leave, and Lady Chelsea stopped. “Wait a minute. You already discussed this beforehand, planned on doing nothing about it and still felt it necessary to bring up and make me think I was about to get kicked out?”

  “Yes, we did,” replied Facilitator William.

  “Why?” asked Squire Sebastian.

  “Lady Chelsea is one of the most skilled field agents we have. She has faced down the stuff of nightmares and never flinched. To see her squirm is such a rarity I couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” said Coordinator Anna.

  “Bitch,” said Lady Chelsea and stuck her tongue out.

  The two leaders laughed at her as she and her former squire left.

  #

  Lady Chelsea and Squire Sebastian were walking out of the office together when he turned to her. "What did she mean about tonight?"

  Lady Chelsea smiled and laughed. "There is a party at Dragon's tonight in your honor. We always celebrate when someone makes the team. Now, as my last act as your trainer, let's get you assigned permanent quarters and all your access updated so you don’t have to continue to live in that shoebox they call training quarters."

  They walked towards the elevator and went to the security officer who updated his key chip. "You now have access to everything. You no longer need me or a senior agent to access weapons and ammunition withdrawals. You can access everything in the building short of the Director's and Facilitator's office. You have full access to all agent transports and a vast spending account. Be careful with that. They won't question small personal expenditures and in the pursuit of Warden business, they won't question large ones as long as you justify them. Buying yourself lunch is fine. Buying yourself a private moon shuttle is not. There is no set guideline, it's a judgment call on the part of the number crunchers. Any questions about that?" she said.

  "I think I get it. When do I get my knots?" he asked.

  "That will be at the ceremony tonight," she said with a smile.

  "Like I was saying, you get better quarters, not cramped ones like the training center downstairs," she told him as they went to the elevator. "Go ahead, key us to the agent living floor. You have full access now," she told him. He pressed his thumb to the pad and the access for the upper floors lit up. They stepped off the elevator and went down the hall. She showed him to his unit. It was a large space with ample room for one person. "Obviously you can't bring outsiders here. Everyone is provided a small offsite suite in the building the Dragon's Roost is in just in case you need to meet with non-Wardens for some reason. As far as we consider it, this is home. As far as the outside world considers it, the other place is home though you'll probably not go there very often," she said. She gave him the access information for the offsite location. "This evening you need to be at Dragon's Roost because it's your party, so you'll be expected to be there on time," she said.

  "I'm really on the team. No more training. I'm a Warden field agent," he said.

  She smiled at him. "You are and that means I'm not your boss anymore, so fraternization is no longer frowned upon and we don't have to sneak around."

  He watched her as she walked over to the bed and started taking off her clothes.

  "Are you coming? We only have a few hours and I want to make the most of them," she said coyly. He grabbed her and threw her roughly on the bed as she squealed.

  A short while later, Sebastian and Chelsea were lying in her bed. She had her back to him and his arm was draped over her as they talked.

  “What was it like growing up in one of the tenement centers? I grew up on a farm. I couldn't imagine what that was like as a child with the poverty and violence,” Sebastian said as he kissed her on the back of her neck.

  Her skin prickled with goosebumps and she rolled over to face him with an indignant look on her face.

  “And what's that supposed to mean? Do you just assume that just because I lived in one of the old post-war mass housing facilities that I automatically was some second-class citizen? Do you think we all roamed around in gangs fighting each other?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “That's not what I meant at all. I just mean...my friends in the military that grew up in them...they all say the same things about the tenement centers...I wasn't assuming that you...” he stammered out.

  She giggled a little and bit his nose. “You're so easy to fuck with. Honestly, it's very much like what you see on the vids and what your friends told you. The centers are one of UniGov's failures.”

  “Failures? UniGov says their relocation efforts and city rebuilding is proceeding ahead of schedule and they're working hard to eliminate the centers,” he replied.

  “Yea and I have some swampland on the moon I'll sell you. Those places are cramped, overpopulated and hidden. They build them in areas where no one else wants to live, like the desert where I grew up. I can't blame UniGov entirely, they are doing what they can but it's so little and so many people need help. If you watch the news you see the beautiful cities being reconstructed. Our government's not even a century old yet and they're tasked with rebuilding after the devastation of two world wars and the Unification War all happened within fifty years of each other and the ALF continues to hamper them. Much of the effort goes to cleaning the last traces of the nukes and plagues while dealing with the ALF. Building nice, sprawling cities for the people who are still basically refugees is not on the top of their priority list,” she told him.

  “How many people lived in yours?” he asked.

  “It's really hard to say. Officially the Central Nevada Population District, or Dirtville as we called our little corner of it, had somewhere around ten million that was spread out over a large area in the middle of the desert. I lived on the western side, closest to Reno. My dad worked for the district's management center as a relocation coordinator which is their nice term for the mid-level flunkies who are tasked with cramming more and more people in. That position gets you slightly less cramped living space and food that's about to expire, not food that already expired. Those places are just oubliettes in plain sight.”

  “In those places, it's not about the large area, it's about your immediate neighborhood. Most people never go more than a few blocks away. I was lucky. With my dad being a bureaucrat, I had the opportunity to see things outside the community and other benefits, like getting taken home instead of to jail whenever I got arrested,” she said as she snuggled up closer to him.

  “You were arrested? The poster girl for how to be a Warden ran afoul of civilian law?” he asked.

  “I wasn't always a Warden and those communities are rough places. Drugs are rampant and getting high was sometimes our only escape. Gangs are prolific. Being the daughter of an official had advantages but also had drawbacks. You don't get a lot of respect like that and it's harder to earn. I was in more than my share of fights and had more broken bones and stitches than an entire Hoverball team. They're also prime recruitment locations for the ALF. I was targeted for recruitment more than once but always refused. They put on a show of being all about the people and would often assault the sparse patrols and security and those like me, the ones that refused to join them, well it wasn't pleasant. I've been beaten to the point of hospitalization several times. A lot of the girls my age were raped and brutalized but being the daughter of a government official, they didn't want to bring down UniGov on them, so they kept it to beatings only,” she said.

  “It must have been brutal. If I had the position and power I would do whatever I could to help,” he told her as he held her. “How is that you don't spend every waking hour getting revenge?”

  “I almost ended up like that. I nearly joined the military, but things change,” she said.

  “What changed for you?” he asked.

  “I was fifteen. I was going to meet my friends one day after classes in the overcrowded, cramped building that
passed for a school. It was a rough town and we didn't run directly with the gangs, but they knew us well enough they didn't bother us because we didn't bother them. I knew what happened to the girls that joined the gangs and didn't want to end up as some gang's pet whore, so I kept away but I knew enough to also keep my mouth shut. The gangs were far more numerous than the other troublemakers like the ALF and didn't fear the security details and crossing a gang was suicide. We avoided the gangs, the security teams, and the ALF wannabees and just kept to ourselves.”

  “One day, our friend Mary was late. I knew her usual route, so we went looking for her. We found her behind a building with two of the ALF recruiters. She was on the ground, her clothes torn off and they were laughing. 'That will teach little bitch to respect the ALF,' said one of the two. They had raped her. She was beaten and bleeding and unconscious on the ground. I saw red and grabbed the guy that spoke from behind and tore into him. My two friends grabbed the other one. He threw me on the ground and I picked up a board and hit him over and over. He went for his gun but never had a chance. By the time security arrived, he was alive but not by much. Mary died from her wounds. They didn't just beat her and rape but after they were done, they stabbed her and were leaving her to bleed to death as a message. If I had been in control of myself, maybe I could have saved her,” Chelsea said quietly and put her head against his chest.

  “You're not responsible for that. The two people and the terrorist group that supports them is responsible,” he said as he held her tightly. “Most people in your shoes would have joined GloCom and fought them. How did you end up in the Wardens?”

  “I hate them. You have no idea how much I hate them. I would have joined GloCom but something else happened. After the incident, I was arrested. My dad knew the local judge and prosecutor and due to extenuating circumstances, the charges were completely dropped. At their insistence though, I was put into therapy to help deal with what happened. It helped more than I thought it would. I learned to deal with the rage and desire for violence and after about a year, things were almost back to normal,” she told him.