Guardsman

by Pam Uphoff

  “Wearing this?” Ryol looked horrified. “This is my nice suit. I’m not getting it all stinky, and I’m definitely not going to kneel on the ground in it!”

  Arno looked down at himself, and nodded. “Yeah, I kind of dressed up for the counselor too.” He looked down at his comp. “And a current events seminar tonight, and every Wednesday, in the Grand Lecture Hall . . . over there. Well, see you at the range.”

  They headed for the dorms. He was in dorm three, where his group would remain for the next couple of years. Right now they were a mix of freshmen and sophomores. Ryol was in six, the women’s dorm.

  A quick change into jeans and t-shirt, grab his gear and he headed back out. He beat everyone but the instructors, who were laying out a wide variety of weapons on eight tables. He eyed the system. Beginners to the right, experts to the left.

  One of the instructors eyed him. “So, think you know this?”

  Arno nodded at the far left. “Everything but the heavy military rifles. My Dad’s a cop. I’ve been shooting regularly for years.”

  “Have you hunted? Excellent. You’ll be table two.”

  Funny. Everything I’ve learned out of school may be the stuff I use the most.

  The rest of the group wandered in, Ryol hanging out with a bunch of girls.

  They got sorted . . . One! Four people who’d never shot a gun?

  Ryol joined him at table two and got skeptical looks until they started shooting.

  They were quickly moved up to the first table and with a little instruction started destroying targets with this magnificent Brisbane Armory 20mm.

  “Damn! And you’ve never shot one before?”

  Icfe “call me Ice” was a team track senior.

  The other two students there missed the targets. The girl with the unfortunate name of Puus landed on her butt, blinking away tears and refusing to admit her shoulder’d been injured.

  “Let’s try something that will ruin fewer targets.”

  Which was a fifteen mm sniper rifle. Lovely smooth action. Arno, Ryol, and Osnu—Sunny—a cheerful plump freshman took six shots each. Puus fired a single shot then reluctantly admitted that her shoulder couldn’t take it.

  Ice nodded. “Go to the clinic as soon as we’re done here. You four will all be in the ‘once a month’ group. But by all means, you three go ahead and show off your shooting now.”

  Ryol won the three way contest by two points over Arno and three over Sunny. Puus sighed.

  Arno looked over at her while Ice pulled in a couple more students from the next table.

  “I’m almost afraid to ask if you have a nickname.”

  “Heh. It was cute until the boys all hit puberty, then the pussy jokes started.”

  Arno nodded. “And probably haven’t quit. How about Cat? Or Plus?”

  “It won’t stick. Pussy is too funny.”

  “Uh, yeah. Thank the One my Mother wasn’t feeling cute after giving birth to twins.”

  “Twins?” She shot a glance at Ryol.

  “Yep. Her Royal Highness Pain-in-the-neck. Or as some people call her, Crazy Redhead Number Two. Our mom being Number One.”

  Ryol’s attention was on the new shooters, but her hand slipped behind her back. Middle finger prominent.

  Puus snickered. “So is a twin better or worse than a big sister or little sister?”

  “Worse. She can play both angles against me with the parents. Or try. They’re pretty clued in, as parents go.”

  “Mine are pretty good too, just a bit naïve. Apart from the name, Mom’s cool. Not, umm, Game Players. Well, not in terms of revolving marriages. They each had one marriage and divorce before they met.”

  “My Mother did the local Game Wife roulette, which is really gross to think about, but once she met Dad, well, that was it. True love or something like that.” Arno shrugged.

  I really don’t want to spread the rest of the details. I’ll enjoy being an average student for as long as I can. Until someone recognizes Ryol from that news broadcast two years ago. Or the sandcastle fight three years ago. But we’ve both grown. And Ryol’s got her hair pulled back . . .

  “Not that Dad isn’t climbing the government ladder, but Mother’s his first and only.”

  Then the shooting stopped and everyone cleaned all the guns.

  Dinner, unfortunately, was a rah rah welcome to the Uni and THE School event. The tour of the campus was interesting. Arno took note of the Physics Department and the School of Magic.

  Because I may want more of either than the Directorate School offers.

  The Current Event Seminar was right after the tour.

  An old geezer walked out on the stage and leaned on his cane. “Incoming students, welcome to your first seminar. Pay attention. Sometimes—like tonight—we’ll just have snippets of things we think will be important over the next days or months. Other times we’ll have speakers in to tell us about what isn’t getting into the papers.”

  “I’m Professor Ivy. For my sins, I teach the History of the Multiverse, a required class for all incoming students. I’ll see you Friday morning.”

  He clicked the controls in his hand. “First up tonight, an election update. The polls differ according to who’s paying for them, but they all pretty much have a three man virtual tie. All of you! I want an analysis of the positions of the War Party, the Isolationists, One Firsters, and the Modern Federalists. Because they aren’t far enough behind to ignore. Then I want a specific analysis of their candidates’ positions. You incomers can turn your reports in to me, Friday. I’m sure the rest of you will have a class somewhere, that will want to see yours.”

  He stepped away and they got four separate polls with newsies commentary.

  Then a shot of the Disco forum and an argument over ownership of a world in the Maze that two worlds were both colonizing.

  I never came close to finishing my map of the Maze. Probably never will, now.

  And there’s a shot of Master Xen, looking exasperated. Both worlds probably ignored the shortwave radio broadcasts claiming the world. The Smugglers or the Combat Gang probably opened gates to both their worlds, and they both figured, finders keepers. And didn’t contact Disco about it.

  A news clip on the first school age (barely) Homestead !Zolt kids whose parents had been genetically engineered to have the One Power gene and insertions starting kindergarten.

  Wow! I hadn’t realized that so many !Zolts had gotten the power gene, let alone all of the insertions. No wonder there are riots, and bills about not allowing the Multitude to get them. Pretty soon, everyone will be a Oner, and no one will be especially special.

  Arno suppressed a snicker. All things considered, that’s a good thing. He rubbed a little patch on his arm. I have the One power gene now, just a tiny bit, so I fit in here. And it is such a weird feeling . . . just a bit of expanded awareness. I wonder if !Zolts who’ve gotten the power gene and then come to the One World can feel it. I wonder if they like it?

  Master Xen put it on some cells in the upper layers of my skin. He said the cells would migrate to the surface as they matured and wear off after a couple of years, if I didn’t like it. Or if I liked it, he could make the changes on the deeper layers, where the cells divide, so it would be permanent.

  He looked at his notes and sighed. A report on the candidates for the presidency. To be turned in on the first day of class. Yikes! Maybe I should mention something Izzo said at the garden party.

  Well, maybe I’ll save the name dropping for later . . .

  He started with what he knew, which was fairly extensive, just from volunteering with Izzo’s campaign.

  The War Party is fielding Afgu Withione Azteca, a former Governor of Mexico, and recently resigned Minister of Foreign affairs. A strong candidate with plenty of experience with cross-dimensional diplomacy. Still beating that tired old drum of revenge on Comet Fall and the Evil Xen Wolfson. Married to Qook Withione Roma. No young children. Three adult children from earlier marriages, two grandchildr
en. Assigned Princess Fiip.

  The Isolationist nominee is Ovli Withione Peking , former Councilman, after a long career in regional politics. Despite persistent rumors, no connection has been made with the Fire and Sword wing of the party, and his moderate (for an Isolationist) voting record in the Council supports that. His stump speeches have spoken more of controlling the import of ideas and the export of tech that could turn less advanced Worlds into a threat. Married to Powx Withione Shanghai. No young children. One son from an earlier marriage. Assigned Princess Roug.

  Former Councilman Ycrw Withione Naples won the One First Party nomination in an acrimonious primary battle with former-ally Insa Withione Alcairo (also a former Councilman.) Their adamant stance against genetic engineering and re-registration attracts as many as it appalls. The Firster’s have pulled members from both the War Party and the Isolationists, the main reason this election is such a toss-up. Married to Vaat Withione Paris. One young son. Two teenage daughters from a prior marriage.

  Reporting on Izzo was easy . . .

  Izzo Withione Alcairo created quite a stir with the merging of the Modernists and the Strong Federalists into a single party with a platform of a minimal Empire level government, shifting all possible responsibilities to the Regional level, if not lower. Izzo is the former Director of External Relations, after a long career in Interior as an Analyst there, as well as in Pre-cog and Divination. Born on Homestead, he has degrees in both Jurisprudence and Psychology, and is one of the New Warriors.

  Izzo started out in the Strong Federalists, which is the majority party on Homestead. He dropped out of college when Granite Peak was captured by Earth and joined the Homestead Defense force, and switched his political allegiance to the War Party.

  He was well known to all the politicians of all the parties active on Homestead. There wasn't, at that point, any serious antipathy between the War Party and the Strong Federalists. They were all getting ready for a cross dimensional war.

  But the war never happened, Izzo went back to college, then Law School on the One World, where the War Party was the dominant party, where all the movers and shakers could be found, so Izzo remained with them until eight years ago when, after a serious “breach of trust,” he switched to the Modernists just before being appointed Director of XR.

  Married to Princess Xiat Withione Black Point, formerly of the Presidential Directorate and Interior Relations CI. Two young children. Assigned Princess Gewz.

  Arno looked it over and sighed. “I’m going to need to fact check all of that, and I’ll have to try to get all the same details on the other three. Minus the personal communications. And more on both the Party platforms and the nominees’ specifics. Well, this is a good start.”

  ***

  “Glad to hear it’s just bruises.” Ryol groaned and tackled the stairs. “I hope I’m not stuck on the top floor for the whole four years.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’m from Australia, Tasman Clan.”

  “Uruguay, Montevideo. Except I’ve been living in Paris for the last two years. My Dad’s with Internal Relations. Well, Stepdad, but he married Mother when we were five years old, so he’s always been Dad to me.” Ryol tried to stop chattering, to not . . . somehow trigger recognition of who she was. “Tasmania? Oh wow! That sounds so exotic. Are there really Devils?”

  Pussy laughed. “Oh yes, they’re on three reserves on the biggest island of the Tasmania group, and one on the Australian mainland.”

  “And kangaroos. Although, really, I think elephants take the weird animal prize.” Ryol staggered out on the fifth floor, or as her European friends called it, the fourth floor, because the ground floor didn’t count, somehow. “Oof. I think I ought to have added stairs to my morning run.”

  Pussy just grinned. “We’ll all be fit in another month.”

  “Yeah. Not that two kilometers is very long, but I refuse to come in too far behind my idiot twin.”

  “He didn’t seem . . .”

  “Oh, that’s just . . . socially. He eats up math and science, programming, games . . . but put him into a social situation and he’s instantly an idiot.”

  Pussy sighed. “My brother calls me an idiot. I really hate it. Even when I get better grades. He just says I kiss up to the teacher, or the teacher hates him. Step-brother. One of those ‘my mom married his father’ things. He’s six months older than me and it was horrible being in the same level with him.” She broke out in a big grin. “And now I’ve escaped. He got all snotty about being accepted to the uni in Melbourne, like it was a big deal.”

  “Oh. Ugg. I do suppose I ought not call Arno names. It’s not that I don’t like him, he just irritates me the way he suddenly turns into an inarticulate wallflower when he’s around strangers.” She blew out a deep breath. “I’ll bet he hates it here.”

  “I think maybe he outgrew that, because he was fine at the range.” Pussy walked past her and three doors down the hall. “See you in the morning!”

  ***

  The alarm went off at 4:55. Ryol moaned and rolled out of bed.

  Running gear. Gold tee, black shorts and running shoes. Hit the lav, braid her hair . . .

  So of course Arno was already on the track.

  Ryol growled a bit. A trainer checked her ID, and put her name up on the scoreboard and she trotted onto the track. A moderate speed halfway around, then speeding up for the rest of the four laps. Which put her in the bottom half of the standings.

  I’m going to have to do my warm up before I get to the track. And run faster.

  “Hey, Ryol! When I didn’t see your name, I thought maybe you’d changed your mind!”

  Ryol turned at the familiar voice. “Gior! And Voyr! I spotted you two down the table last night, but I didn’t see you later.”

  Gior shrugged, and Ryol’d swear she blushed in the early morning light.

  Voyr heaved a deep breath. “My parents said to stay away from you. So no one realized you-know-what.”

  “Well, I’d be outraged, except, I’m trying to be just another student, too.” Ryol shrugged. “We’ll all just have to pretend we just met or something.”

  She spotted Pussy and waved. “Hey, Puus, how was your time? Oh wow, you beat the heck out of mine. Umm, this is Gior? Right? And Voyr? Are you guys freshmen too?”

  Gior rolled her eyes. “Yep. And now I’m going to stagger back to the dorm and shower.”

  Voyr nodded. “I think getting up early to exercise is going to be my least favorite thing about the School.”

  Ryol looked up at the blush pink of dawn and took a deep breath. “I think . . . I think I’m going to like it.”

  Pussy laughed. “You sound surprised.”

  “I am.”

  Thursday was her easy day. Introduction to Magic, Biology lab, and Martial Arts C.

  Introduction to Magic was going to be a pain. All about the Oner history of magic, the legal issues and limitations on use, and lectures. Master Xen taught us more than this. Plus all the hands on stuff. Then Aunt Rael talked about the legal trouble we’d be in if we . . . showed off and accidentally hurt someone. This is going to be easy—I just have to remember the few differences, and not fall asleep.

  Biology lab was just a list of books and supplies, assigning benches, and issuing safety equipment and lockers that it was to stay in. Gior, Voyr, and Pussy were all in the same lab.

  Excellent, we can study together.

  “First lecture class tomorrow.” The chirpy Professor Zoot grinned. “Read the first chapter tonight.”

  Martial Arts C, on the other hand, was taught by a bored old man who acted like he didn’t expect much of the women students.

  “You’ll never be as strong, and you’ll always have a shorter reach than any man you fight. I’ll be teaching you all the techniques and so forth that might help you survive an encounter with a man who has very little formal training. So. Let’s position you, according to the sorting results.”

  The students who’d had more than two years of martial
arts training got the back of the room three rows. Ryol was in the second row, as a “less than two years training, but top ranked woman of that group.”

  Darn it, only Arno and one other guy were ahead of me, and they both had Speed. And my Speed is getting faster all the time! Even if Arno is faster. And for once didn’t trip over his own feet.

  Gior, Voyr, and Pussy were all behind her.

  I ought to have taken more karate, darn it.

  But the kata Sensei Udlo took them through, move by move was pretty basic, and she picked it up quickly.

  Then a few judo holds and throws, at which Gior excelled, and Ryol stunk—along with most of the class. Gior was instantly drafted as an assistant teacher, then they returned to the assigned spots, bowed and were dismissed.

  “Wow, Gior, that was impressive!” Pussy rotated her right shoulder and grimaced. “How long have you taken Judo?”

  “Oh, Eight years? Something like that. I think I was ten when I started. It’s not a very aggressive style. I suppose I’m going to have to get up to speed on karate or whatnot, now.”

  Ryol joined the other two in a group sigh, and added, “I had about six months of actual instruction, in a proper dojo. Then some relatives, my aunt and a sort-of stepbrother, would work with me and my sibs when they were in town for a few days.”

  And Aunt Rael would come by twice a week and work with us.

  And Master Xen’s lessons, when we were on Embassy for a week or two, now and then.

  “Well, I have the rest of the day off . . . and I suppose I’d better do the Biology reading, and the report on the candidates that Professor Ivy expects us to have by tomorrow.”

  Groans and agreements from the rest of them.

  “You know, I’ve heard that the old library is a great place to study . . . Why don’t we all meet there? We can keep each other on track.” Ryol grinned. “So long as we don’t all gossip too much.”

  In the common room, the screen was showing a familiar trio.