We Are Not Prey

by Taki Drake

  When Pawlik started stammering and stuttering about how the inter-domain of an estate was controlled by the consort, her amusement reached new levels. Only the embarrassed agony in his eyes prevented her from laughing outright. When he finally stumbled to a halt in his explanation, she took pity on him. “Are you asking me to take that role for you? If so, is this a job or a marriage proposal?”

  The poor flustered man didn’t know what to say or do. Sgt. Gray and the remainder of their party were watching with wide eyes and rapt attention. Pawlik seemed oblivious to their presence. Finally, he managed to get the word “yes” out coherently. He seemed unable to say another word, but instead stared imploringly at her face.

  Breaking into a wide smile, Ruth looked into his face and smiled. “Yes.”

  There was a stunned second of silence and Pawlik grabbed her hands, covering them with kisses. The bartender had been dying of curiosity from across the room and chose that moment to walk over and ask what was going on. Sgt. Gray happily informed him that he had just been witness to a marriage proposal and acceptance.

  The bar had become more crowded during the time that Pawlik and Ruth had been in the barroom. The rest of the people in the bar had been listening and watching the strangers in their midst. At Sgt. Gray’s announcement, many of them began to clap and congratulate the embarrassed, but pleased, Pawlik.

  A nearby table of Marines stood and shouted their congratulations to the newly engaged couple. One of them, obviously slightly inebriated, yelled that they would like to see the lovely lady so that they could drink to her. Ruth broke into delighted laughter and stood up pulling her cloak off in the process. She smiled and said, “Sorry about that! I forgot I was wearing it.”

  The room is totally quiet. The men and the women simply stare. Whatever they thought that cloak was concealing, the woman that stood there happily smiling back at them was unexpected. Marines had seen many horrible things in their battles, but even they were ill-equipped to deal with her beauty. Ruth seemed oblivious to their reaction.

  To break up the silence, the bartender said, “Any marriage bonding that starts in a Marine bar deserves celebration. So what are you drinking, lady?”

  Ruth grimaced slightly and responded, “I don’t want any more of the first drink. I need something with a little more kick in it than the wimpy-ass alcohol that you gave me before. Anybody strong enough to marry this man should be able to drink strong liquor!”

  All over the room Marines roared agreement and raised their glasses in salute. The bartender gave her a wide grin and headed determinedly back to the bar. He made a big display of pulling a bottle clearly labeled ‘Patrol Issue’ from the shelves in the center and poured her a large glass. With a flourish, the big former Marine carried the drink and ceremoniously placed it in front of her. Stepping back, the bartender gestured toward the glass, saying, “One non-wimpy ass beverage coming up.”

  Pawlik was obviously concerned but joined in the toasts that followed. Both he and Ruth tossed back the drinks accompanied by clapping celebration from the barroom. Placing both glasses upside down on the table, Ruth and Pawlik smiled at each other. The bar was quiet, which drew Ruth’s attention. Everyone was staring at her. It took her a moment to figure out that they were expecting her to find the alcohol overwhelming.

  A bubble of amusement seemed to start at the center of Ruth’s stomach and rose till it emerged as a soft chuckle from her throat. She glanced down at the empty glass and then looked over at the bartender. “That’s it? Any Marine on my world would have been ashamed to serve something that was so weak. I can see that when I can visit family at home that I’m going to have to manage to bring you some real alcohol.”

  The bar exploded in laughter once more.

  Ruth’s face became somber, and she reached into her cloak and drew out the dead sergeant’s weapon and the bar got very quiet. She holds the weapon up and explained, “This gun belonged to a very brave man. He sacrificed himself to save my life and the lives of everyone not only on my ship but on many others. His captors kept his weapon from him and put it on their souvenir wall. Although his willing sacrifice means that he cannot be here in body, he will always be with me in spirit. I was lucky enough to have many conversations with him before his death. The Sarge talked about his home and his family, and that to him, family had been and always would be the Marines. Our last conversation was the day before he died. He died when he threw his body between me and the destructive beam of an Insectoid weapon.” Bowing her head in grief, Ruth stood and handed the gun to the bartender.

  Sgt. Gray stood up and turned to face the barroom and began to tell stories of the Sarge. How he was always helping people and of his fierceness in battle. There were other people in the bar that had served under and with Sarge in his many years of service. Each reminiscence was accompanied by a toast to soften the razor edges of shared grief. Some people chose to sing, some to talk, but Sarge and his life were celebrated in the only way the Marines knew how to do it. Together.

  The door to the bar had been closed as night settled in. The abnormal quiet of the city had translated into minimal traffic into the room over the last few hours, so it was a surprise when the door opened abruptly. The group of four that entered the bar were definitely not Marines. Instead, they wore formal robes marked with a stylized quill, the insignia of the Auditor Guild. They were accompanied by four guards, also wearing the mark of the guild.

  They had apparently come for a particular reason, since immediately upon entering they visually search the room. Spying Ruth, all auditors determinedly head for her. The senior member locked his eyes on her and marched directly up to face her. In an automatic protection reaction, some of the surrounding Marines blocked the junior auditors, delaying them while Pawlik and the rest of the party stood up in a perimeter around Ruth.

  The head examiner reached her and said, “I am Senior Auditor Rick from the Auditor Guild, Lady Mage. I am here to inform you that your claims have been validated and we have the list of the assets that will be accredited to you.” Ruth extended her hand for the list that he brandished at her. Glancing over it, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  In a very quiet voice, directed to only reach his ears, she addressed the man standing in front of her, “There appears to be a problem, Auditor Rick. This audit is not correct.”

  The shock was apparent on his face as he responded, “That is not possible. All procedures have been executed, and there can be no exception. Of course, it would’ve been better if you had filed its information during the process itself, but your filing procedure met both the required deadline and covered the important proof points. One notable point for future reference is that although it was an accepted alternative form of punctuation, the use of colons in battle prize claims are seldom used. Your application caused a huge amount of disruptive excitement within our department. In the future, it would be nice if you followed the more commonly used comma convention.”

  He seemed to Ruth to be prissy and precise, the ultimate bureaucrat. A perfect member of a certified public accountant group on her home world. She knew how he was going to feel about what she had to tell him, but he needed to know. Ruth reiterated, “Again with my apologies, the accounting is wrong. I understand how important it is for the Auditor Guild to be accurate and to be seen as being without flaw.”

  Rick stared at her in disbelief but noticed that her attention is not on him. Instead, she is looking steadily at the auditor who has joined them on Rick’s left side. The man is looking very uncomfortable, eyes shifting, staring downward and nervously twitching from foot to foot. With an uncharacteristic leap of intuition, Rick demanded, “Donald, what have you done!?”

  Ruth said in a hard voice, “This audit shorts my battle prizes by seven planets, several trillion dollars in various accounts, and 168 ships. There is no mention of them anywhere on the list, even a reason for excluding them from consideration. Numerous additional properties have also been omitted. So the findings are
flawed, and I do not accept their veracity.”

  Auditor Rick is aghast, the expressions on the faces of the junior auditors equally stunned. Thinking to minimize damage, Ruth raised her hand and created an iridescent shell of silence around them. Within the barroom, the enclosure is visible to everyone. Rick turned to Donald and asked him again, “What have you done?”

  Stumbling over his words, Donald tried to explain, saying, “It is not reasonable or fair that this woman receives all of the property that has somehow been included in the claim. I was just trying to make sure the findings were fair, you have to believe me!”

  Ruth looked at him and responded, “All of this has been earned legally under the rules and regulations of the Alliance. I have followed all required forms and formats. The proofs and justifications for my claim are flawless, according to the extensive rules of the Guild itself. Your independent actions have materially damaged the very guild that you are trying to protect.”

  Rick gestured to the auditor guards, who take Donald by the arms. Ruth asks Rick if it will cause less consternation if she provided instantaneous transport back to their ship for the guards and Donald. She reiterates her understanding of how important it is for the Auditor Guild to maintain its reputation and that she trusts them to address the issue.

  Taking a deep breath in relief, Rick is relieved that she is trying to minimize the embarrassment for the guild. He thanked her and said, “Yes, it would be a great help if transport could be arranged directly back to the ship.”

  Ruth gestured with her hands, and a glowing ball of green appears. It grows until it encircles the guards and Donald, there is a flash of light, and the three men disappeared. As everyone’s vision clears, Ruth dispels the privacy shell and sits down.

  All of the auditors appear shaken. Rick is examining the audit findings, which one of his other men has pulled up on his tablet. He seems to age in front of her with grief and disappointment. Turning to her, he agrees that Donald had omitted assets that were rightfully hers. Provisionally, he is willing to accept her findings, but to maintain normal procedural constraints, they must reevaluate the items in question. Ruth looks at him sympathetically and agrees.

  Rick tells her that all of the items not in question are hers for immediate use. He has some electronic paperwork that must be completed, part of their normal process. Pawlik invites the auditors to sit down with them, something that apparently has not happened before judging from their startled reaction.

  Rick said, “Thank you, my Lord Pawlik, for the invitation. I would be pleased to sit down with you after we complete the paperwork but a separate table for my staff would be more appropriate. That way they can immediately start to resolve the items in question. The longer this problem exists, the worse its effects will be.”

  Ruth had several suggestions. Pointing to the table next to them, which is unoccupied, she asks if that would be suitable for Rick’s staff. Her other suggestion was that since a number of unemployed Marines in the bar were available for temporary guards, it might be wise to contract with them until more auditor guards could be dispatched from the ship. Rick was surprised at her thoughtfulness and responded, “That would be a good thing for us to have since we are never supposed to be without protection. I would appreciate the assistance, but frankly, I have no idea of how one goes about doing engaging contractors.”

  Accepting Ruth’s suggestion, Rick points to the empty table, and his staff sits down murmuring softly to each other. Ruth turned to the bartender and said clearly from across the room, “The chief auditor is in need of several guards for a short period of time. Are there any non-active service Marines that could provide that protection?”

  The people in the bar leaned closer to their friends and muttered. The bartender looked from Ruth to the auditor and said, “Of course, but what’s the pay?”

  Ruth looked at Rick, who responded, “Whatever it needs to be.”

  Ruth laughed merrily, and added, “Double normal rate, but we want steady and capable men or women.” The bartender points at two guys and cocks a questioning eyebrow at them. They nod assent, so he gestured toward the group of auditors at the small table. The two Marines stood up, straightened their uniforms and walked over. They introduced themselves to Ruth and Rick and Pawlik, as Ferad and Nirdak. Ferad, obviously the more senior of the two, asks, “What would you like us to do?”

  Rick looks somewhat at sea, so Pawlik takes over the instruction of the two Marines. Moving slightly away from the Mage and senior auditor, he spoke at length with the Marines before escorting them over to Rick’s staff table. He was busy introducing the new guards to their clients when Ruth noticed that Rick was still looking slightly distressed. She asked, “Why are you stressed out? Is there a specific problem?”

  “There is no sound containment around the table, and I am concerned about the confidentiality requirements of what we are doing. There are so many people around that it is making me nervous.”

  “I would be happy to take care of that for you,” Ruth responded. She quickly recreated a sphere of silence around the working audit team table.”

  Pawlik has just finished instructing the Marine guards, indicating that they should take station outside of the sphere and asked them if they are armed.

  They tell him that they both have their issued intelligent weapon, called an ITEGun. It has an artificial intelligence housed in the weapon and provides a limited amount of telepathy between the Marine and the entity stored in their gun. This is a fascinating concept to Ruth, but there is no time to discuss it now. Pawlik promises to explain it to her after she is done with the auditor and when they are someplace that they can relax.

  Rick and Ruth go over the paperwork and Ruth quickly signs the items that are required. There are no other problems with the audit that she can determine. Rick is noticeably calmer. Just as they finish the initial signing of Ruth’s claim, one of the auditors at the other table stands up and walks over to Rick. Leaning over the chief auditor’s shoulder, he hands Rick an electronic tablet and points to several areas on the screen. Rick closed his eyes as if in pain and nodded his head. The senior auditor holds his hand over the tablet which emanates a sliding bar of light over his palm, and an audible ping is heard.

  Rick looked down at his own tablet, and then passes it over to Ruth and said, “The adjustments are here, please accept them. Also, note that there are three other possible sources of revenue and real property that need to be investigated. Those will be reviewed carefully, and a full audit of all of this will be done again to ensure its accuracy. Once that is completed, we will ask you to evaluate the findings.”

  Rick looked Ruth straight in the face and said, “Thank you.”

  Ruth responded gently, “Your thanks are noted, and I thank you in return. I know how important it is for an established group to provide the continuity and rational structure necessary for an Alliance that spans worlds.”

  Rick looks startled and shook himself abruptly, saying, “I almost forgot in all of the upset.” Standing up, he straightens his already pristine clothing, touches a brooch on his chest. Drawing a deep breath, he declares in a firm voice, “This is Senior Auditor Rick of the Auditor Guild with a required and necessary formal announcement of combat and battle results. This formal declaration marks the acceptance acquisition by appropriate combat of the full assets previously owned or controlled by the defeated parties and the verification of Mage status. The awardee is the Lady Mage Ruth and the defeated party is the entire race of Insectoids.” Rick then reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and drew forth an elaborately jeweled and enameled box.

  He continued, “For more than five millennia, the Auditor Guild have held this in trust, waiting for a Mage to rise. Our period of protection has come to an end, as we formally turn over the coronet of archMage to you, Lady Mage Ruth Dracona.” In a chorus, the other auditors touched their own chest brooches, saying in unison, “Witnessed.”

  Ruth bowed her head in acceptance and pla
ced the simple band of precious metal around her head where it looks like it has belonged forever. She paused for a minute in contemplation before turning and asking, “Auditor Rick, are you and your team allowed by policy to join us? Something this momentous deserves some acknowledgment and I would be honored if you could be part of that celebration.”

  “It is all somewhat irregular but not strictly against the rules. My team and I would be pleased to spend a short time with you.”

  Pawlik goes to the bartender to request food and drink for the auditors who are looking a little bit lost. Rick walked over to check on his team, stepping into the silence bubble. He can be seen speaking intensely with them for a considerable time.

  Ruth is alone at the table for the first time. As she sits there, two women approached her. Both women are fairly tall and move like trained fighters. One is more heavily muscled while the other moves more lightly. Both have ITE guns. They introduce themselves as former Marines and inquire whether she will be looking for additional bodyguards. Ruth looked thoughtfully at them and said, “Yes, I am planning on hiring guards, but at this point, I am not sure exactly what type of bodyguards I need.”

  They offer their credentials to her and explain that the bartender can act as a reference since they fought under him for quite a few years. When Ruth asked why they are “former” Marines, they mentioned that they were mustered out due to cost-cutting by the spaceforce. Conversation with them reveals that the two women, Jenna and Margot, have skills in both fighting and flying and that one is a communications expert.”

  Jenna asks, “Are you going to be organizing the inner keep guards?” Ruth is entirely confused. Pawlik returns back to the table just in time to hear the question and to recognize her lack of comprehension. He explains some further information about the organization of responsibility within the culture of this planet. Women of the household control security and defense, monitoring everything inside the walls of the home or estate. The man is responsible for external security and stays out of the business of the inner keep unless requested to assist.